SunGard Rolls Out Valdi, Combining Assent, GL For Global Trading

SunGard is rolling out Valdi, a multi-asset trading suite combining OMS, smart order routing and liquidity services delivered as a hosted solution. Valdi draws upon existing SunGard offerings augmented with new functionality, promoted as a new single brand - a continuing sign of how the software giant is combining point solutions (many of them the result of acquisitions) into enterprise offerings to meet the more sophisticated needs of global customers.

Valdi provides support for equities, futures, fixed income and options traders, with current connectivity to 110 global markets via SunGard's global network, largely the creation of SunGard's 2008 acquisition of GL Trade. It also integrates functionality previously offered as Assent Liquidity Services, BondOne and MicroHedge.

By delivering Valdi as a hosted service - or ASP-based as SunGard characterises it - SunGard aims to reduce customers' upfront and operational costs, and time-to-market. And by offering what it terms a "transaction-based pricing model," trading firms are rewarded with rebates the more they use the system, with the potential to cover the subscription fee entirely.

Says Raj Mahajan, president of SunGard’s trading business, “Our strategy is to help broker-dealers generate new revenue and intelligently and cost-effectively navigate the global trading environment. Valdi bolsters that strategy by providing integrated OMS and execution technologies, along with real-time, multi-asset trading activity, exposure and risk information. By focusing on ASP-based delivery models and hosted services, Valdi also helps address our customers’ need for faster deployment with no ongoing maintenance, so that they can focus on revenue-generation and core competencies.”

SunGard is initially rolling out the Valdi OMS in the Americas and Valdi hosted smart order routing and liquidity functionality in Europe.

The Valdi OMS provides order, execution and risk management for equities and options trading, with functionality for liquidity services, listed options trading and risk management from Assent and MicroHedge, now branded as Valdi Liquidity Solutions and Valdi Options Solutions, respectively. The Valdi OMS incorporates components from the Brass and GL order management systems, though SunGard will continue to offer customers support for the Brass OMS.

The new OMS is designed to streamline work flow, with one-click access to sales and execution functions and market data, with auto-order routing, indications and advertised trades. SunGard says Valdi will help firms grow revenue from existing accounts and allow them to move quickly into new markets and regions.

Valdi's Liquidity Solutions incorporates Valdi Algorithms, Valdi ATS, Valdi Correspondent Clearing, Valdi Dark Pool Aggregator, Valdi Smart Order Routing and Valdi Sponsored Access.

In Europe, Valdi will offer market-neutral DMA, smart order routing and algorithmic trading services, expanding on the low-latency access access offered by GL-Stream.

Trading via Valdi is achieved via a graphical user interface, an application programming interface (AP) or via the FIX protocol.

As a part of the Valdi branding, BondOne is re-branded as SunGard Valdi Fixed Income Solutions, incorporating Valdi Fixed Income Trading, Valdi Fixed Income OMS, Valdi Fixed Income Distribution and Valdi Fixed Income Connectivity.

Meanwhile, the core MicroHedge product is now called SunGard Risk Analytics, and other Valdi Options Solutions products will be dubbed Valdi Enterprise Risk Manager, Valdi Auto-Quote and SunGard's Valdi Portfolio Risk

SunGard is positioning Valdi as complementary to FrontArena, which is for trading firms requiring a dedicated execution and and settlement system.

Valdi represents a continuing move by SunGard to integrate business functionality and technology it has amassed through many acquisitions, providing more comprehensive software suites that are being demanded by global players in the financial markets.

No doubt, the company will also leverage its newly created Global Services division, numbering some 4,500 people, to help with integration of Valdi into customer environments and migration of existing customer systems to Valdi.