Greg Fortuna

The update is set to “allow clients to make more efficient and effective trading decisions using next-gen infrastructure,” said the firm. 

The move also includes a comprehensive rebranding effort, wherein GlobalLink Digital will be replaced by LINK, with State Street launching a ‘modernised’ visual identity. 

Speaking to The TRADE, Greg Fortuna, head of GlobalLINK, explains: “With the latest updates to GlobalLink’s open platform, LINK, we are excited to improve our client’s experience by introducing a refreshed and modern visual identity that brings together trading, analytics, and research solutions into a single, seamless digital environment. 

“This evolution reflects our team’s broader commitment to providing a unified and cutting-edge platform that helps empower our clients to succeed.” 

Key features of LINK include: a complete view of clients’ technology portfolios and workflows in one central system; access to around 700 buy- and sell-side entities through the integration of GlobalLINK’s suite of applications and third-party software; next-gen infrastructure.

“Investors are navigating increasingly complex regulatory and financial environments, making access to efficient and comprehensive trading solutions more essential than ever before,” said Tony Bisegna, global head of State Street Global Markets, in an official announcement. 

“By evolving our brand and launching LINK as our refreshed platform, we’re positioning Global Markets as the breakthrough edge our clients need to succeed.”

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USD cash collateral posted by clearing participants and customers will be managed on a daily basis through the sponsored repo transactions, the structure of which was jointly developed by State Street.

“State Street Trust and Banking Co., Ltd. in Japan will be the trustee of the US dollar collateral deposited by the clearing participants,” State Street said in a statement.

“The US dollar collateral will be invested in our sponsored repo transaction which meets US Treasury repo clearing requirement scheduled to be introduced by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in June 2026.”

JSCC President and chief executive Konuma Yasuyuki added: “An addition of USD cash to eligible collaterals in IRS Clearing Service is a very big milestone for JSCC providing clearing services to clearing participants and their customers active globally. 

“Amid rising calls for CCPs’ safe custody and efficient management of collaterals globally, we are confident that State Street’s USD cash collateral management service will realise great value for our users in Japan and overseas.”

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As part of the integration, OptimX is now a certified sweep partner on Charles River’s investment management system (IMS) meaning Charles River institutional clients can now access OptimX liquidity via their desktops.

The move will allow OptimX to offer greater bilateral liquidity directly to the institutional buy-side directly via their systems, offering an alternative to going out into the lit markets.

Read more – Liquidity, it’s a two-way street

David Barnett, founder and CEO of OptimX Markets, said: “With a common client roster including some of the largest global asset managers, integrating with Charles River is an important step for OptimX in both providing greater productivity and streamlined workflows to the buy-side through our unique and diverse broker liquidity network.” 

Liquidity providers on OptimX will also benefit from greater trading opportunities offered by money managers on Charles River’s network, OptimX confirmed.

“Seamless access to liquidity is top of mind for institutional clients,” said Greg Long, vice president of sell-side relationships at Charles River.

“Our integration with OptimX provides clients with a differentiated source of liquidity across trade size and complexity, improving productivity across their front-office.”

Bilateral liquidity has increasingly found itself as the poster child of industry discussion in recent months as many alternative providers and traditional banks look to access the buy-side directly via order and execution management systems.

OptimX Markets, in which Aquis acquired a minority stake last August, is a liquidity management service provider focused on optimising interactions between institutions and their broker counterparties.

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Technology is transforming the industry including buy- and sell-side relationships. On the buy-side, ongoing market fragmentation in trading is forcing a continuous optimisation of sell-side relationships to reach all relevant liquidity pools available and guarantee best execution for their clients. This development is leading to more electronic interaction between buy-side counterparties, which requires the sell-side toward greater specialisation in order to deliver value. Also, AI will enhance this trend and the changes coming could be quite significant or even paradigm shifting.

How can you maintain relationships in a tech driven world to promote transparency, collaboration and market resilience?

