Exegy Supports BMLL’s Recent Addition Of Historical US OPRA Options Data

Press Release
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Exegy Supports BMLL’s Recent Addition Of Historical US OPRA Options Data
  • BMLL historical options data to complement Exegy’s real-time OPRA data
  • Collaboration cements existing partnership and paves road for continuing integration, providing excellent data and services for global market participants

London, New York, 27 March 2025: BMLL Technologies (BMLL), the leading, independent provider of harmonised, Level 3, 2 and 1 historical data and analytics to the world’s financial markets, and Exegy, the only firm delivering comprehensive, front-office solutions for market data and trading across the latency spectrum, today announced that it has expanded its partnership for historical OPRA options data.

In a move designed to enhance OPRA options trading, Exegy and BMLL Technologies have deepened their partnership, delivering a unified data stream that seamlessly bridges real-time and historical market data. This collaboration is the logical next step in Exegy’s existing partnership with BMLL, which started in Q3 2023 after the release of its latest ticker plant platform. 

The initial partnership with BMLL provided a competitive advantage to quantitative traders by enabling them to take granular, historical data from a best-of-breed provider to fine-tune algos and use the data in Exegy’s back-testing and simulation solutions to accelerate alpha discovery and deploy strategies with improved speed and accuracy.

BMLL has recently added US Equity Options data to its historical offering, utilizing Exegy’s Axiom as its trusted, real-time data source for one of the industry’s largest and most complex datasets. Processing OPRA data presents significant data engineering hurdles, requiring substantial resources and delaying time-to-market for critical trading strategies. This partnership directly addresses these challenges.

Further, BMLL’s new OPRA options data offering leverages Exegy’s conflation algorithm to enable clients of both firms to consume consistent, high quality, conflated real-time and historical data.  The matching conflation algorithms dramatically reduce the engineering steps required for users to go to production by providing data alignment between both services. 

Exegy and BMLL plan to continue expanding their mutual support in 2025 by integrating the BMLL Data Feed into the Exegy XCAPI API.  Mutual clients will be able to seamlessly transition between historical data research to real-time production systems without complex data mapping and translation processes, notably improving the speed, scale and accuracy of their work.

Paul Humphrey, CEO of BMLL, said: “In November 2024 we announced the availability of six years of historical, nanosecond unconflated OPRA options data in a cloud-based environment via BMLL Data Lab and BMLL Data Feed through Amazon’s AWS S3. In addition, BMLL can also conflate OPRA data at speeds required by our customers and partners, mapping our data to the format of Exegy’s real-time data. This means that if clients are backtesting historical data and find alpha, they can quickly and efficiently replicate that format in the real-time world.

We are very excited to join forces and match Exegy’s real-time expertise with BMLL’s historical capabilities. Jointly we are offering a unique transformational product to market participants, helping them understand liquidity dynamics and make better-informed trading decisions at speed and scale.”

David Taylor, Chief Executive Officer, Exegy: “We are excited to strengthen our partnership with BMLL Technologies, enhancing the value we bring to our clients. BMLL’s use of our trusted real-time OPRA data in its historical dataset underscores the quality and reliability of our solutions. We look forward to continuing our collaboration, empowering clients with robust tools for comprehensive research, backtesting, and more informed trading strategies.”

OPRA aggregates and disseminates pricing information for listed Options contracts in the U.S., including quotes, last sale prices, and volume data. OPRA participants include BOX, Cboe BZX Options, Cboe C2 Options, Cboe EDGX Options, Cboe Options Exchange, Miami International Securities Exchange, MIAX Emerald, MIAX PEARL, Nasdaq BX, Nasdaq GEMX, Nasdaq ISE, Nasdaq MRX, Nasdaq PHLX, The Nasdaq Stock Market, NYSE American and NYSE Arca.

ENDS

About BMLL

BMLL Technologies is the leading, independent provider of harmonised, Level 3, 2 and 1 historical data and analytics to the world’s most sophisticated capital market participants, covering global equities, ETFs and futures and US equity options.

BMLL offers banks, brokers, asset managers, hedge funds, global exchange groups, academic institutions and regulators immediate and flexible access to the most granular Level 3, 2 and 1 T+1 order book data and advanced pre and post-trade analytics. BMLL gives users the ability to understand market behaviour, accelerate research, optimise trading strategies and generate alpha more predictably.

Founded in 2014 in the machine learning laboratories of the University of Cambridge, the platform enables researchers and quants across global financial services firms to apply complex statistical techniques to BMLL’s unique big-data sets with applications such as market impact, pre and post trade analytics, order book simulation and compliance. Users no longer need to buy, curate and harmonise data. With BMLL, they gain cost-effective, instant access to a cloud-native Data Science environment via a single web portal, with a long history of the most granular, full order book data across global equities, futures and ETFs for back-testing and simulation, delivered directly into their workflows.

BMLL secured $21 million strategic investment in October 2024, led by Optiver, with participation from CTC Venture Capital and existing investors. This follows BMLL’s $26 million Series B investment from Nasdaq Ventures, FactSet, IQ Capital’s Growth Fund and Snowflake Ventures in 2022/2023. Prior to that, BMLL raised $36m through Series A and seed funding rounds.

For more information please explore our website and follow us on X (Twitter) and LinkedIn.

