Agency-focused broker Convergex has hired a new sales professional.
The broker has hired Jon Simblist has joined Convergex’s options team as a managing director and will oversee Convergex’s buyside institutional sales initiatives as well as focus on options trading strategies.
An industry veteran, Simblist most recently worked at Instinet where he was head of electronic derivative sales. In addition, Simblist has a strong background in options trading and technology as well as creating and implementing trading solutions in listed options for hedge funds, asset managers, banks and broker dealers.
The hire comes amid Convergex hitting a new one-day record for options trading. The broker’s options platform executed 1.8 million contracts on October 15. In context, the record amount represents approximately 10% of the total U.S. listed equity options volume traded on that date.
In addition, Convergex recently announced it entered into an agreement with IMC Financial Markets (IMC) to combine forces on an innovative liquidity program focused on the options market. This strategic relationship with IMC will enable both firms to work together with retail brokerages to execute and route options trades, with the goal of potentially improving pricing on customer orders. Each firm believes this relationship has the potential to enhance liquidity in the options market and improve pricing for retail traders.
