Rival Systems – CHICAGO – Chicago-based Rival Systems (Rival), a trading software company established last year, today announced an Agricultural Options Trading desk within Budo Group has selected Rival Trader for its electronic market-making and trading activities. Veteran trader Rod Valeroso said the move to adopt the derivatives front-end platform followed an extensive search to find an advanced platform with optimal speed and features, as well as robust analytics and strong support.
Budo Group is a technology forward, multi-strategy trading firm, with a strong focus on options on futures market making. Valeroso said: “Rival’s unique software was made and designed by traders for traders. That makes a huge difference for those of us who spent most of our careers on custom-built, proprietary trading systems. And it’s the reason why at the demo and since deploying it, this system felt much more comfortable, intuitive and user-friendly than the other systems included in the search.”
Rival Trader’s Auto-Quoting and Electronic Eye functionality allows users to make and take option markets based on parameters they set around theoretical values. Valeroso called the Eye and Auto-Quoter settings adaptive and customizable, allowing the group to vary techniques, move quickly and adjust as necessary, and offering the opportunity to be aggressive or selective in their approach.
Valeroso said Rival Trader’s contingent order functionality provides him with a new capability and is especially useful in markets that are not always liquid. Rival also met the need for a strong request-for-quote (RFQ) interface, a key feature for agricultural options, he said.
Rival Systems CEO Robert D’Arco said: “Traders who come from larger firms with proprietary platforms have unique demands and expectations that most off-the-shelf software can’t meet. With the launch of Rival Trader last year, traders migrating off proprietary platforms now have access to a system with the speed, functionality, analytics and expert support necessary to fulfill their needs. We’re excited for the opportunity to work with Rod and the team at Budo in supporting their trading efforts as we continue to develop new features for our user community.”
Rival Trader also has the most robust interface of the third-party systems Valeroso tested. He said: “The others looked like an Excel spreadsheet, rather than providing a full picture of the user’s real-time, dynamic profit-and-loss environment. It’s critical to see risk in real time, and Rival Trader provides a clear picture of my vegas, delta buckets and full risk inventory. The system also gives me the ability to easily manage the volatility curve across products.”
Service was also a key factor in the group’s selection of Rival. Valeroso said: “Support has been great – from sitting down with me on site to make sure I was comfortable using the platform, to picking up the phone immediately and answering questions right away, to quickly resolving any issues I’ve had.”