About Exegy
Exegy is a global leader in low-latency market data, trading, and execution technology, delivering innovative solutions that power the world’s capital markets. Backed by Marlin Equity Partners, Exegy provides comprehensive, end-to-end systems for the entire market ecosystem—including buy-side and sell-side firms, exchanges, and ISVs.

Exegy’s high-performance solutions are designed for scalability, resilience, and efficiency, leveraging fully managed, purpose-built appliances, FPGA technology, and advanced enterprise software. With flexible deployment options and a client-centric approach, Exegy’s commitment to solving real-world challenges drives continuous innovation. Its global team delivers expert solutions across the latency spectrum, empowering clients to optimize performance, reduce complexity, and stay ahead in fast-moving markets.

For more information, visit us at www.exegy.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

Market Uncertainty? Four Benefits of Indexes as a Tool for Investors

Index Industry Association
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Market Uncertainty? Four Benefits of Indexes as a Tool for Investors

By Kirsten Wegner, CEO, Index Industry Association

As investors navigate a bumpy sea of uncertainty – amid geopolitical tensions, shifting tariffs, market dips of 10 percent since market highs, and speculation on 40% recession risk –  it is more vital than ever that investors have confidence that the markets are functioning as intended, and the tools for informed decision-making.  A key tool for investors in navigating uncertainty are investment vehicles tied to indexes, which offer a unit of measurement and precision, in a transparent fashion from a neutral third party, in assessing real time market conditions to make more informed investment decisions.   

Just as one would want a compass or sonar to navigate rough seas, so do investment vehicles tied to indexes help investors navigate markets, whether they are going up, down or sideways. Four key takeaways of how indexes help investors benchmark markets in times of turbulence:  

Source of Transparency. In times of market volatility, transparency is essential. Investors must be able to track and understand the underlying forces driving market movements. Indexes offer transparency by providing a clear, accessible way of observing market trends. They represent the collective performance of a basket of securities, offering a snapshot of a sector, region, or the broader economy. For example, when investors look at a fund tied to the market index of the 500 largest publicly traded companies in the United States, they are getting transparency, with accurate price and market data. By giving a transparent look at a basket of stocks rather than any one individual company, indexes provide a pulse check on the health of a given market segment. Transparency, particularly during uncertain periods, provides a lens into market movements for investors as tools to make informed decisions.

Dependable, Independent Measurement, Regardless of Market Direction. During periods of geopolitical or economic turbulence, the need for unbiased, dependable metrics is heightened. Indexes provide exactly that: independent benchmarks that are free from the influence of any investor with a unique view on market dynamics. These indexes are constructed by neutral third-party organizations, the index providers, based on a predefined set of rules and criteria.This objectivity is critical for investors looking for reliable information on market performance, free from external biases or influence. Whether the market is in an uptrend or downtrend, indexes provide a standard, consistent measure of market movements. Investors can rely on these metrics even when external factors such as political decisions or trade wars inject uncertainty into the market.

Offering Choices for Investors. In times of uncertainty, investors often seek diversification as a strategy to mitigate risk. Index-based investment solutions enable investors to more easily diversify their portfolios. Instead of picking individual stocks, which can be subject to wide swings in price due to factors like earnings reports or management changes, indexed products reflect a basket of stocks or other assets that are likely to weather volatility better over time.Indexes themselves come in many varieties. Whether an investor is focused on U.S. equities, international markets, emerging markets, or even specific sectors like defense, technology or energy, indexes offer choices to investors. This allows for targeted exposure to the broader market or specific industries that may perform better under certain economic conditions.   In addition, investors can also achieve diversity through access to index-based investment vehicles in a growing number of asset classes, including equities, fixed income, commodities, real estate, futures and options.

Promoting a Long-Term Investment View. Amidst market turbulence, it’s easy to become reactive, selling off assets in the face of uncertainty or holding on too tightly to short-term gains. However, indexes help investors keep a long-term investing mindset, focusing on the broader economic fundamentals rather than the day-to-day fluctuations that are inevitable in the markets.

No matter how the markets move, investors benefit from reliable tools—like investment vehicles tied to indexes —to navigate an uncertain future. Ensuring investors have a long-term mindset requires more than just access; it demands education on how indexes enhance transparency and provide accurate market measurements. When investors have confidence in the measurements of these fundamentals, they gain the assurance to stay the course, trusting that the markets function as intended—even amid geopolitical turbulence and economic volatility.        

Index Options Hit Their Stride

Lynn Strongin Dodds
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Index Options Hit Their Stride

Lynn Strongin Dodds talks to Charlie Ryder, Manager, Regulatory Affairs at the World Federation of Exchanges about the drivers behind the popularity of index options. 

It is easy to see why index options have captured the imagination of both retail and institutional  investors over the past three years. Shifting macro conditions and rising geopolitical tensions have forced market participants to change gears and look at strategies that help navigate uncertain and tumultuous conditions. 

The momentum is reflected in the latest figures from the Options Clearing Corp. It shows that index linked options in the US alone – the largest market – jumped by 4.1% to $86.2m in February from $82.6m last February. The fastest growing category was equity options where $645m contracts changed hands, an almost 25% hike from $521m during the same time period. Separate research from Nasdaq reveals that retail investors are helping drive the trend.

They spurred a hefty 62% growth in average daily volume from 2022 to 2023, and 38% rise from 2023 to 2024 year to date in August 2024. The figures for their institutional peers were a 57% and 41% increase, respectively.

