FiNETIK – Asia and Latin America – Market News Network

Asia and Latin America News Network focusing on Financial Markets, Energy, Environment, Commodity and Risk, Trading and Data Management

February 3, 2012 • 12:40 am 0

Mexico – Durable, Consistent and Undervalued

Since global markets unraveled back in 2008 we’ve again been reminded that even developed economies can have a tough time dealing with crisis (think TARP, bailouts, recessions and policy restructurings). In some cases, seemingly simple issues like inflation can be the main reason international investors turn away. However, in looking at mid-tier countries within emerging markets, one exception is Mexico.

The Mexican peso, for example, has appreciated by nearly 20 percent since the peak recession level of two years ago. In addition to a more predictable and forecastable currency, Mexico enjoys direct investment from both the United States and China. Many experts agree that this flow of capital helped Mexico reach a 4 percent annual gross domestic product growth rate in 2011.

The peso’s solid gains can be attributed to a variety of factors, but are directly correlated to market statements made by U.S. banking and government officials. Interest rate stability, for example, ensures the peso’s projected outlook by hedging its value with that of the dollar as well as Mexico’s import-export relationship with the U.S. Most recently, on the day the U.S. Federal Reserve announced that it would maintain its low interest rate program through 2014, the peso rose 0.6 percent, to $13.0190 per U.S. dollar. That marked a 7 percent climb for the month of January.

From an investment, trading and trade relations perspective, Mexico boasts free-trade agreements in which tariffs are lower than many countries. So low, in fact, that nearly 90 percent of all its exports are essentially duty free. For example, Mexican goods are exported duty-free to the U.S., Canada, Europe, Latin America and Japan. This past week, Mexico announced a preliminary trade surplus of $7.7 million for December 2011. Most other countries, on the other hand, trade with a much smaller surplus if not deficit. Investors keen on taking advantage of this advantage can use the iShares MSCI Mexico Index.

In fixed income, Mexican notes return more than the average of other emerging market debt. What’s more, Mexico correlates better with the U.S. than other high profile emerging markets like Brazil, China or Russia.

Mexico has proven that it is able to withstand both global and internal drags on its economy while still holding its position among the advanced emerging markets community such as Brazil, Czech Republic, Hungary, Malaysia, Poland, South Africa, Taiwan and Turkey.

Taking a closer look at the value to an individual or institutional investor, Latin America generally – and Mexico specifically – continues to hold and return value better than other emerging markets. Debt and inflation from Europe more closely impact Russia, India and China, for example, whereas Mexico and LatAm are more closely tied to the U.S., where the economy is slowly rebounding

Mexico vs. other LatAm hotspots  ….read full article at   Tabb Forum

Source: Tabb Froum, Dan Watskin, 02.02.2012

Filed under: BMV - Mexico, Latin America, Mexico, News, , , , , , , ,

February 2, 2012 • 6:06 am 0

UBS goes algo in Mexico

UBS today announced the launch of algorithmic trading for international clients trading equities on Bolsa Mexicana de Valores in Mexico.

The addition of algorithmic trading strategies enhances clients’ ability to access this major Latin American market center, and complements UBS’s existing Direct Market Access (DMA) offering in the country.

UBS is launching this offering in Mexico with a full suite of liquidity seeking, volume and price-sensitive strategies, including the award-winning UBS Tap. UBS clients can use these algorithmic trading strategies to efficiently interact with liquidity on Bolsa Mexicana, sending electronic orders directly to the exchange without passing through an intermediary.

In November 2010, UBS was the first international broker to launch DMA in Mexico, allowing clients to trade electronically directly on the exchange. UBS clients can now send both front-to-back DMA and algorithmic trading orders using most major execution management systems or order management systems, as well as the firm’s own UBS Pinpoint.

“Our experience offering DMA in this market has enabled us to tailor our trading strategies specifically to the market structure of Bolsa Mexicana, which means our international clients should have a seamless experience as they trade into Mexico” said Owain Self, Global Head of Algorithmic Trading at UBS.

“Offering an entire suite of algorithmic trading strategies for Mexico is another example of our commitment to a uniquely optimized Latin American offering,” said Damian Fraser, Head of Equities for Latin America. “Our clients have expressed great enthusiasm for even more sophisticated tools to access this growing, dynamic marketplace, and we are delighted to be able to meet those needs.”

