FME can now offload the burden of designing, managing and maintaining a specialized connectivity solution as they scale across markets globally.

FME is a leading, London-based market maker and proprietary trading firm operating around the globe and around the clock. They have fully implemented the Object Trading DMA Service Platform for production access to 13 markets to date across 5 colocation centres, allowing them to focus on developing their trading strategies. FME may now easily access normalized market data and order execution on a scalable, high performance global platform with multi broker capabilities built in. The flexibility of the platform allows FME to easily access additional venues when required without the need for a high up-front investment.

The Object Trading DMA Service Platform also offers sell-side firms a complete colocation-based turnkey distribution channel featuring the FrontRunner DMA software suite as a single gateway for direct market access with full pre-trade risk constraints and real-time middle office integration built in. Available as a scalable platform for all forms of electronic covering over 60 markets world-wide, sell-side firms can offer high performance access with no technical investment. For the buy-side, the growing number of FCMs already certified on the Object Trading platform gives greater choice and easy on-boarding of broker services.

"Object Trading provide us with fully managed services and a platform that scales as we grow," said Grant Oliver, Business Development Director, FME. "As we continue to expand and provide liquidity into other markets, we need the ability to trade and clear through multiple brokers, quickly access multiple venues, and deploy new trading strategies without significant investments in time and resource on maintaining exchange connectivity."

"As the market continues to proliferate and evolve, it's becoming ever more expensive to stay competitive or even mainintain business as usual," said David Weiss, Senior Analyst at Aite Group. "Today the need to better manage risk and cost has substantially outweighs the race to zero latency. Firms need to focus their resources on innovations, differentiators in a crowded marketplace, really the things they do well at their core while leveraging the expertise of their technology partners to improve efficiency and delivery in areas where those technology partners excel."

"Low volumes and volatility have a significant impact on the sell-side's traditional revenue sources as well as the opportunities for returns on the buy-side," said Gerry Turner, Executive Director, Object Trading. "Firms are under unrelenting pressure for superior end client service, agility and on-going performance through subject matter expertise and global resourcing. The DMA Service Platform allows the buy side to continue doing business through its brokers whilst retaining freedom and control, and at the same time allowing sell side to focus on developing new brokerage services instead of bearing the burden of being a technology supplier."

The increased competition and regulatory requirements have forced firms to maintain a robust trading infrastructure with limited resources. Firms are looking into non-core business areas where they can leverage technology partners. The Aite Group report "Managed Trading Services: Thriving in a Commoditized Marketplace" estimated that global spending on managed services is expected to reach approximately US$620 million by the end of 2015. Trading platform architecture that includes access to market data, venues and risk management is highlighted in the report as a key component that firms should consider for managed trading services.