SunGard Pushes into Fixed Income with Valdi Connectivity to EuroTLX

SunGard has extended its Valdi Market Access solution with the addition of a hosted connectivity service to EuroTLX, a Milan based European multilateral trading facility that claims to the first fixed income market in Europe focused on retail investors.

The connectivity service is offered on an application service provider (ASP) basis and is the second addition to the Valdi trading platform – the first was access to South African derivatives – since its introduction in April (see coverage here). The EuroTLX connectivity will be integrated with Valdi’s Liquidity Solutions software that delivers smart order routing, best execution principles and ASP market access services to other fixed income venues including Borsa Italiana’s MOT and Hi-MTF – Italy’s two other venues focused on fixed income that were included in Valdi Market Access when it was introduced with connectivity to about 100 trading venues worldwide.

Angela Fenwick, CEO at EuroTLX, says: “The development of smart order routing solutions in the fixed income arena and their inclusion in the best execution policies of the majority of Italian banks has allowed EuroTLX to become the principal trading venue in Europe for fixed income instruments targeted to non-professional investors. SunGard’s Valdi Market Access will help facilitate greater access to our marketplace and should help us grow our business.”

Philippe Carré, market connectivity managing director for SunGard’s global trading business, explains: “Clients have become more interested in fixed income and it is quite active as it suffered less than equities and derivatives in the financial crisis. We have been developing gateways to fixed income over the past few years and have now developed connectivity to all the fixed income markets in Italy, opening them to international investors.”

Carré claims keen client interest for SunGard’s latest connectivity addition to Valdi Market Access in Italy, where fixed income is thriving and replicates activity in equities in recent years. “Some banks in Italy have developed their own fixed income platforms and we have helped them with connectivity to markets, but others asked for a full-service hosted solution that is delivered as a service. The Valdi Market Access service does this and is unique in offering hosted trading membership and best execution across the Italian fixed income markets,” he says. “There are no other independent providers offering such services in Italy, particularly full-service hosted solutions and support for multi-asset strategies.”

While SunGard describes Valdi Market Access connectivity to EuroTLX as an ASP service, essentially it is part of the company’s software as a service (SaaS) and cloud computing strategy that will be expanded as new services are added to the cloud and delivered using the SaaS model.

Looking forward, Carré notes that the initial release of Valdi Market Access focused on equities and had only a marginal interest in fixed income, but, based in part on SunGard’s experience in Italy, he says: “We see fixed income and corporate bonds as potential growth areas for Valdi Market Access, as well as emerging markets including Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia.”