[ I N T E R V I E W
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R A L S T O N
R O B E R T S ]
Ralston Roberts
CEO, INSTINET
Following the recent 50th anniversary of Instinet, Ralston Roberts speaks
to Hayley McDowell about his first year as chief executive of the agency
broker, and the impact the firm has had on the rise of electronic trading.
Hayley McDowell: How was your
first year as CEO of Instinet, and
what were your priorities for the
business upon taking up the role?
Ralston Roberts: I had the good
fortune to join a legendary brand,
with a unique global agency
model franchise, in its fiftieth
anniversary year. That’s pretty
special. As you can imagine,
my first few months were spent
getting to know my team, meeting
with as many of our major clients
as possible, and doing a deep dive
into the business.
These days we all happen to
find ourselves in a pivot point
in the financial markets - the
industry is undergoing a major
transformation that is impacting
the market microstructure
of many asset classes, and is
changing the way the buy-side
and sell-side do business.
The last year for us was a period
of tremendous strategic reflection
about the past and the future.
We brought on board a new
CTO, Minor Huffman, and we
made a number of key strategic
hires in areas of focus for us,
such as Quantitative Analysis
and Electronic Execution. We
launched FX agency trading with
our Newport FX desktop, and we
rolled out BlockCross for EMEA
trading. It’s been busy.
HM: In light of Instinet’s recent
50th anniversary, what impact
has the institution had on the
electronic trading industry?
RR: In 1969 Instinet gave birth
to electronic trading, and over
“The consolidation that we’re seeing in the
industry right now seems to be more about
achieving scale and profitability, and right-
sizing the competitive landscape.”
Issue 63 // thetradenews.com // 47