FORTS was launched in September 2001 and has quickly become the fastest growing Russian derivatives exchange. GL TRADE will provide access to FORTS via its Direct Market Access Technology as well as through the GL NET.

Automated Order Routing via GL NET, GL TRADE's proprietary network, is designed for clients handling high transaction volumes. Through the GL NET network they can trade on markets without necessarily being members. The service offers the same speed and efficiency of order execution as for members of the market connecting directly to the FORTS central trading engine. GL NET, the group's dedicated trading network offers connectivity to more than 100 equities and derivatives markets.

"The derivatives market is the fastest growing segment of the Russian securities market, and FORTS is the ultimate leader of that segment," says Roman Gorunov, head of FORTS. "Our product line includes single stock futures, interest rate futures, the Moscow City Government bond futures and other instruments. The latest addition to our offerings, the RTS Index futures contract that uses the RTS Index, the benchmark of the Russian securities market, as the underlying asset, has quickly become one of the most popular instruments on FORTS."

"The appetite for Russian markets' access in the international financial community has substantially increased during 2005 and GL TRADE already provides access to local Cash Equities markets," comments Philippe Carré, head of global Clients Services. "Extending our 105-strong markets' connectivity to the fastest growing Russian Derivatives Exchange FORTS was a natural development driven by our clients' requests. Our new gateway to FORTS will be officially launched early 2006 but clients can already start looking at our API or FIX connectivity solutions."

GL TRADE opened an office in Moscow late September and already services around 15 clients and 150 users in the region.