UBS also provides DMA and algorithmic trading for international clients trading into Brazil, across the global emerging markets of Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia, and over 90 markets and trading venues worldwide.

UBS Direct Execution is the firm’s global institutional electronic trading business. Direct Execution offers ultra-low latency Direct Market Access (DMA), a suite of award-winning advanced Algorithmic Trading strategies, a state-of-the-art analytics platform – offering Real-Time TCA – called UBS Fusion, and a multi-asset international execution management system called UBS Pinpoint.

Filed under: Brazil, Latin America, Mexico, Trading Technology, , , , , , ,

January 26, 2012 • 12:40 am 0

Deutsche Börse launches algo news feed in Brazil

Availability in Sao Paulo data center marks expansion of “AlphaFlash” into Latin America.

Deutsche Börse – Market Data & Analytics has launched “AlphaFlash”, its algorithmic news feed, in a data center in Sao Paulo. The feed is available now in Brazil, marking AlphaFlash’s official expansion into South America.
AlphaFlash is hosted at a data center at a local exchange in Sao Paulo.

“Brazil is considered the leader in algorithmic and high frequency trading in Latin America. As this growing market continues to develop, we see greater demand from local quant traders, hedge funds and market participants to consume machine-readable news quickly and efficiently. The new data center allows customers to access AlphaFlash as fast as possible—right on the spot in Brazil, so they can swiftly execute their automated trades,” said Georg Gross, Head of Front Office Data & Analytics at Deutsche Börse.

Launched in April 2010, AlphaFlash delivers low latency, machine-readable economic indicators and corporate news. Subscribers can choose among several data packages, e.g. U.S., Canadian, European or Asia-Pacific economic indicators, U.S. and Global Treasury Auctions, the Chicago PMI as well as the Corporate News Germany feed. AlphaFlash is available in a number of data centers across the globe, including Chicago, Secaucus (New Jersey), Washington D.C., Sao Paulo, Frankfurt, London, Sydney, Tokyo and Singapore.

Source: Deutsche Börse, 25.01.2012

Filed under: Brazil, Data Management, Latin America, Market Data, News, Reference Data, , , , , ,

January 11, 2012 • 3:42 am 0

Brazil:BM&FBOVESPA annuonces 2011 Market Performance and News

BM&FBOVESPA announced 2011 market performance.
Financial volume and number of transactions in the equity market;
  • Total number of contracts traded, DI futures contracts traded and of corn futures contracts and options on corn futures traded in the Derivatives Market;
  • Financial volume and number of equity lending transactions.

Read other highlights (update 11.01.2012):

The total financial volume and the number of trades in the equity market set a record in 2011

In 2011, the total financial volume in the Bovespa segment set a historic record of BRL1.61 trillion, surpassing the previous record of BRL1.60 trillion set in 2010. The average daily financial volume also established a new record of BRL6.49 billion, exceeding the BRL6.48 billion reached in 2010.

The total number of trades reached the milestone of 141,229,649 in 2011, surpassing last year’s record high of 106,418,437. The average daily trading volume also established a new record at 567,187, exceeding the 2010 mark of 430,844.

Historic records set in 2011:

  • Financial volume and number of transactions in the Bovespa segment;
  • Total number of contracts traded, DI futures contracts traded and of corn futures contracts and options on corn futures traded in the BM&F segment;
  • Financial volume and number of equity lending transactions.

Bovespa Segment

In 2011, the total financial volume in the Bovespa segment set a historic record of BRL1.61 trillion, surpassing the previous record of BRL1.60 trillion set in 2010. The average daily financial volume also established a new record of BRL6.49 billion, exceeding the BRL6.48 billion reached in 2010.

The total number of trades reached the milestone of 141,229,649 in 2011, surpassing last year’s record high of 106,418,437. The average daily trading volume also established a new record at 567,187, exceeding the 2010 mark of 430,844.

In December, the financial volume in the Bovespa segment was BRL130.68 billion, compared to the BRL118.72 billion registered in November. The daily average financial volume was BRL6.22 billion in December, compared to BRL5.93 billion in the previous month. There were a total of 12,746,660 transactions carried out in December compared to 12,284,986 in November, and the average daily trading volume was 606,984, compared to 614,249 in November.

