In recent years, the FX marketplace has undergone an amazing transformation with public attention focusing on the rate of electronic trading adoption throughout the equities market. The emergence of advanced trading strategies has now begun to capture execution opportunities across the industry.

As the market attracts new business from influential segments such as hedge funds, investment managers and retail investors, more companies are turning to TNS to capitalize on the benefits of connecting to FX venues via a single, highly secure, reliable and cost effective connectivity platform. TNS’ global IP network, the Secure Trading Extranet is optimized to handle mission critical connectivity, providing a low latency solution to accessing multiple sources of FX globally.

So how important is the role of advanced trading strategies in FX trading?

• Electronic trading enables traders to navigate and manage an increasingly complex marketplace.

• Increasingly sophisticated trading platforms and algorithmic trading tools are helping attract new participants.

• The deployment of proximity hosting, or co-location can help achieve ultra low latency FX trading.

• FX Direct Market Access systems provide traders with direct, un-intermediated access to spot FX prices.

• Firms are able to search for hidden FX liquidity through smart order routing systems.

• Leading FX banks are developing complex eCommerce engines enabling prices to be streamed to various ECNs and other execution venues.

• Algorithms are proving to be a valuable tool for equity traders, helping them address many challenges they face in today’s rapidly evolving marketplace.

Alan Schwartz, President of TNS’ Financial Services Division, said: “The FX market is different from other financial markets as there is no centralized FX market centre. FX liquidity was traditionally provided by banks, with traders receiving quotes over the telephone. However, with the evolution of advanced trading capabilities, financial market participants can now electronically source liquidity in multiple venues, further strengthening the FX market global infrastructure.”

TNS’ Secure Trading Extranet connects over 1,800 financial community end-points, representing buy-side and sell-side institutions, market data and software vendors, exchanges and alternative trading venues. It boasts over 125 points of presence and provides services to clients in over 60 countries across America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region, with its reach extending to many more countries.