The Americas Trading Conference 2025, hosted by FIX Trading Community, returns to @Ease 605 in New York City this fall for a full day of market insight, industry discussion, and networking. Taking place on Thursday, October 30th, the event will bring together leading voices from across the trading ecosystem to address key issues shaping the global markets.
According to Scott Govoni, Regional Director – Americas, FIX Trading Community, the goals of the event are simple but central to FIX’s mission. “There are two reasons we run events,” he explained.
“Whether it’s a full-day conference like the one on October 30th, or our regional meetings, networking events, or even our webinars and workshops, the purpose is always the same: first, to drive awareness and adoption of our standards and practices, and second, to encourage participation in our committees, subcommittees, and working groups, which is where the work actually gets done,” he said.
“As a standards body, it’s critical that we have an engaged community to not only identify but also address the challenges of the electronic trading industry. It’s equally important that we educate our membership on what has been done, what is being worked on, and what’s coming down the pike,” he told Traders Magazine.
This year’s conference will feature a one-stream agenda designed to keep attendees focused on a single conversation. “The one-stream approach keeps everyone together. There’s no having to choose between sessions or missing out. It’s one conversation, one community,” Govoni said, adding that community is at the heart of everything FIX does.
Building on the success of previous years, the 2025 edition aims to expand its reach while maintaining the quality and collaborative spirit FIX events are known for. “Prior to 2020, we had an excellent cadence of regional events in New York, Boston, Chicago, and Toronto,” said Govoni. “From 2022 to 2024, we held events solely in New York City. After holding regional meetings in both Boston and Chicago this year, we’re getting back to the pre-COVID frequency. We’re getting the band back together.”
The conference is expected to draw a diverse mix of attendees. “Our goal is to bring together a healthy mix, ranging from traders and portfolio managers down to FIX support folks, and everything in between,” Govoni said. “Our membership is comprised of buy-side, sell-side, exchanges, and vendors, and as such, we’ll have representatives from all industry participants.” Govoni expects buy-side attendees to make up about 25% of this year’s audience, a significant increase over past years.
The 2025 conference will feature around 30 speakers representing 28 firms, covering a range of timely and technically rich topics. Panels will include “Around-the-Clock Markets: The Road to 24/5 Trading,” which will explore how firms are adapting to support continuous markets and what it will take to build resilient, compliant workflows. Govoni calls this “the most anticipated panel” of the day. “It’ll be moderated by Larry Tabb, and there’s a lot of excitement about the prospect of continuous trading, but also the need for the FIX Trading Community to be involved in its implementation.”
Other sessions include “Digital Assets in Transition: Standards, Regulation, and the Role of FIX,” “The Impact of AI on Buy-Side Trading Efficiency,” “Fifty-Fifty: Navigating the New Balance Between Lit and Dark Markets,” and “Architecting for Volatility: Building Scalable, Resilient Trading Infrastructure.” Panels will also explore updates in U.S. Treasury clearing and the evolving role of FIX in enabling transparency, compliance, and interoperability across asset classes.
One of the day’s highlights will be the fireside chat, “Bridging Policy and Protocol,” featuring Jim Toes, President & CEO of the Security Traders Association (STA), and Jim Kaye, Executive Director of the FIX Trading Community. Govoni said this session represents a significant milestone.
“FIX and STA are two organizations that have been around for a long time, but there hasn’t been much coordination between them,” he explained. “I look at the STA as the policy-making arm of the financial industry, and I view the FIX Trading Community as the implementation arm, so it just makes sense for the two organizations to be in lockstep with each other.”
Networking will also be a key feature of the event, with ample opportunities to connect throughout the day. “We have networking breaks, lunch provided, and a drinks reception that follows,” said Govoni. For first-time attendees, his advice is simple: “take advantage of those moments”.
“This is a community-driven organization,” he said. “We’re all in this together. The more you engage, the more value you’ll get – not just for yourself, but for your firm and for the broader industry. This is where you meet the people who are shaping the standards that underpin global markets,” he stressed.
At its core, the Americas Trading Conference 2025 is about reconnection and progress, Govoni argued. “The FIX Protocol is like the nervous system of the markets. It’s free, open, and essential,” he said.
“It has to be looked after and modernized, and that only happens when people come together to collaborate. This event is about doing exactly that – getting the community back together and moving forward,” he concluded.