Equities

In 2011, the most traded stocks were: Vale PNA, with BRL174.33 billion; Petrobras PN, with BRL125.81 billion; OGX Petróleo ON, with BRL73.22 billion; Itauunibanco PN, with BRL67.73 billion; and Vale ON, with BRL45.05 billion.

In December, the most traded stocks were: Vale PNA, with BRL11.30 billion; Petrobras PN, with BRL8.75 billion; Itauunibanco PN, with BRL5.59 billion; OGX Petróleo ON, with BRL4.33 billion; and Bradesco PN, with BRL3.66 billion

Ibovespa

The Ibovespa closed out 2011 at 56,754 points, down 18.11% for the year.

In 2011, the best performing stocks were: TIM PART S/A ON (+72.58%); CIELO ON (+53.32%); REDECARD ON (+49.20%); KLABIN S/A PN (+42.53%); and ELETROPAULO PN (+41.13%). In 2011, the worst performing stocks were: B2W VAREJO ON (-71.07%); GAFISA ON (-64.95%); HYPERMARCAS ON (-62.06%); GOL PN (-50.00%); and V-AGRO ON (-48.39%).

In December, the Ibovespa declined 0.21%.

The best performing stocks on the Ibovespa, in December, were: TRAN PAULIST PN (+16.03%); ELETROBRAS PNB (+14.06%); CPFL ENERGIA ON (+13.62%); ELETROPAULO PN (+12.97%); and LLX LOG ON (+12.33%). In December, the worst performing stocks were: V-AGRO ON (-39.62%); GAFISA ON (-23.28%); ROSSI RESID ON (-19.76%); BROOKFIELD ON (-16.67%); and CIA HERING ON (-15.02%).

All other indexes

All of the other indexes calculated by the Exchange performed as follows:

IBrX-50 (-14.06% with 8,279 points at the end of 2011; up 0.99% in December);

IBrX-100 (-11.39% with 19,706 points at the end of 2011; up 1.52% in December);

ISE (-3.28 with 2,018 points at the end of 2011; up 3.65% in December);

ITEL (+15.59% with 1,670 points at the end of 2011; up 5.11% in December);

IEE (+19.72% with 32,613 points at the end of 2011; up 9.47% in December);

INDX (-12.12% with 9,618 points at the end of 2011; up 2.31% in December);

IVBX-2 (-4.71% with 5,756 points at the end of 2011; up 0.86% in December);

IGC (-12.45% with 6,679 points at the end of 2011; up 1.76% in December);

ITAG (-11.54% with 8,708 points at the end of 2011; up 2.88% in December);

SMLL (-16.63% a 1,200 points at the end of 2011; up 0.79% in December);

MLCX (-10.39% with 877 points at the end of 2011; up 1.77% in December);

ICON (+0.55% with 1,693 points at the end of 2011; up 3.03% in December);

IMOB (-27.71% with 749 points at the end of 2011; down 5.47% in December);

IFNC (-7.40% with 3.468 points at the end of 2011; up 4.13% in December);

ICO2 (-7.37% with 1,025 points at the end of 2011; up 3.18% in December);

IBRA (-10.84% with 1,810 points at the end of 2011; up 1.68% up);

IDIV (+13.99% with 2,926 points at the end of 2011; up 5.56% in December);

IGCT (-12.36% with 1,877 points at the end of 2011; up 2% in December);

IMAT (-28.51% with 1,592 points at the end of 2011; up 0.90% in December);

UTIL (+22.61% with 2,939 points at the end of 2011; up 9.74% in December).

Market Value

The market value (market capitalization) of the 373 companies listed at BM&FBOVESPA at the end of 2011 totaled BRL2.29 trillion. In 2010, the market value was BRL2.56 trillion for the 381 companies that were listed at that time.

Special Corporate Governance Levels

At the end of 2011, the 182 companies that were part of the BM&FBOVESPA Special Corporate Governance Levels represented 64.87% of the market capitalization, 78.68% of the financial volume, and 82.72% of the trades on the cash market. At the end of 2010, there were 167 companies, representing 65.65% of the market capitalization, 75.14% of the financial volume, and 78.77% of the cash market trades.

