Buy- and Sell-side Institutions Use Progress® Apama® Algorithmic Trading Platform to Perform Complex Cross-Asset Trading Strategies
Bedford, MA, USA, December 6, 2005 – Progress Real Time Division, a leader in real-time products for event stream processing, data management, data access and synchronization, and an operating unit of Progress Software Corporation (Nasdaq: PRGS), today announced the extension of the Progress® Apama® Algorithmic Trading Platform for use within cross-asset trading strategies. The move comes in response to the worldwide explosion of electronic trading and an unprecedented demand from Progress’ buy- and sell-side customer base.
Progress Software recently announced the extension of the Apama technology into the foreign exchange (FX) markets. Now, using the Apama platform – which includes real-time adaptors to a range of market data and order management systems, such as GL Trade, FIX, Reuters, EBS and Hotspot FXi – institutions can deploy algorithmic trading strategies that operate across asset classes, including equities, derivatives, fixed income and FX, and across any exchange and liquidity pool. This capability, which is highly sought-after by leading financial institutions, enables a new class of algorithmic strategies for exceptional Return on Investment and true competitive advantage.
The Progress Apama platform enables the rapid modeling and deployment of trading strategies that have the ability to continuously monitor, analyze, and respond to market events in real-time, for first-mover advantage. Apama technology is already deployed in a number of leading global investment banks, including JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank and ABN Amro. It also extends to the buy-side, enabling corporate, alternative investment and hedge fund clients, including the UK-based Aspect Capital, to continuously enhance and differentiate their services and manage their trading strategies in real-time. While there are a number of ‘black box’ algorithmic trading systems on the market, the Apama technology takes a ‘white box’ approach, allowing trading groups to model their own unique trading strategies. With the cross-asset enhancements, Apama has the flexibility and scalability to cater for the growth in different asset classes, as well as the trend towards cross-asset trading.
Dr John Bates, Vice President of Apama Products, comments: "Buy-side institutions and proprietary trading groups now demand the ability to rapidly develop and customize unique, complex trading strategies rather than using generic ‘off-the-shelf’ algorithms, and sell-side institutions need to cater to these needs."
Bates continues: "The algorithmic trading market is growing beyond equities, to futures, government and corporate bonds and most recently, foreign exchange, creating a demand for instrument-agnostic platforms and algorithms that combine multiple assets into one strategy. For example, a trader might require a strategy that buys an equity, hedges it with a future, and takes out an FX position. To work successfully in this changing market, traders need to customize existing strategies and develop new strategies, on the fly, across multiple asset classes."
Mark Palmer, Vice President of Event Stream Processing, comments: "The Apama technology is founded on the principle that approaches to trading evolve each and every day. Historically, different asset classes have existed in isolation, but their combination has opened up a whole new world of trading opportunities."