This strategic arrangement allows clients to access Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking services (SG CIB) through Townsend Analytics' flagship EMS, RealTick.

RealTick users will be able to route equity Direct Market Access (DMA) orders, worked orders, list trades and program trades directly to SG CIB, taking advantage of the bank's leadership in equities and market share liquidity across the globe. Traders also will have access to Societe Generale's suite of algorithmic trading strategies.

Richard Hills, Global Head of Electronic Services at SG CIB, comments, "Clients increasingly want to have more control over order execution and to expand their network of brokers. So there is strong demand to have a single system on their desk from which they can manage and route orders efficiently to a variety of different brokers and venues."

"RealTick is a global, multi-broker EMS that streamlines and simplifies user workflow, with the IT infrastructure, reliable data and failsafe operations that Societe Generale--and our clients--can count on," Mr. Hills adds.

"Societe Generale is a leading provider of DMA and algos for global equities, and we believe RealTick clients will benefit from being able to route orders to them without changing platforms or interfaces," states Michel Finzi, Global head of business development for Townsend Analytics.

"Our ongoing commitment is to ensure our clients enjoy rapid and easy access to liquidity across the widest network of brokers and venues globally, and RealTick's recently enhanced trading functionality will specifically help institutional clients manage their execution flow to Societe Generale," he adds.

Societe Generale joins Townsend's global multi-broker network, which includes Barclays Capital, BNY ConvergEx, Credit Suisse, HSBC, Instinet, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and UBS. Townsend's RealTick platform aggregates multiple brokers, destinations and products onto a single-screen format.

RealTick was recently upgraded to offer expanded multi-broker, multi-asset functionality, enhanced list trading capabilities and the ability to route orders to multiple dark pools, broker algorithms or liquidity venues in one click.