In December, the 182 companies that were part of the BM&FBOVESPA Special Corporate Governance Levels represented 64.87% of the market capitalization, 75.82% of the financial volume, and 84.90% of the trades on the cash market. At the end of November, there were also 182 companies, representing 64.55% of the market capitalization, 82.40% of the financial volume, and 85.89% of the cash market trades.

Market Participation

The cash market (round lot) accounted for 93.9% of the total financial volume in 2011, followed by the options market with 4.3%, and by the forward market with 1.8%. The after-market traded BRL11.37 billion in 724,314 trades.

In December, the cash market (round lot) accounted for 94.6% of the total financial volume, followed by the options market with 4%, and by the forward market with 1.4%. The after-market traded BRL887.60 million with 48,002 trades, compared to BRL1.02 billion with 52,952 trades during the previous month.

Investor Participation

In 2011, foreign investors led trading in the Bovespa segment accounting for 34.74% of total contracts traded, compared to 29.57% in 2010. They were followed by institutional investors with 33.34%, compared to 33.29% in 2010, and individual investors with 21.44%, compared to 26.41% during the previous year. Financial institutions accounted for 8.65%, up from 8.35% in 2010, and companies accounted for 1.74% compared to 2.31% the previous year. The group Others accounted for 0.08% compared to 0.06% in 2010.

In December, foreign investors were also the leaders in the Bovespa segment, accounting for 39.07% of total contracts traded, compared to 32.98% in November. They were followed by institutional investors with 32.20% in December, compared to 34.29% in the previous month, and individual investors with 17.99% in December, compared to 20.46% in November. Financial institutions accounted for 8.81% in December, down from 9.33% in the previous month, and companies accounted for 1.92% in December, compared to 2.87% in the previous month. The group Others accounted for 0.01% in December, compared to 0.07% in November.

Foreign Investment

In 2011, the net flow of foreign investment into the Brazilian stock market, up to December, reached BRL8.23 billion, which is the result of BRL9.58 billion in acquisitions carried out by foreign investors in stock offerings (including BRL8.0 billion registered in Brazil) and the negative balance of BRL1.35 billion on the BM&FBOVESPA secondary market.

In December, the balance of transactions carried out by foreign investors at BM&FBOVESPA was a negative BRL2.42 billion, which was the net balance between stock sales of BRL52.08 billion and stock purchases of BRL49.66 billion.

Foreign investor participation in stock offerings, including IPOs, represented 55.3% of the total BRL17.33 billion in transactions related to the publication of the closing announcement dates ending on January 3, 2012, pursuant to information available on the Exchange’s website, under the media section.

Check the data for public offerings and IPOs

Investment Clubs

At the end of 2011, the number of investment clubs stood at 2,852, with 10 new clubs opening in December. In November, total liquid assets were BRL8.97 billion and the number of investment club participants was 117,078, according to the latest data available.

Individual Investors

At the end of 2011, the number of individual investor accounts in the equities market stood at 583,202. At the end of 2010, that number was 610,915.

ETFs

In 2011, the 10 ETFs available for trade at BM&FBOVESPA (BRAX11, CSMO11, MOBI11, BOVA11, SMAL11, MILA11, PIBB11, IT NOW IFNC 11, IT NOW ISUS 11, and IT NOW GOVE 11) reached a total financial volume of BRL12.11 billion with 577,723 transactions carried out. In 2010, there were seven ETFs (BRAX11, CSMO11, MOBI11, BOVA11, SMAL11, MILA11, PIBB11), which together accounted for a total financial volume of BRL6.99 billion, and 196,567 transactions.

In December, 74,438 transactions were carried out with the 10 ETFs available for trade at the Exchange. In November, that number was 86,037. The total financial volume in December was BRL1.21 billion, compared to BRL1.45 billion in November. In December, the ETF BOVA11 registered the largest financial volume with BRL1.15 billion, compared to the BRL1.37 billion it registered in November.

Securities lending

In 2011, securities lending transactions at BM&FBOVESPA reached a new milestone with a financial volume of BRL732.75 billion and 1,417,787 trades, surpassing 2010’s financial volume of BRL465.6 billion and 971,558 trades.

