MarketAxess acquires Pragma to leverage quantitative trading technology
US-listed MarketAxess Holdings, which operates an electronic trading platform for fixed-income securities, has announced its plans to acquire New York-based quantitative trading technology provider Pragma.
MarketAxess acquires Pragma
Specialising in algorithmic and analytical services in equities, FX and fixed-income, Pragma’s trading platform and quantitative execution solutions connect the likes of asset managers, hedge funds, broker-dealers, banks and exchanges with AI-driven, multi-asset and multi-market execution capabilities.
One of the company’s latest developments includes its network-based execution engine. Launched in 2020, the engine controls the routing, sizing, pricing and timing of trade orders, capabilities the company claims has shown “a robust improvement in execution quality”.
For MarketAxess, one of its latest developments includes a multi-protocol automated execution solution called Adaptive Auto-X, which was announced this year. Although still being operated under a pilot, it was revealed in June that the first client algorithmic trade executed across multiple protocols in US credit was completed using the solution.
With its acquisition of Pragma, MarketAxess is to leverage Pragma’s algorithmic platform and technology team to “accelerate development of execution algorithms and data-driven analytics across all fixed-income products”.
Chris Concannon, CEO of MarketAxess, says Pragma’s “years of expertise with FX algos provides a unique opportunity for FX hedging solutions for our emerging market clients”.
David Mechner, Pragma’s founder and CEO, describes Pragma and MarketAxess as sharing “a common mission of using technology and automation to improve trader efficiency”.
The deal has been forecast to close in the fourth quarter of this year, pending customary closing conditions.