Maintaining personal relationships is essential in a tech driven world both to establish a bond of trust with a client and grow that relationship. Real-time responsiveness, 24 hours a day, is most important. And tech tools enable that. But they also promote transparency which is key to trust building. For example, high quality TCA solutions enable the systematic review of the quality of trade executions, and that promotes a continuous conversation/discussion with sell-side counterparties to optimise execution outcomes.

Ideally, tech-driven solutions should also help to optimise and simplify workflows and create a systematic approach that benefits counterparties and achieves the best possible execution outcome.

What sort of technologies are needed/exist to mutually benefit buy- and sell-side participants?

There are a number of useful tools available today. For example: Block-Crossing Network (BCNs) helps connect different counterparts and achieve the best possible price and at the same time minimise overall market impact; improved FIX versions help to exchange as much useful information as possible between different market participants; TCA solutions help achieve trade transparency, best execution controls, and at same time enable, continuous learning from the data created and improve the trading processes.

Technology enables trust building by promoting instant connectivity and transparency. Today, more data is available for all sides to analyse, discuss and optimise execution outcomes.

How do you pick and choose the right tech for your desk?

Our view is that the best way to pick and choose technology is to build it yourself – it ensures that it is built to your exact specifications, as we have done over the years with our own global OMS Bedrock. With the advent of AI that should be more easily done in the future but most firms don’t have that ability now and need to rely on traditional vendors. Engaging with software providers and keeping abreast of new modalities as well as getting client feedback on best in class trading technology is the way to gain knowledge to consider new trading software.

Does increased technology mean the buy-side relies on the traditional sell-side less?

Already electronic execution and direct market access has reduced the reliance on sales traders to source liquidity. AI will likely cause an increase in the use of sophisticated technology where trader’s jobs are supplemented by machines and trades will simply be monitored by human traders. The reliance of traders as we know is likely to reduce over time as one trader will be able to efficiently handle a large number of transactions.

What is the ideal structure for a trading team in today’s world?

A trading team needs to be cohesive across time zones and work together and not have a siloed approach. This is paramount. The global team increasingly needs to work 24 hours as exchanges are likely to be open for longer hours – there is a possibility for exchanges to open 7 days a week!

Although hours of trading per week will likely increase, as trading tools improve, trading decisions can be made by rules-based programs, leading to reduced number of traders involved. Having said that, human traders will still be needed although their focus will be titled towards monitoring.

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State Street said the first phase of the integration was completed ahead of schedule, after the custodian was awarded with a middle-office mandate at the end of 2023. The second and final phase of the migration is targeted for completion in Q1 2026.

“We are excited to partner with State Street on their Alpha platform,” said, Young Lee, chief operating officer from Harris | Oakmark. “We have been very pleased with the progress made during the first phase of the migration as the platform will allow us to operate in a highly efficient operating environment and continue to provide exceptional services to our clients.”

State Street’s Alpha proposition has gone from strength to strength in recent months. During the firm’s third quarter earnings call, chief executive Ron O’Hanley spoke of the competitive advantage that it gives the firm.

“For years now, we’ve talked about the strategy and why we think it’s important and why we think it gives us a competitive advantage,” he said. “One of the reasons is just that. It’s the opportunity to deepen relationships. And the other reason why it’s so important is the flip side of taking long to install is that the business tends to be quite sticky because it’s much more analogous to enterprise outsourcing.”

“Harris | Oakmark marks another significant milestone for our Alpha business broadly,” says John Plansky, head of State Street Alpha. “Providing middle office services to more than 2,000 of their private wealth and retail SMA accounts allows us to deepen our relationship with Harris | Oakmark and further showcase our data capabilities for wealth managers.”

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Named BestXecutor, the new tool offers FX Connect clients actionable pre-trade analytics to optimise request-for-stream and algo execution, embedded into a client’s FX Connect workflow and integrated with its GlobalLink Digital platform.

According to State Street, BestXecutor is designed to help clients quickly evaluate every deal versus BestX TCA factors.

Other benefits of the tool include streamlined pre-trade decision making, workflow integration, and BestX analytics.