In December, the financial volume for securities lending transactions also set a new record with BRL84.76 billion, exceeding the mark of BRL67.30 billion set in November. The number of transactions in December was 121,897, compared to 122,983 in November.

Real Estate Investment Funds

In 2011, Real Estate Investment Funds (FIIs) accounted for a financial volume of BRL912.46 million and 77,075 transactions. During the previous year, they accounted for a financial volume of BRL379.09 million and 24,983 transactions. At the end of 2011, there were 66 Real Estate Investment Funds registered and authorized for trade on the BM&FBOVESPA markets and on its OTC market.

In December, Real Estate Investment Funds (FIIs) accounted for a financial volume of BRL144.16 million and 7,617 transactions. During the previous year, they accounted for a financial volume of BRL78.54 million and 7,812 transactions.

Fixed Income

In 2011, the financial volume for the fixed income secondary market, counting both the Bovespa Fix and the Soma Fix, totaled BRL268.14 million, compared to BRL416.20 million in 2010. Of this total, debentures accounted for BRL142.78 million, Receivables Investment Funds (FIDC) accounted for BRL25.17 million, and Mortgage Backed Securities (CRI) accounted for BRL100.19 million.

In December, the financial volume for the fixed income market, counting both the Bovespa Fix and the Soma Fix, totaled BRL14.4 million, compared to BRL9.5 million in November. Of this total, debentures accounted for BRL11.76 million, and Mortgage Backed Securities (CRI) accounted for BRL2.38 million.

BM&F Segment

Em 2011, the BM&F segment set a new record for contracts traded with 671,979,899, surpassing the previous 2010 record of 618,634,157. The financial volume in 2011 totaled BRL46.50 trillion, compared to a total of BRL42.51 trillion in 2010, and the average daily trading volume in 2011 was 2,687,920, compared to 2,494,493 in 2010.

In December, the markets in the BM&F segment accounted for a total of 43,358,744 contracts traded and a financial volume of BRL3.10 trillion, compared to 54,301,136 contracts and BRL3.87 trillion in November. The average daily trading volume in December was 2,064,702, compared to 2,715,057 in November. Open interest contracts ended the last trading day of December with 38,230,036 positions, compared to 37,001,711 in November.

Check the data for General Volume

Financial Derivatives

In 2011, the interest rate futures (DI) traded a record 320,821,062 contracts, compared to the previous record of 293,065,417 set in 2010. The US dollar futures ended the year with 86,167,955 contracts traded, compared to 82,453,621 in 2010. The Ibovespa futures traded 21,650,138 contracts in 2011, compared to 18,039,345 during the previous year, and in 2011 the Euro futures (EUR) traded 552,481 contracts up from 390,295 in 2010.

In December, the interest rate futures (DI) accounted for 21,511,662 contracts, compared to 28,561,969 in November. The US dollar futures ended December with 6,239,499 contracts traded, compared to 7,189,024 in November. The Ibovespa futures traded 1,618,153 contracts compared to 1,774,340 during the previous month, and, in December, the Euro futures (EUR) traded 34.546 contracts down from 62.901 in November.

Mini Contracts

In 2011, derivatives mini contracts traded 28,517,331 contracts compared to 18,700,470 in 2010. The Ibovespa futures traded 26,234,515 mini contracts in 2011, up from 16,705,118 in 2010, and the US dollar futures accounted for 1,710,007 mini contracts traded compared to 1,969,427 in 2010.

In December, derivatives mini contracts traded 2,338,964 contracts compared to 2,663,926 in November. The Ibovespa futures market traded 2,172,318 mini contracts, compared to 2,473,109 the previous month. The US dollar futures market traded 164,136 mini contracts down from 186,664 in November, and the open interest on mini contract futures ended December with 14.852 positions compared to 43,983 in November.

Commodity derivatives

In 2011, a total of 2,389,454 futures and options commodity contracts were traded, down from 2,702,705 in 2010.

A total of 558,311 Corn futures and options contracts were traded in 2011, surpassing the previous record of 490,265 in 2010. Live cattle futures and option contracts totaled 1,170,100 in 2011, down from 1,352,469 in 2010. Arabica coffee ended 2011 with 463,121 contracts traded compared to 694,348 in 2010, while the Ethanol futures market traded 94,726 contracts in 2011, up from 22,615 in 2010 and the Soybean market traded 70,639 contracts.

