THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF TRADETECH FX 2026
JP Morgan on FX algos, Adaptive 3.0, and the next phase of execution innovation
How has the year begun from an FX market perspective? Ben Weinberg: It’ s been a very exciting start, honestly. We came into the year thinking volatility might stay low and conditions would be relatively calm, but it’ s been the opposite. There are a lot of themes already driving activity, like tariffs related to Greenland, or trading partnerships with China, Japan headlines and JGB dynamics and even the macro uncertainty we’ ve seen around political risk and shutdown narratives. So there’ s been much more movement than we expected even just a week or two ago, and that has created a very active backdrop for clients as we begin the year.
As clients demand greater control, customisation and transparency, JP Morgan is building the next generation of FX algos to optimise execution in real time. The TRADE spoke with BEN WEINBERG, head of eCEM sales North America, and REZA GHOLIZADEH, vice president macro automated trading strategies, who explain how JP Morgan is advancing algorithmic FX execution through Adaptive 3.0, deeper analytics, and real-time innovation.
Beyond the immediate macro picture, what are the biggest trends shaping client priorities in FX execution right now? BW: Clients are overall becoming a lot more analytical about their trading. We can look at it in a few areas- dealer selection and in-flight behaviour. Some are selecting dealers in a formal process and limit to only a few. Others review performance over time and drive execution to banks that are outperforming by key performance indicators. Clients can now place an algo, and monitor how an algo is executing versus key metrics real-time. So if a client is beating a key metric such as arrival mid, or
TWAP, the client can decide to clear the risk on a click-to-trade price. Although these features have been available, recent volatility has driven a meaningful uptick in their usage. NDF algos are another big area of growth. I’ ll admit, a few years ago I wasn’ t sure the liquidity environment would support it. But the market has evolved rapidly- new venues have emerged, internalisation has grown, and clients are now actively seeking solutions in that space.
Reza Gholizadeh: I’ d agree. Across both systematic and real money clients, demand for stronger analytics has accelerated. Clients want better tools pre-trade and post-trade, not just to review performance, but to actively shape execution decisions. That applies across client types: sophisticated systematic firms, traditional asset managers, and everyone in between. The focus is on measurable improvement, market impact, markouts, speed, and control.
You mentioned real money clients adopting new approaches. What does that look like in practice? BW: We’ re seeing even typically conservative real money firms explore more innovative execution methods.
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