Penson Worldwide (NASDAQ: PNSN) announced today that its Australian subsidiary, Penson Financial Services Australia Pty, Ltd (PFSA), has signed a 5-year exclusive agreement to provide clearing services for equities and exchange traded options for D2MX, a fast-growing provider of wholesale and intermediary Direct Market Access (DMA) broking services in Australia.
"After months of reviewing possible providers, we found Penson to be a stand out when it came to their client focused service and technology," said Alistair Warren, CEO of D2MX. "This will play a major role in the growth of our business, taking us to the next level of our development as a leading DMA broker."
D2MX has risen over the last year in ASX's broker rankings to No. 30 with turnover in excess of $700 million per month, from No. 66 with turnover of $100 million per month, and has approximately 40 wholesale broker-dealer clients, which cumulatively have more than 250 financial advisers.
"We are delighted that D2MX, which is growing significantly, has chosen Penson as its exclusive provider of clearing services," said Craig Mason, Managing Director and CEO of PFSA. "Our independent, third party clearing model is gathering momentum in the Australian market and is enabling correspondents to focus on their core strengths to grow their businesses more efficiently."
"With approximately 300 correspondents globally, Penson is honored to have D2MX join our service model offering in Australia," said Bryce Engel, Executive Vice President of Penson Worldwide responsible for international businesses. "We are excited by the opportunities in Australia and look forward to converting other Australian correspondents in the months ahead."