In December, a total of 160,585 futures and options commodity contracts were traded, down from 245,561 in November. When trading closed in December there were 129,006 open interest contracts, compared 133,410 at the end of the previous month.

Live cattle futures and options contracts totaled 82,627, in December, compared to 160,824 in November. Corn closed out the period with a total of 44,768 futures and options contracts traded, up from 42,279 in November. Arabica coffee ended December with 23,106 contracts traded, down from the 28,791 contracts traded in November. The Soybean market registered 3,310 contracts in December compared to 6,622 during the previous month, and the Ethanol futures market accounted for 6,774 contracts traded, compared to the 7,045 contracts traded in November.

Click here for the monthly commodities report

Agribusiness Securities

After adding up all of the transactions carried out in the SRTA registration system, the agribusiness securities registered at BM&FBOVESPA totaled BRL8.68 billion in 2011, compared to BRL1.24 billion in 2010. In 2011, a total of 46,690 records were also checked for agribusiness securities, and together they represented the cumulative financial volume of BRL29.43 billion, up from the 15,270 records with a trading volume of BRL10.05 billion in 2010. The stock of LCAs (Agribusiness Credit Bills) registered in the stock market in 2011 totaled BRL7.46 billion, compared to the BRL297 million registered during the previous year.

After adding up all of the transactions carried out in the SRTA registration system, the stock of agribusiness securities registered at BM&FBOVESPA totaled BRL8.68 billion in December, compared to BRL8.02 billion in November. The stock of LCAs totaled BRL7.46 billion in December, compared to BRL6.77 billion in November.

Spot Gold

In 2011, the spot gold market (250 grams) traded 23,579 contracts, compared to 9,567 in 2010. The financial volume for the spot gold market totaled BRL509.80 million, compared to BRL179.02 million the year before.

In December, the spot gold market (250 grams) traded 749 contracts, down from 2,240 in November. The total financial volume in December was BRL18.03 million, compared to BRL55.44 million in the month before.

Spot Dollar

In 2011, the spot US dollar totaled 12,859 transactions with a financial volume of US$32.89 billion, compared to 14,339 transactions and a financial volume of US$31.41 billion in 2010. The financial volume of U.S. dollars traded on the Brazilian interbank settlement market and registered in the BM&FBOVESPA FX Clearinghouse was US$588.83 billion, with 31,462 trades, down from US$718.31 billion and 36,428 trades in 2010.

In December, the spot dollar totaled 1,547 transactions with a financial volume of US$2.07 billion. In November, 1,999 transactions were registered with a financial volume of US$2.17 billion. In December, the financial volume of U.S. dollars traded on the Brazilian interbank settlement market and registered in the BM&FBOVESPA FX Clearinghouse was US$40.62 billion with 2,711 transactions, compared to US$37.65 billion and 2,475 transactions in November.

Public Fixed Income

In 2011, the financial volume for the public fixed income secondary market, counting all the transactions carried out on Sisbex, totaled BRL257.58 billion, compared to BRL116.89 billion in 2010. Of this total, BRL5.1 billion was related to final transactions and BRL251.1 billion was related to repo transactions. The financial volume for public securities lending transactions totaled BRL1.36 billion in 2011.

In December, the financial volume for the public fixed income secondary market, counting all the transactions carried out on Sisbex, was BRL18.6 billion, up from BRL6.9 billion in November. Of this total, BRL32.10 million was related to final transactions and BRL18.57 billion was related to repo transactions.

Investor Participation

In 2011, financial institutions led trading in the markets of the BM&F segment accounting for 36.41% of total contracts traded, compared to 42.40% in 2010. They were followed by institutional investors with 31.27% in 2011, compared to 29.61% in 2010, and foreign investors with 25.86% compared to 22.40% during the previous year. Individual investors ended the year with 5.22%, up from 3.88% in 2010, and companies accounted for 1.24%, compared to 1.71% the previous year.