To gain a further insight into these instruments, we interviewed Charlie Ryder, Manager, Regulatory Affairs at the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) about the drivers and outlook.

Q: As a starting point can you please describe how these indices linked options work?

A: These are financial derivatives that give the holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell the value of an underlying index, such as the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, EURO STOXX 50, Nikkei 225, or ASX 200, at a predetermined price (the strike price) before or on a specific date (the expiration date).  Unlike options on individual stocks, which may involve physical delivery of the underlying asset, index options are generally cash-settled – making them useful for investors who do not want to deal with the complexities of physical asset transfer. They can be either European-style, exercisable only at expiration, or American-style, exercisable at any point before expiration. There is a broad array of products available, catering to different investor needs. For example, a 1:1 ratio option, which is based on the entire index, or mini and nano options, which are 1/10th or 1/100th the size of a standard contract, and more accessible due to their affordability.

Q: Why have index options become so popular?

A:  Their popularity cannot be attributed to just one thing, it is likely a multitude of factors driving this trend Barriers to entry have certainly lowered, but one of the big themes, which is not discussed as much, is how the broader market has changed. There was a lot of focus on idiosyncratic risk in individual stocks following the pandemic, before an inflection point in 2022 which led to a greater focus on inflation, job data, and interest rates. Index options were an affordable and flexible way to gain exposure to broad market movements, as well as the volatility in the market.

Q: You mentioned there is a wide array of products, but I noticed that zero days to expiration (0DTE) options are really gaining traction. Why is that?

A: 0DTE options enable investors to take positions on whether a particular  index will rise or fall by the end of the day. Following the addition of daily expires for the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 0DTE options contracts in 2022, Cboe have now introduced daily expiries for Russell 2000 index options and exchange traded funds (ETFs), while Germany’s Eurex exchange offers 0DTE daily options on the EURO STOXX 50 and DAX index. Their main benefits are a much more targeted and precise exposure to an index, as well as a quick and efficient response to sudden market movements due to specific events. 

Q: Why do you think retail participation has grown?

A: Several factors have removed frictional costs and increased accessibility for end users, such as new technology, contract size flexibility, reduced bid-ask spreads, and quicker onboarding. But there are differences across jurisdictions and demographics. For example, in developed markets, one cannot assume that significant option volume comes from retail participants, or younger demographics. The likes of liquidity providers and bank flow desks use index options to manage risk in ways that are not mutually exclusive, and products such as defined-outcome ETFs with embedded optionality have grown in popularity with older investor segments who want exposure to indexes with the ability to tailor their exposure over a certain time-frame.

In some emerging markets, you may see a younger, more tech savvy generation develop interest in products with smaller contract sizes. This often coincides with a rise in discount brokers, and the entrance of high frequency traders. This was the case in India, where weekly contracts boomed in popularity during the pandemic, The regulator – the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) – has since clamped down on these markets. Last year, the regulator proposed raising the minimum trading amount by over three times, reducing the number of contracts expiring each week and hiking trading margins.

This year, Sebi proposed that only indices with at least 14 stocks should be eligible for options and that no single stock should dominate the benchmark. This means that the top three stocks together cannot have more than 45% weight, and no single stock can have more than 20%.

The regulator is seeking to protect lesser experienced market participants, as it considers institutional and more sophisticated retail investors as those with access to more advanced risk management tools, and therefore potentially more appropriate users for these products. However, this may not always be the case in all jurisdictions. As trusted and neutral infrastructure, our members continue to work on a multitude of initiatives to build education and resiliency in their markets.

Q: What are the challenges overall with using index options?

A: Brokers need to match investors to products that are suitable for them. Investors need to have the requisite knowledge and understanding of the exposures they are taking. For developing markets, every-day challenges also include lengthy approval processes for new products, as well as facilitating access to markets (which likely require investors to move funds onshore and convert into local currency).

Q: What is your outlook? Will the momentum continue?

A: Given the multitude of factors at play,  there is less reliance on one particular trend to continue the momentum of and demand for index options. These products enable a wide variety of investors to capitalise on different types of market movements  with targeted exposures, and there may be space for further innovation with optionality built into other products as we have seen with ETFs. Many investors want greater flexibility and more  risk management tools, not less. 

Related Reading:

Promoting Open and Competitive Derivatives Markets in Times of Political Change – Derivsource

BlackRock Debuts Public-Private Model Portfolios

Press Release
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BlackRock Debuts Public-Private Model Portfolios
  • Simplified Access Made Possible by GeoWealth and iCapital’s Technology
  • Models provide customizable access to private markets alongside public markets in a single account

BlackRock has gone live with a first-of-its-kind customizable public-private model portfolio within a Unified Managed Account (UMA). The models are powered by GeoWealth’s UMA technology and supported by iCapital’s underlying technology capabilities.

The launch marks the first time a customizable model portfolio that includes access to both private and public market assets is available through a UMA, featuring streamlined administration and custodial integration.

Advisors are increasingly turning to models-based solutions to meet demands for more tailored products and access to diversified exposures. This collaboration is designed to simplify and enhance advisors’ ability to allocate across public and private markets.

