THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF TRADETECH FX 2026
Clients are shifting from time-based algorithms to more sophisticated market tracking algorithms, as well as conditional orders that weren’ t widely used historically, but are increasingly being adopted to manage volatility, and maintain control in fast-moving markets. There’ s also a much stronger focus on quality of fills, internalisation versus fills on ECNs Clients want to understand how to minimise their market footprint.
When we last spoke, the conversation was about technology advancements improving liquidity access. What are the major strides JP Morgan has made on this front over the past year? RG: A key development has been the launch of what we call Adaptive 3.0, the third generation of our flagship Adaptive algorithm. The central innovation is dynamic execution speed. Adaptive 3.0 adjusts urgency and pacing automatically depending on market conditions. It leverages a simulation framework where we replay client orders across different urgency factors using historical market data. We look across volatility regimes, liquidity environments, and currency groupings to determine what speed of execution generally delivers the best outcome- balancing market impact, markouts, and the client’ s need for timely completion. Importantly, we do this continuously, typically looking at the most recent six months of history, so the optimisation stays current.
And how does customisation fit into that? RG: That’ s one of the biggest shifts. Historically, speed customisation required more manual tuning. Now, Adaptive 3.0 allows this optimisation to happen dynamically, and in some cases specifically for an individual client. For clients with sufficient flow, we can isolate their trading behaviour and identify optimal execution speeds tailored to them. That may differ from broader market averages, because every client’ s execution objectives and footprint are unique. So clients can increasingly outsource speed decisions to JP Morgan, knowing the algorithm is adapting based on rigorous optimisation.
Beyond Adaptive 3.0, what other innovations are you bringing into the algo ecosystem? RG: Another major area has been enhancing how clients interact with our
Ben Weinberg
Reza Gholizadeh
internal liquidity. We’ ve improved our internal-only algos and introduced greater flexibility around spread capture levels. Clients can now have more control over how they access JP Morgan franchise liquidity, which is particularly valuable for those prioritising minimum signal risk, minimal footprint, and reduced market impact. That’ s been a strong solution for clients seeking discretion and efficiency.
How are clients behaving during periods of market stress or high-volume events? BW: Historically, during high-volume periods, many clients would shift immediately to risk transfer- voice trading or streaming prices- just to get it done quickly. But what we saw during major volatility events like Liberation Day last year was a substantial increase in algo usage. Clients were comfortable executing algos even through extreme conditions. That speaks to two things: the advancement of execution algorithms, and the growing confidence clients have that algos can perform even when markets are moving sharply.
Are regulatory or market structure shifts influencing algo development as well? BW: Definitely. One area is embedding more market-event awareness into pre-trade tools. Most participants know the obvious events like non-farm payrolls, but FX is full of less predictable volatility points, especially in less frequently traded currency pairs.
RG: We’ ve also continuously improved the volatility and volume profiles used inside our algos around specific events. Those profiles are directly correlated with performance, so it’ s a key area of ongoing development.
BW: The goal is to optimise execution not just after the fact, but in real time. And clients are demanding more data than ever. They want deeper insight into what they’ re trading, liquidity conditions, execution outcomes- all of it. We’ re providing extensive analytics already, but we’ re also looking at new AI-enabled ways to deliver that information more efficiently and more intuitively.
Finally, what’ s on the horizon for 2026? Where are the next frontiers? RG: We’ re also thinking cross-asset. There’ s an opportunity to bring successful FX execution frameworks into other asset classes- rates, commodities, and beyond. That’ s something we expect to speak more publicly about later this year or into next.
BW: I’ d add that a lot of our innovation comes directly from client engagement. Clients come to us with specific workflow needs, and we look at how to incorporate that into our broader offering. The execution landscape keeps evolving, and we’ re committed to staying at the forefront, whether through Adaptive 3.0, internal liquidity enhancements, or the next generation of data and analytics tools.
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