BestX consumes and stores over one billion price updates per day. Clients will be able to benefit from accurate TCA that is underpinned by comprehensive, representative and independent market data sources.

BestXecutor also offers flexible counterparty set-up and versatile application.

“Tap into our BestXecutor tool that works effectively for both Algo and RFQ trading, providing a comprehensive solution for buy-side traders. BestXecutor is designed to reduce your execution costs regardless of whether you trade RFQ/risk transfer or algo,” the firm said.

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We very much work as one team. Traders often need to cover their colleagues’ books, so we also emphasise and nurture trust and confidence in each other. 

As a team, we cultivate and nurture a lively and open environment which encourages everyone to share their views and challenge ideas. Diversity of thoughts goes beyond gender, age and nationality, which are seen across our trading desks. Different perspectives tend to lead to different views and ideas. Together with the different time frames and trading styles our traders have, we can diversify our revenues as opposed to having all the traders agreeing on everything and having the exact same type of risk profile.

Are the skillsets that make for a good trader evolving? 

Yes, as the markets become more automated some programming skills are becoming increasingly important. This may range from improving trading analytics and pricing systems to writing fully automated trading systems.

Having said that, traditional skills are still imperative. For example, traders must be able to form a view and analyse what a market is pricing in, and be able to make rational decisions under pressure and within short timeframes.

In short, the sweet spot is a balanced mix of the old and new skills.

What has  been the main topic of conversation amongst you and your traders over the last six months?

We are constantly assessing what is currently driving markets and what might drive them in the immediate future. The policy stance of the Federal Reserve and how that might change is always upmost in our minds. Then of course the policy decisions of all the other central banks but US policy really is the main driver especially around turning points in the economy like we are currently seeing. 

In currencies, the performance of the carry trade has also been discussed as it’s been a major driver in terms of outperformance and more recently underperformance of high yielding currencies versus the Yen.

Looking at the rest of 2024, what market structure changes are you most conscious of?

I’m most conscious of the fact that at the start of the year the Federal Reserve were expected to cut rates ahead of a potential US slowdown and this was very supportive for risk. For good reasons, these cuts have not materialised in 2024. As we start to see the economy slow thoughts turn to the Fed being behind the curve and having to ease more aggressively.

The change in backdrop is less supportive of risk and is going to increase volatility in rates and FX. This in turn will lead to less liquid markets, which will also create its own challenges.

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Citi named Jamie Miller head of electronic equity sales trading for the EMEA region. Based in London, Miller was appointed to head up the division in EMEA after eight and a half years with the bank, specialising in equity sales trading, according to an update on his social media. Miller originally joined Citi after serving for two internships in the bank’s markets division in 2013 and 2014. He joined as a permanent fixture in 2016 as a graduate analyst in the markets division and later moved into equity sales trading in 2018. He has subsequently continued to rise through the ranks, landing his first vice president role in 2021.

State Street appointed Tomas Truzzi as chief executive of State Street Brazil, replacing Telly Theodoropoulos, who led operations in the country since its foundation in 2019.In the role, Truzzi will be responsible for overseeing all strategic initiatives and operations within the country, with a view to promoting growth within one of Latin America’s key markets. Truzzi joined State Street Brazil as head of FX trading. In his previous role, he oversaw the foreign exchange market making desk and managed Banco Commercial’s local treasury function. Prior to joining State Street, Truzzi worked for Standard Chartered in Brazil as head of trading, responsible for reorganising its local fixed income, foreign exchange, and derivatives businesses. Before that, he served in several roles at Morgan Stanley throughout a 13-year term and managed trading desks in Sao Paulo, New York, and London, with a focus on FX, fixed income, and derivatives. 

NatWest appointed Imogen Bachra to lead its global desk strategy team, taking on the role of head of economics and markets strategy. She is set to provide a data-driven approach, providing views on key macroeconomic and market themes across various regions and asset classes. As part of her new role, Bachra will join the trading and sales management team and report to Simon Manwaring. Bachra joined the bank in 2014 and most recently led the UK rates strategy and non-dollar rates strategy. Prior to NatWest, she held positions at Credit Suisse, HSBC, and Royal Bank of Scotland. 

