THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF TRADETECH FX 2026
Oleg Shevelenko
Asset managers need a different set of functionalities. They typically use very well-defined order management systems and need connectivity into us, so the plumbing is different: we have built tools to connect to the client’ s OMS and launch a ticket automatically. The story there is twofold: efficiency and liquidity. Rather than create an option, go to multiple chats for a price, then run a separate process to book and reconcile, it is all bundled together, and once the trade is done, we send automated booking messages into their systems. We have seen about 58 % growth in volume on the options platform as a result, which is staggering and, to a degree, unexpected. Hedge funds are leading the pack with 75 % growth.
As more of the FX options workflow becomes electronic and API-driven, how will the nature of the trading role evolve? We are only at the beginning of the journey in options, and what we have learned from other FX instruments is that data is the key. From a TCA and MIS perspective we have started storing every data point across the option lifecycle- order generation, the RFQ process, the quotes themselves. That allows clients to work out the best set of liquidity providers for a given option structure, which was not possible before; previously it was based on feel. If clients transact with us fully via API, they can store those events on their own side, which lets their newer AI tools work out the best way to execute; which liquidity providers to send a request to, how many of them, how long to wait for quotes. Getting a price from one or two providers used to be a success in itself; the next phase was getting it in reasonable time. Now clients can not only electronify execution and gain on timing but organise the market around themselves and access a bilateral market, where buy-side and sell-side hold the same data sets and use them to execute smarter.
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