“This launch represents a significant step forward, helping advisors allocate across both public and private markets all in one unified, professionally managed portfolio,” said Jaime Magyera, Co-Head of BlackRock’s U.S. Wealth Advisory Business. “BlackRock’s mission is to make investing easier and help more people access the full power of capital markets. Through our partnership with GeoWealth and iCapital, we are doing just that, helping advisors deliver differentiated service and outcomes for their clients across their whole portfolio.”

BlackRock is a leading provider of models, with approximately $300 billion in assets in such models, globally. As more RIAs adopt model portfolios into their practices, managed models present a significant growth opportunity, driven by the customization, efficiency and scalability of these solutions. BlackRock expects managed model portfolios to roughly double in assets over the next four years, growing from $5 trillion today into a $10 trillion business. BlackRock’s custom models business is its fastest growing models segment, accounting for $50 billion in new assets over the past 5 years.

“We are proud to support the launch of the first customizable public-private model portfolio within a Unified Managed Account (UMA). This innovative solution enables advisors to easily incorporate alternative investments into their investment strategies for their clients in a simplified way, within a single account,” said Lawrence Calcano, Chairman and CEO of iCapital. “We believe models will be an important way for advisors to allocate to private markets, and iCapital’s underlying technology allows our clients to customize what they want to buy or deliver into the market.”

Tech enhancements to better enable portfolio management and data analytics are also driving the growing adoption of model portfolios among RIAs. This growing theme underscores the broader benefits of the collaboration with iCapital, a global fintech platform helping drive the world’s alternative investment marketplace, and GeoWealth, a proprietary technology and turnkey asset management platform (TAMP) serving RIAs.

“Advisors and asset managers have long understood the role of private markets investments, the challenge has been the inability to systematically integrate and implement at scale in a wealth management practice,” said Colin Falls, CEO of GeoWealth. “GeoWealth’s UMA technology and workflow solutions, in partnership with BlackRock and iCapital, creates an entirely new paradigm for advisors considering a public-private portfolio.”

These models will provide advisors with intuitive workflows, efficient reporting tools, and comprehensive investment management capabilities throughout the investment’s lifecycle. iCapital’s Multi-Investment Workflow Tool streamlines the entire alternative assets investing experience.

BlackRock sees significant growth opportunity in the U.S. wealth market and is actively positioning the firm to become an integral, whole portfolio partner to advisors in an increasingly complex environment. Overall, BlackRock’s U.S. Wealth Advisory business is a key growth-driver for the firm, generating a quarter of BlackRock’s revenues in 2024.

BlackRock, GeoWealth and iCapital are separate and non-affiliated companies. GeoWealth provides rebalancing capabilities for portfolios containing private market vehicles. iCapital offers streamlined subscription document processing to invest in the private market vehicles. BlackRock is a strategic investor in GeoWealth and iCapital.

Source: BlackRock

“More Record Years Ahead” for ETF Assets

Shanny Basar
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“More Record Years Ahead” for ETF Assets

There are more record years ahead for assets invested in exchange-traded funds according to the Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH) Global ETF Investor Survey, as the financial services group said it remains confident of its prediction that ETF assets will reach $30 trillion by 2033.

Assets invested in ETFs rose 27.7% last year to $14.7 trillion due to strong market performance and significant cash flows according to the report. BBH surveyed 325 ETF investors in US, Europe and Greater China and 63% had ETFs as their top targets for fresh capital, followed by stocks and bonds at 51%, and mutual funds at 49%

“Our survey findings point to more record years ahead,” said BBH.

In its 2023 survey, BBH predicted that ETF assets would reach $30 trillion by 2033. Following record inflows and excellent market performance last year, BBH said it is “convinced” that it will reach this target.

Detlef Glow, LSEG Lipper

Detlef Glow, head of EMEA research at data provider LSEG Lipper, said in a blog: “If the European ETF industry is able to maintain net inflows at the same level for January and February for the rest of the year, it would hit an all-time high for annual inflows on a totally different level than before.”

Glow said in a report that February 2025 was another month with strong inflows of €33.8bn for European ETFs, much higher than the rolling 12-month average of €23.5bn), which may indicate that the region’s ETF industry is set to continue to grow above average over this year.

European fund manager Amundi highlighted in a report that ETF investors withdrew €400m from US strategies in February this year and allocated almost €10bn to European equity UCITS ETFs in a reversal of recent trends. During 2024, US equities had accounted for more than half of the total net new assets in ETFs.

Source: Amundi

“European equities accounted for almost one-third of overall ETF inflows in February 2025,” added Amundi. “Total ETF inflows in February 2025 were more than double those of the same month in 2024.”

The BBH survey said nearly all, 95%, of investors intend to increase their ETF allocations over the next 12 months, up from 82% in last year’s survey, due to the emergence of more active strategies in the ETF wrapper, as well as derivative-based, alternative  and crypto ETFs. The most common reasons for buying ETFs was portfolio outperformance through tactical, niche, or narrow sectors of the market, and benefitting from long-term portfolio growth through efficient, lower-cost core exposures.

“Our survey indicates a thirst for new categories that will fuel future growth,” added BBH. “An ETF market established on the foundation of passive investment is seeing a marked shift in allocations towards specialized investment strategies and managers.”

Active ETFs

For the second consecutive year the survey found that defined outcome, or buffered ETFs, were top of investors’ target lists, as BBH said the strategy appeals to allocators who may be more focused on limited downside protection than growth potential.