In December, financial institutions led trading in the markets of the BM&F segment accounting for 38.08% of total contracts traded, compared to 35.75% in November. They were followed by institutional investors with 32.53%, down from 34.49% the previous month. During this same period foreign investors accounted for 23.04%, compared to 23.18%. Individual investors ended the year with 4.48% in December compared to 5.19% in November; and companies accounted for 1.83%, up from 1.34% the month before.

Individual investors

At the end of 2011, there were 135,256 individual investors with at least one active account registered at the Derivatives Clearinghouse, compared to 137,820 at the end of the previous year.

DMA

BM&F Segment

In December, the transactions carried out via Direct Market Access (DMA) in the BM&F* segment totaled 25,617,886 contracts traded in 2,483,514 trades. During the previous month, 31,537,229 contracts were traded in 2,887,206 trades.

The volumes registered by each DMA model in the BM&F segment were as follows:

Traditional DMA – 12,266,856 contracts traded in 879,061 trades in December, compared to 15,783,631 contracts traded in 1,219,049 trades in November;

Via DMA provider (including orders routed via the Globex System) – 8,225,628 contracts traded in 234,539 trades in December, compared to 10,736,890 contracts traded in 252,343 trades the month before;

DMA via direct connection – 1,255 contracts traded in 303 trades in December, up from 1,034 contracts traded in 289 trades during the previous month; and

DMA via co-location – 5,124,147 contracts traded in 1,369,611 trades in December, compared to 5,015,674 contracts traded in 1,415,525 trades in November.

In December, the transactions carried out by foreign investors who were presented to BM&FBOVESPA by CME (which either use the order routing system or access the BM&FBOVESPA markets via co-location) totaled 2,240,922 contracts traded in 537,582 trades. In November, those totals were 2,297,168 and 554,624 respectively.

BOVESPA Segment

In December, the transactions carried out via Direct Market Access (DMA) in the BOVESPA*segment had a total financial volume of BRL86.68 billion in 12,297,326 trades. During the month of November, those numbers were BRL92.18 billion and 11,690,154 respectively.

The volumes registered by each DMA model in the BOVESPA segment were as follows:

Traditional DMA – BRL71.67 billion in 9,727,649 trades in December, compared to BRL76.89 billion in 9,411,041 trades in November;

Via DMA provider – BRL1.04 billion in 188,596 trades in December, compared to BRL981.77 million in 119,734 trades in November; and

DMA via co-location – BRL13.87 billion in 2,369,659 trades in December, compared to BRL14.21 billion in 2,150,118 trades in November.

* Direct access to the BM&FBOVESPA market segments is carried out through DMA models 1, 2, 3 and 4.

In model 1 or traditional DMA, the client accesses the trading system through technological intermediation of a brokerage house.

In model 2 or via DMA provider, the client does not use the technological intermediation of a brokerage house, but rather connects to the system through an authorized access provider. DMA via order routing with CME Globex is also a form of DMA model 2.

In model 3 or DMA via direct connection, the client connects to the system through a direct connection.

In model 4 or DMA via co-location, the client installs its own computer within the Exchange’s facilities.

Notes: The volumes registered by access modality include both buy and sell sides of a trade. The volumes by access modality for both the BM&F and the Bovespa market segments have been reported in a consolidated manner in the BM&FBOVESPA statements since May 2009.

Source: BM&FBOVESPA, 10.01.2012

Filed under: BM&FBOVESPA, Brazil, Exchanges, Latin America, , , , , , , ,

January 6, 2012 • 2:51 am 0

Alternative Latin Investor: Latam Family Office January 2012 Issue Nr 13

The Alternative Latin Investor Issue #13 is focusing on family offices.  With some great content this issue, from maverick economist Doug Casey, estimates on the effect of climate change in the region, and of course with premium focus looking at the needs, attitudes and opinions of family offices in LatAm. Below some of the other content of issue #13.

 Renewable Energy 

  • Electric Energy Storage in Latin America: Smart Grid Technologies.

