December 2, 2013

Sun's Equities Tech Helps Options

By

Mary Schroeder

High-speed trading shop Sun Trading plans to make a splash in the options world by leveraging the trading infrastructure it uses for equities.

Chicago-based Sun Holdings, the parent of Sun Trading, bought New York options market makers Toro Trading in August to get a toehold in options. Both Sun and Toro are proprietary trading firms using computerized trading strategies. Sun's strategy is focused on arbitrage, while Toro is focused on researching trading strategies and then executing them, according to Sun Trading chief financial officer Chris Malo. Both firms are also registered market makers on various exchanges.

As a result of the acquisition, Toro will be able to take advantage of Sun's high-speed trading platform, which includes co-location facilities. Previously, Toro could only access those venues through another broker. But by using Sun's platform, Toro can access those markets directly, Malo told Traders Magazine.

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