 Source: BBH

Andrea Murray, vice president, ETF services, investor services at BBH, said in the report: “A lot of investors believe that US equity markets are overvalued and are looking to manage risk accordingly through buffered ETFs.”

Last year actively managed ETFs had net inflows of $374bn which increased assets to a record $1.17 trillion, according to the survey, but still only represent 8% of the assets of the total global ETF market. BBH found that nearly all, 97%, of investors plan to increase their exposures to active ETFs over the next 12 months, up from 78% last year.

“This could serve as a sign that investors are preparing to nimbly reposition themselves in volatile markets, using actively managed ETFs to seek relative outperformance,” added BBH.

State Street ETF Servicing team has also predicted in its 2025 Outlook Report that active ETFs in the US will collect over 30% of all inflows in the US and eclipse total assets under management of $1 trillion by the end of the first quarter of this year.

Private markets

One quarter, 26%, of investors in the BBH survey expect alternative assets to continue as an area of interest in 2025.

 Jeff Dorigan, BBH

Jeff Dorigan, managing director, alternative fund servicing at BBH, said in the report that ETFs are a new way to democratize access to private market investments without investors locking up their capital or being restricted by the high levels of minimum investment.

“At the same time, we are working with clients through other considerations, including potential liquidity mismatches and valuation practices – particularly during periods of market turbulence and uncertainty,” said Dorigan.

For example, State Street Global Advisors and Apollo Global Management have launched a private equity ETF in February the year but the US Securities and Exchange Commission has raised concerns about how the fund will maintain liquidity and value the private debt holdings.

The State Street report said the private credit ETF got the industry talking and the interesting part of the filing (and other subsequent filings) was the portion of the fund set aside for actual investment in private credit.

“There is work to be done both operationally and from a regulatory perspective, including liquidity rules, valuation policies for a daily net asset value (NAV) fund holding a position that does not typically price daily, transparency expectations and market making impacts,” added State Street. “This is one we are keeping a keen eye on throughout 2025.”

Crypto ETFs

Nearly three quarters, 71%, of allocators expect to increase their investments in cryptocurrency-focused ETFs over the next 12 months, according to the BBH survey, mostly being driven by performance. Many investors also want a more efficient exposure to crypto funds without setting up a digital wallet and without storing assets at crypto exchanges.

“Although there have been some well-publicized cryptocurrency ETF launches over the last 12 months, there are not that many products available on the market,” said BBH. “This could be an opportunity for issuers to capitalize on.”

 Source: BBH

State Street highlighted that in 2024, digital asset ETFs had $64bn of inflows, excluding Grayscale’s converted assets, and ended the year with US$118bn in assets. In contrast, US actively managed ETFs took 11 years to eclipse $100bn.

“2025 will bring spot multi-coin ETFs expanding beyond bitcoin and ethereum,” added State Street. “We also see in-kind trading of these products on the horizon allowing even more efficiency.”

Atkins’ SEC Chair Confirmation Hearing Scheduled for March 27: Equities Outlook

BLOX Markets
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Atkins’ SEC Chair Confirmation Hearing Scheduled for March 27: Equities Outlook

By Khody Azmoon, CEO and Co-founder, BLOX Markets

Paul Atkins, nominated by President Donald Trump for U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair, is expected to have his confirmation hearing on March 27 by the U.S. Senate Banking Committee and the hearing will be streamed live. Atkins, who served as a Republican SEC commissioner from 2002 to 2008, is considered well qualified and recognized for his cautious stance on regulatory expansion. If confirmed without delays, he could take office by April or May.

“Paul is a proven leader for common sense regulations,” Trump said in his Truth Social post. “He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of Investors, & that provide capital to make our Economy the best in the World. He also recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before.”

Here are some questions that may be on the minds of market participants, with my thoughts.

Any concerns about the hearing scheduling?

Not necessarily. The U.S. financial markets are among the most robust and well-regulated in the world, if not the very best. Therefore, it is crucial that any incoming SEC chair undergoes a thorough vetting process. In the case of Atkins, the delay appears to stem from an extended review of his financial disclosures—arguably a positive sign of due diligence.

Moreover, it has been less than four months since his nomination in early December. For context, former SEC Chair Jay Clayton was nominated on January 4, 2025, and sworn in on May 4, following a similar timeline.

Nevertheless, the SEC remains operational under the leadership of Acting Chair Mark Uyeda, Commissioner Hester Pierce, and Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw. In Atkins’ absence, they have effectively upheld and advanced the SEC’s mission during this transitional period.

What will be his priorities as SEC Chair?

Atkins is expected to build upon the initiatives currently being pursued under Acting SEC Chair Mark Uyeda, who will then resume his role as SEC Commissioner. His policy agenda will likely focus on simplifying the process for domestic companies to go public, aiming to ease regulatory barriers that could discourage initial public offerings. Additionally, he is anticipated to support a more restrained approach to SEC enforcement, potentially marking a departure from the agency’s recent assertive regulatory posture. Furthermore, Atkins is likely to champion regulatory policies that create a more accommodating environment for the growth and integration of cryptocurrency and other digital assets, reflecting a broader effort to modernize market oversight while maintaining investor protections.

What is his stance on Reg NMS?

