The TRADE 68 - Q2 2021 | Page 84

Virtu

Virtu Financial is a leading provider of financial services , trading products and market-making . The firm ’ s algorithmic trading services , known as Virtu Frontier , supports over 500 institutional clients on the buy-side and offers a comprehensive suite of core algorithms , designed for low latency and maximum flexibility . Over the course of 2020 , the firm continued to migrate ITG execution clients onto Virtu algorithms . Asset classes covered include equities and EFTs , across the regions of North America , Europe , APAC and LATAM . Responding Virtu clients to this year ’ s survey were drawn mainly from the UK ( 43 %), continental Europe ( 29 %) and Canada ( 21 %). Around one third of hedge funds manage assets of over US $ 10 billion , with around 43 % of managers executing upward of 60 % of their portfolio algorithmically . Virtu received an overall average of 5.78 in this year ’ s survey , scoring just 4 basis points short of the survey average of 5.82 . The firm beat the category average in eight service areas under review , with its most impressive scores relative to the benchmarks , being dark pool access (+ 0.33 ), increase trader productivity (+ 0.32 ), anonymity (+ 0.24 ) and flexibility and sophistication of smart order routing (+ 0.22 ). In contrast , several service areas missed the mark , most notably customisation , execution consulting and algo monitoring capabilities , which underperform the category average by 59 , 56 and 40 basis points respectively . Moreover , the New York-headquartered firm recorded year-on-year declines across most categories with the exception of flexibility and sophistication of smart order routing , up by 0.21 , ease of use , up by 0.18 , and increase trader productivity , up by 0.11 . Over the course of 2020 the firm ’ s execution algorithm suite provided clients liquidity and stability amidst the volatility of the COVID-19 pandemic . Clients also benefit from multiple sources of liquidity provided from the firm ’ s principal market-making flow , institutional blocks and presence in the US retail marketplace . When asked what additional features are wanted , respondents expressed interest in algo customisation consultancy , real-time USD fills pairs equity versus futures , plus seamless trading and settlement of dual-listed equities .