Leaders from Bloomberg, Edgewater, Elysium and AXA reveal thoughts on Workflow Automation

Workflow automation in FX is a complex process with no one-size-fits-all solution, according to a panel of experts.

Speaking at TradeTech FX 2023 in Paris, Tod Van Name, head of foreign exchange electronic trading at Bloomberg said: “When we talk about automation, it’s a process, it’s not a binary thing. One size rarely fits all.”

Van Name also highlighted the need for a seamless aspect to interoperability, while Benjamin Mahe, head of electronic trading and data at AXA Investment Managers claimed automation should enable traders to be more efficient.

Alex Scarsini, president of Edgewater Markets, said giving tier 2 and 3 institutions the same level of access as tier 1 is a gap that needs to be addressed. Meanwhile, Ed Mount, founder and chief executive of Elysium Technology Group, said the key focus was enhancement and increasing the speed at which the market can take advantage.

Panelists at TradeTech FX also addressed the automation of execution, highlighting the relevance of counterparties and the importance of making sure they are appropriate when trading FX derivatives.

Mahe said: “Platforms need to have the same goals as us.

“We’ve seen it as a trend in the foreign exchange market that the largest banks are not the largest providers of liquidity, that just kind of happened [and] it has to do to with technology issues at the largest institutions and the inability to adapt quick enough.”

As the discussion went on, panelists discussed the reasons why no-touch was yet to be implemented as Scarsini revealed it is a lengthy process and said the FX market is a fragmented space.

Scarsini added: “There’s also the reticence from some of the bigger providers over the last few decades to automate the space.

"We’ve seen a lot of brokerage businesses and FX trying to hold onto higher margins and eventually closing shop because the tech does then have an impact and does disrupt the space.

“Today we keep automating and electronifying the space, there’s no going back.”

Scarsini also revealed that the market is witnessing a willingness from participants to move at speed and claimed they are embracing automation within their workflows.

He added: “Our clients want the tech, but they certainly need more education on it.”

This article was originally published by our lead magazine partner, The Trade.