Atkins has previously expressed skepticism toward Reg NMS Rule 611, indicating that he is generally not a supporter of that rule. According to several equity market structure experts within the securities industry, he may propose an OPR 2% de minimis like rule, which could remove quote protection for US equities exchanges holding less than two percent market share. This change could lower costs for broker-dealers and improve the overall U.S. equities market structure.

What about US equities market data?

Given Atkins’ past prepared remarks below for the SEC Investor Advisory Committee panel in June 2021, it sounds like he is not a big proponent of the current regulatory and pricing system for market data, arguing that it leads to higher costs, market distortions, and reduced competition in financial markets.

“Last, the SEC is now the gatekeeper for approving data fees, which are lightning rods for increased costs to market participants and significant litigation. The monopolistic market data regime that the SEC has allowed to develop, including through the NMS regime, is yet another driver towards market distortions, increasing costs, and the resultant concentration of market participation. For best execution and to meet customer demand, a broker-dealer must pay prices that are not set by market forces.”

Overall, his position seems to advocate for a more market-driven approach to data pricing and distribution, rather than the current regulatory model. So it would be interesting to see how the remainder of the Market Data Infrastructure Rules (“MDI Rules”) potentially evolves under his term.

What about the upcoming tick size and access fee rule?

To recap, the SEC passed the second of its four equity market structure proposals back in September of 2025, focusing on Tick Sizes, Access Fees, and Transparency of Better-Priced Orders. Originally introduced as part of a broader package in December 2022, these amendments, like the Disclosure of Order Execution Information passed in March 2024, were among the least contentious proposals. Notably, both proposals received unanimous 5-0 SEC Commission approval, signaling strong bipartisan support and enhancing the likelihood of successful implementation.

While there is a joint legal challenge by CBOE and NASDAQ, several equity market structure experts in the securities industry estimate those two exchange houses will likely lose the legal challenge and Atkins will likely continue to move forward with Tick Sizes, Access Fees, and Transparency of Better-Priced Orders rule amendments given that it improves market data access, enhances execution quality for the underlying retail investor, and more importantly, it received unanimous 5-0 SEC commission approval!

Footnotes:

Tick Sizes, Access Fees, and Transparency of Better Priced Orders SEC Factsheet: https://www.sec.gov/files/34-96494-fact-sheet.pdf

IEX Appoints Steven Bonanno as Chief Information Officer

Press Release
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IEX Appoints Steven Bonanno as Chief Information Officer

Scaling for the Future: IEX Appoints Steven Bonanno as Chief Information Officer

NEW YORK – March 25, 2025 – IEX Group, Inc. (IEX) today announced the appointment of Steven Bonanno as Chief Information Officer (CIO) to support ongoing company growth and innovation in exchange technology. As a member of the leadership team, he will drive the implementation of the firm’s technology strategy, focused on the resilience and scalability of IEX’s platforms as the company expands into new markets.

Bonanno’s extensive background in multi-asset class exchange technology aligns with IEX’s commitment to operational excellence and delivering innovative solutions for competitive markets.

“Technology has always been at the heart of IEX, and as we scale and expand into options, Steve’s expertise in building resilient, high-performance trading systems will be key,” said Rob Park, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of IEX.

A trading technology veteran, Bonanno joins IEX following his time as CEO of BXS (Best Execution Solutions), where he guided the firm’s strategic direction and daily operations. Before that, he served as CIO at DASH, was Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Direct Edge and held senior positions at Bloomberg, Nasdaq, BRUT ECN, and Instinet.

“As we grow our existing equities business and anticipate expanding into options, building upon our strong technology foundation is more important than ever,” said IEX Group President, Bryan Harkins. “Steve understands the complexities of building for multi-asset class operations. We are excited to have him join our team.”

This appointment follows a series of strategic initiatives by IEX to enhance its market position, which have resulted in tripling IEX’s displayed market share since June 2024 while maintaining quality and performance on the exchange. In addition to its continued momentum in equities, IEX is preparing to enter the U.S. options market, pending SEC approval.

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ABOUT IEX

IEX (IEX Group, Inc.) is an exchange operator and technology company dedicated to innovating for performance in capital markets. Founded in 2012, IEX launched a new kind of securities exchange in 2016 with unique architecture designed to deliver superior performance to investors. Today, IEX applies its proprietary technology and experience to drive best in class performance across asset classes, serve all investors, and advocate for competitive markets. IEX Exchange (Investors’ Exchange LLC) is a national securities exchange with innovative technology designed to protect investors and improve market quality. We are focused on driving superior trading performance via our proprietary technology, machine learning, data, and expertise.

Building the Future: How Citadel Securities is Shaping Miami’s Finance Scene

Anna Lyudvig
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Building the Future: How Citadel Securities is Shaping Miami’s Finance Scene

Since moving its headquarters to Miami nearly three years ago, Citadel Securities has not only embraced the Magic City but also significantly contributed to its growing reputation as a financial powerhouse. Among those who have joined the firm locally is Rodrigo Parada Valencia, COO of US Options Market Making.

Rodrigo Parada Valencia

Though Citadel Securities is a relatively new presence in Miami, Parada Valencia has called the city home for a decade and has witnessed its evolution firsthand.

“When I first moved to the city, it almost felt like a small town compared to some of the places I’d lived before like New York and Chicago,” he shared.

