NeoNet Links to Eurex
February 11, 2008
Expanding its rapidly growing list of destinations, agency brokerage NeoNet said last week that it is providing direct-market access (DMA) to the Eurex derivatives exchange. Simon Nathanson, CEO and president of Stockholm-based NeoNet, said in a statement that "offering access to one of Europe's largest derivatives exchanges and clearinghouses makes connectivity to NeoNet even more attractive."
Frankfurt-based Eurex, co-owned by Deutsche Borse and SWX Swiss Exchange, gives the broker a "larger footprint outside equities into the derivatives space," said Greg Treacy, SVP and head of North America sales for NeoNet, adding that "global equities will still be our focal point." Treacy pointed to Euronext.liffe as a possible addition in the derivatives market. NeoNet currently offers futures trading through Nordic exchange operator OMX.
"Moving from a pure equities player to a multi-asset-class firm is probably one of the key strategies for a firm like NeoNet," said Sang Lee, managing partner of Boston-based research firm Aite Group. "While there are opportunities in equities markets globally, it still is a very risky proposition to rely on just equities to increase revenue."
NeoNet, which connects to 28 global exchanges, has made enhancements to its platform to prepare for Eurex. "We have done some modifications to our FIX interface to handle Eurex futures and some improvements to handle calendar spreads on Eurex better," Treacy said. "Our NeoNet Trader front end will have full capability to handle DMA into Eurex, along with our clients' ability to access Eurex via NeoNet ... using their existing trading infrastructure."
NeoNet also announced that Maria Akrans, previously head of finance at Ark Travel, has joined as CFO, succeeding Per Lindberg, who held the position since 2000. Lindberg was also president of subsidiary NeoNet Securities; Simonson is taking on that role.
