Swanson London-based algo-trading shop XTX Markets has hired Eric Swanson to helm its foray into US equities trading.
The Bats Global Trading veteran joined the firm earlier this month as CEO of XTX Americas, according to Bloomberg reporting.
XTX can “go from having a toehold, to being a more significant player in the U.S,” Zar Amrolia, co-chief executive officer of XTX who formerly ran digital technology at Deutsche Bank AG told Bloomberg’s Annie Massa. “We are just rolling out what we think is a successful quantitative research-driven approach to market making.”
Amrolia’s not fazed by speedier rivals -- he says his goal is to be “smart, not fast,” according to Massa.
"Taking its name from a mathematical expression, XTX uses technology to forecast where prices for securities will be in a matter of minutes or hours," she wrote. "Amrolia contrasts this strategy to some North American firms that rely on the speediest networks for getting information and carrying out trading decisions based on it. Virtu Financial Inc. and Citadel Securities LLC will soon be among XTX’s biggest rivals."
"Eric’s experience will be a tremendous addition to the XTX team in part due to his deep understanding of US equity market structure," added Kevin McPartland, head of market structure research at Greenwich Associates.