“Now, there are some very compelling career opportunities and no shortage of enriching ways to spend your time outside of the office—whether you’re interested in the arts, outdoor recreation, restaurants, or something else,” he told Traders Magazine.

Beyond lifestyle improvements, Miami’s talent pool has grown significantly due to an influx of top-tier professionals across finance, technology, and healthcare. This trend has been accelerated by major firms, like Citadel Securities, making Miami their home.

Miami offers unique professional opportunities, particularly within Citadel Securities. With many of the firm’s senior leaders—including Founder Ken Griffin and CEO Peng Zhao—based in the city, the environment fosters rapid career growth and collaboration.

“That contributes to the culture of our office, which is a really dynamic environment for collaboration, continuous learning, and career advancement,” said Parada Valencia. “I think my colleagues and I truly feel like we’re part of building something—the office, our careers, and the future of this city through our involvement in the community and the work many of my colleagues and I are doing with local non-profits.”

Beyond career growth, many Citadel Securities employees have found that relocating to Miami has enhanced their quality of life. “They’re spending more time outdoors; they’re spending more time on health and wellness; and they’re enjoying their lives in a whole new way, all while making an impact at work and moving their careers forward. The ability to strike that balance is pretty special.”

Before joining Citadel Securities, Parada Valencia built a diverse career spanning corporate strategy, wealth management, and consulting. He worked on strategic projects at LatAm Airlines, advised ultra-high-net-worth clients at JPMorgan, and later focused on private equity growth strategy at McKinsey.

His decision to join Citadel Securities was driven by the firm’s entrepreneurial culture and growth potential. “The opportunity to join Citadel Securities was too good to pass up,” he explained. “Working for a firm with a track record of incredible success that’s also still in growth mode and is entrepreneurially oriented was really appealing—as was the opportunity to drive some of the firm’s key projects.”

As COO of US Options Market Making, Parada Valencia plays a crucial role in shaping the business’s long-term strategy and execution.

“I’m focused on helping to develop and drive the top-down strategy for the options market-making business in the US,” he said. “Part of my role involves defining the decisions that need to be made by business leaders and serving as a thought partner to them.”

One of his recent key projects has been the launch of OCC self-clearing, a move designed to reduce concentration risk in the market. “Currently, there’s only one provider in the market, so we created the capability in-house to significantly reduce concentration risk,” he explained.

Managing a fast-paced, high-impact business requires a unique skill set. For Parada Valencia, ruthless prioritization, structured thinking, and effective communication have been essential.

“There’s never a shortage of important things to do and critical projects to drive, but there’s only a finite amount of time, so ruthless prioritization and organization is absolutely critical,” he noted.

Another key ability? Translating complexity into clear insights. “The people I’m dealing with are absolute experts in their respective domains… Having a structured way of thinking helps ensure I understand the problem we’re trying to solve, what the most important elements of it are, and where it fits within the broader business strategy.”

Staying Agile in a Rapidly Changing Market

Options trading has reached record-breaking levels, and Parada Valencia sees this as part of a global shift. “Just a few weeks ago, we hit the all-time high for the most options contracts traded on a single day,” he said. “Options volumes in India are particularly high, even surpassing equities as the most traded asset class, and we are closely watching other emerging markets for possibilities of similar growth in the near future.”

In the US, new options exchanges are emerging, further fragmenting the market. “Two new exchanges launched last year, and we expect two or three others to launch soon,” he noted.

With both institutional and retail trading on the rise, maintaining agility is crucial for market-making firms. “We have built our platform to scale quickly, and we are set up to handle multiples of the highest volumes any particular market has ever seen,” Parada Valencia explained. “When something is important and a response is needed, we’re able to avoid getting bogged down by bureaucracy.”

As Citadel Securities scales its options market-making operations, attracting top talent remains a priority. “We have some tremendous opportunities for growth as a firm, but we also have an extremely high bar for talent that only a portion of the population can meet,” he said.

Risk management is another critical focus. “We’re very focused on balancing our desire to maximize profitability with responsible risk-taking, so designing the right risk limits to monitor and abide by is key.”

Collaboration between business, technology, and research teams is essential to Citadel Securities’ success, Parada Valencia noted: “Working on the COO team at Citadel Securities puts you at the center of the most challenging problems the firm faces.”

“Our clients are at the heart of everything we do and my colleagues across the firm share that focus,” he added.

Looking ahead, Parada Valencia sees Citadel Securities playing a pivotal role in shaping the future of options trading. “As options volumes continue to grow in the US, the role of market makers becomes increasingly important,” he explained.

“Citadel Securities’ ability to leverage technology to create a better trading experience, bring costs down, and improve access and efficiency is unique, and I know we’ll continue to have a positive and profound impact on the markets in which we participate,” he concluded.

TECH TUESDAY: Has Declining Consumer Confidence Curbed Retail Trading?

Phil Mackintosh, Chief Economist, Nasdaq
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TECH TUESDAY: Has Declining Consumer Confidence Curbed Retail Trading?

TECH TUESDAY is a weekly content series covering all aspects of capital markets technology. TECH TUESDAY is produced in collaboration with Nasdaq.

The introduction of a number of new tariffs have significantly affected confidence in U.S. stocks.

Markets have corrected, economic uncertainty has spiked, consumer confidence has dropped and inflation expectations have risen – all very quickly.

Some worry that, after seeing these losses in their portfolios, retail investors might shy away from the market.