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In the role, Truzzi will be responsible for overseeing all strategic initiatives and operations within the country, with a view to promoting growth within one of Latin America’s key markets. 

“We are pleased to announce the appointment of Tomas as CEO of State Street Brazil, recognising his dedication and contributions,” said Chris Pizzotti, global head of FX voice trading. “For several years he has been instrumental in our expansion in Brazil and has helped position State Street to be among the top 12 local banks in FX. His extensive industry knowledge and experience has helped drive growth and I am confident that under his leadership, State Street Brazil will continue to deliver for our clients and advance our strategic plans more broadly in Latin America.”  

Truzzi joined State Street Brazil in 2019 as head of FX trading. In his previous role, he oversaw the foreign exchange market making desk and managed Banco Commercial’s local treasury function. 

Prior to joining State Street, Truzzi worked for Standard Chartered in Brazil as head of trading, responsible for reorganising its local fixed income, foreign exchange, and derivatives businesses. Before that, he served in several roles at Morgan Stanley throughout a 13-year term and managed trading desks in Sao Paulo, New York, and London, with a focus on FX, fixed income, and derivatives. 

As CEO, Truzzi will report to both Chris Pizzotti, global head of FX voice trading and to Marcia Rothschild, head of Latin America and the Caribbean. 

“I would like to thank Telly for his outstanding work and for building a strong culture that Tomas will certainly carry forward, and for creating a strong foundation for State Street Brazil to continue to build on in the years to come,” said Rothschild.  

Theodoropoulos is returning to the firm’s headquarters in Boston, for a new role where he will focus on the global integration and expansion of CF Global Trading. 

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She takes up her new role after spending the last three years with State Street in several roles including as country head for Switzerland, working for its depository bank business in Germany, and overseeing the investment services business for the Netherlands, Austria and the Nordics. Prior to joining State Street in 2021, she previously served for more than 17 years at UBS across Zurich, London and Singapore and at Credit Suisse.

Start-up hedge fund Jain Global appointed a former Credit Suisse vice president and electronic sales trader to join its ranks on the trading desk ahead of its launch. Emily Facchina Fluet joined Jain as a trader working in London under head of EMEA trading, Jeremy Wyatt.

Fluet takes up her new role after serving at Credit Suisse for the last five and a half years, originally joining the bank in 2018 as an analyst. She later worked her way through the ranks in various electronic sales trading roles, landing her most recent vice president role covering advanced execution services (AES), algorithmic and direct market access (DMA) trading for the Asia Pacific markets in January last year. Fluet parted ways with Credit Suisse in November last year.

LSEG’s Continental European clearing house LCH SA appointed Marcus Robinson head of CDSClear and head of DigitalAssetClear. The move follows the departure of Frank Soussan, who previously served as global head of CDSClear and head of SA EquityClear and CommodityClear. Robinson – who previously served as head of strategy for LSEG Post Trade – will lead CDSClear as it enters the next phase of its international expansion, namely across the US, building upon the launch of client clearing to US firms in February.

Elsewhere in his tenure at LSEG, Robinson previously served as head of Asia Pacific for LCH. Before that, he was chief operating officer and director of business change at SwapClear. Prior to joining LCH, Robinson held roles within JP Morgan’s investment banking and asset management divisions and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s financial markets division.

Panmure Liberum expanded its US business with three new appointments to coincide with the newly combined business’ growth plans. Ed Husband and Hugo Hewitt joined the firm’s US sales team in New York and London, respectively.

Elsewhere, Arthur Pyott joined the firm’s sales trading desk and will split his time between New York and Florida. All three additions join from the former Numis US business. According to the firm, the hires add scale to Panmure Liberum’s coverage, enhancing its execution capabilities in the mid and large cap space, and allowing for more support of its clients’ growth ambitions.

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