Ballista Securities LLC, operator of the Ballista Alternative Trading System (ATS) for block options, announced they are partnering with Fidessa group plc to add the Ballista ATS execution venue onto Fidessa's global connectivity network. Fidessa's user base will be able to access the Ballista ATS via a secure connection or through Fidessa's options and equities trading platform in the second quarter of 2010. Focused on equity options, Ballista ATS reduces the time and manual effort required to execute block option and volatility orders by providing an electronic alternative to the manual trading methods of phone calls, emails and IMs.
"Fidessa is an extremely popular platform for institutional traders, and we are very pleased they are connecting to our ATS," said Dr. Daniel Marques, Ballista's CTO. Adding, "their distribution will be key to our growth as our market continues to mature."
Martin Hakker, EVP Marketing for Fidessa said, "We are pleased to be partnering with Ballista to broaden the range of execution venues for equity options traders on our network. Fidessa remains committed to providing clients with the broadest selection of liquidity venues on a global basis."
Fidessa's connectivity network links more than 2,300 buy-side institutions to more than 400 brokers and 120 markets around the world, providing a "one-stop shop" for best-execution services. Fidessa group serves around 24,000 users across more than 730 clients around the world and is used by more than 85 per cent of tier-one financial institutions.
An anonymous, automated and rules-based options trading platform, Ballista ATS offers traders standardization of order-entry for complex order types, user-defined trading filters to manage workflow, and advanced negotiation capability. On June 9 of 2009, Ballista Securities closed a funding round with strategic investors: International Securities Exchange, Knight Capital Group, Morgan Stanley and Susquehanna Growth Equity, LLP. Ballista, which received its FINRA membership in August 2008, began live trading on Ballista ATS on October 28, 2008.