However, the data suggests retail might actually be bargain hunting.

U.S. markets, in particular, have sold off

With all the news around tariffs, economic uncertainty measures have spiked to levels last seen during Covid and the Great Recession. That has contributed to a sell-off in stocks – at least in the U.S. – with large- and small-cap U.S. stocks underperforming other countries.

Chart 1: U.S. stocks are underperforming other countries so far in 2025

U.S. stocks are underperforming other countries so far in 2025

Retail shows no sign of slowing down

Yet our retail trading data shows no signs of slowing down or withdrawing from the market.

It’s quite the opposite in fact. Data shows that retail trading has increased, almost 49%, to averaging $62 billion daily so far in 2025.

The data also shows that retail activity started increasing right after the election – well before tariff fears led to the current sell-off and spike in market-wide trading (blue line).

Chart 2: Retail activity picked up before the start of 2025; market-wide activity spiked more recently

Retail activity picked up before the start of 2025; market-wide activity spiked more recently

In fact, they’re mostly buying 

Interestingly, retail trading in company stocks was flat to a net sell immediately after the election.

But, in 2025, a lot of things changed. Looking at trading in stocks and ETFs, we see two different trends:

  1. ETFs still net to buy. Interestingly, the level of buying isn’t that different from normal.
  2. Stocks mostly strong buying, although there was net selling of stocks late in February. Overall, corporate stocks have been strongly net to buy most days in 2025.

Chart 3: Stocks have seen strong net buying much of 2025

Stocks have seen strong net buying much of 2025

Retail buying trends 

Looking at company stock trading by sector each month, the period of selling in February isn’t visible. Instead, we see three months of net buying, especially in Information Technology.

A deeper dive shows that, since the start of February, the majority of Tech buying has been in NVDA, while over half of the net buying in Consumer Discretionary has been in TSLA.

Having said that, the breadth of buying has fallen as the year has progressed, with net selling across Communications, Healthcare and Staples so far in March.

Chart 4: Majority of buying in Technology, despite the sell-off in that sector in March 

Majority of buying in Technology, despite the sell-off in that sector in March

Retail seems to be actively buying in 2025

Far from being scared away from the market by recent volatility, retail trading seems to have instead increased. In fact, recent trading has retail buying the dip across many stocks and sectors. 

Creating tomorrow’s markets today. Find out more about Nasdaq’s offerings to drive your business forward here.

Liquidnet Reviews Next Innovation of SuperBlock Matching

Press Release
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Liquidnet Reviews Next Innovation of SuperBlock Matching

Rob Cranston, global head of equities product at Liquidnet said the  the agency execution specialist is looking at the next innovation of SuperBlock Matching, which helps members transact their larger, more difficult trades.

Liquidnet first introduced SuperBlock Matching in April last year in Europe, Middle East and Africa and it was rolled out globally in July 2024. The functionality helps members with their most difficult trades, such as a very large position by value or large number of shares against average daily volume through disclosing more information.

Robert Cranston, Liquidnet

Cranston told Markets Media that the response to rolling out SuperBlock Matching globally has been very positive. He said: “We have traded more than $1bn since it launched, as it has added value to trading larger deals and reduced friction.”

Minimum sizes for SuperBlock Matching have been set for every stock, based on market cap. If the trade meets the size criteria, SuperBlock Matching pops up in a trader’s front-end. If both parties agree to SuperBlock Matching, they agree to release more information, such as more certainty on size. If they both agree, there is a commitment to trade which Liquidnet will police, with penalties if the trade does not consummate.

“We are reviewing the next innovation and whether SuperBlock sized executions could be applicable to other workflows,” Cranston added. “We want to offer algos to the buyside for an end-to-end workflow from order initiation to the tail so they have more ways of execution on tap.”

Source: Bloomberg

Cranston also argued that Liquidnet is well positioned to use artificial intelligence  to adapt to the major changes in trading in the next few years and offer operational and execution efficiency to clients.

In addition to adapting to the increasing use of AI, Liquidnet also launched a new multi-asset service last year and set up a  multi-asset desk in Europe. Cranston described the offering as “another string to our bow” as buy-side clients are creating desks which cover a wide range of asset classes.

“Our goal is for Liquidnet to act as a single point of contact across these asset classes,” added Cranston.

U.S. equity trading

Sourcing natural liquidity continues to be the top priority when it comes to allocating commission according to annual research from consultancy Crisil Coalition Greenwich with hundreds of U.S. institutional equity investors.

Jesse Forster, senior analyst at Crisil Coalition Greenwich market structure & technology and author of U.S. equity market trends report, wrote:“Despite the buy side’s increasing reliance on electronic trading, they still value the role of high-touch sales traders in locating hard-to-find liquidity and working complex orders. It’s a delicate balance between technology and human touch, and traders are still grappling to find the sweet spot.”

Crisil Coalition Greenwich said the U.S. equity market continued its migration toward electronic trading in 2024, with 44% of overall trading volume executed electronically (including algorithmic strategies and crossing networks). The survey found that managers expect electronic trading to increase to nearly half of their flow within three years, at the expense of high-touch trading, which they anticipate will account for only 39% of their flow by then.

 Source: Coalition Greenwich

“Buy-side traders remain resolute in their dual mandate of finding liquidity for their clients while exploring opportunities for automation within their firms,” said Forster.

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