Funds 

  • Top Ten LatAm Hedge Funds
  • Mutual Funds in Argentina
  • Latin America fund assets to exceed $3 trillion by 2020

Emerging Markets

  • 2012 Should Be Better: A wasted year for LatAm Stock Markets
  • Investors Beware of Brazilian FIDCs (ABS) Backed by Consumer Credit

Agribusiness

  • Gauging the Effects of Climate Change on Brazilian Agri Output
  • 2011 Agribusiness Round Up

Forex

  • SPOT-trade’s Facundo Molina on Forex and CDFs
  • Mitigating Currency Risk when investing in LatAm

Private Equity 

  • A Primer on Colombian Taxes for the PE Investor

Art

  • Meso-American Remix
  • LatAm auction recap: Sotheby’s and Christie’s

Issue Focus: LatAm Family Business

 Please view and access Issue 13 in the following formats

Virtual Viewer
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Source: AlternativeLatinInvestor 23.12.2012

Filed under: Argentina, Brazil, Central America, Chile, Colombia, Energy & Environment, Events, Latin America, Mexico, News, Peru, Services, Wealth Management, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 14, 2011 • 7:32 am 0

SunGard Opens Trading Network Hub in Chile

SunGard has established a SunGard Global Network (SGN) hub in Santiago, Chile. SGN provides global order routing, market data and associated services on 120 markets worldwide, linking 2000 asset managers and 500 broker dealers. The Santiago hub, SunGard’s third in Latin America after Mexico City and Sao Paulo, will provide international investors with access to Bolsa de Comercio de Santiago (BCS), Chile’s equity and derivatives exchange. In addition, financial institutions in Chile will be able to access the SGN brokerage community.

SunGard will also offer Valdi Market Access to Chile, which delivers Software-as-a-Service* (SaaS) based connectivity to markets worldwide through SGN. This direct market access service gives exchange members and their clients the ability to trade on electronic markets from any application connected to SGN. It is fully managed by SunGard, helping reduce their infrastructure and support costs. For Bolsa de Comercio de Santiago (BCS), the Valdi Market Access servers will be directly co-located at the exchange, offering low latency services.

Mr. Andres Araya Falcone, chief information officer of the Bolsa de Comercio de Santiago, said, “Chile continues to grow, and the region is focused on being an important player in the global economy. SunGard is supporting this growth by providing electronic trading solutions and global connectivity to market participants in Chile, which will help our exchange members find new investment opportunities. In facilitating exchange connectivity, this should also help attract new firms to the Bolsa de Comercio de Santiago.”

Danielle Tierney, an analyst at Aite Group, said “Opening a new hub in Santiago is a very strategic placement for SunGard. Santiago is the third largest individual exchange in Latin America by market capital and volume, in addition to being a part of the MILA integration of the Andean exchanges. By establishing this additional point of connectivity, SunGard has essentially made its SGN hub into a pan-LatAm offering.”

Philippe Carré, global head of connectivity of SunGard’s global trading business, said, “SunGard’s Valdi and SGN address the connectivity and execution challenges of trading multiple asset classes on multiple markets. SunGard already offers Valdi and SGN solutions in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, helping traders in Latin America access new markets and diverse liquidity, as well as helping international traders access Latin America markets.”

Source: A-TEAM Electronic Trading, 13.12.2011

Filed under: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Latin America, Mexico, News, Peru, Trading Technology, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 7, 2011 • 2:49 am 0

Alternative Latin Investor: Latam Fund & Investment Trends- December 2011 Issue Nr 12

Latin America fund assets to exceed $3 trillion by 2020
-Driven by appetite for Asia – U.S. and European asset managers benefit most

While still smaller than other global regions in terms of aggregate assets – around US$1.4 trillion in mutual fund assets and about $710 billion in pension assets – fast growth in Latin America as a region is capturing the imagination of investors, distributors and asset managers alike, with tactical and strategic opportunities prompting resource allocations and investments.

Subscribe to the free issue of  at http://www.alternativelatininvestor.com/index.html.

Source: Alternative Latin Investor, 06.12.2011

Filed under: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Latin America, Mexico, News, Peru, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 6, 2011 • 8:44 am 0

Mexico: BMV Mexico´s stock exchange signs agreement with MILA of Chile, Colombia and Peru

During the Second Pacific Alliance Summit celebrated in Merida, Yucatan Mexico on Sunday, December 4th, the Mexican Stock Exchange (subsidiary of BMV Group) signed an agreement of intent with the Exchanges of Colombia, Peru and Chile to join Mercado Integrado Latinoamericano (MILA). President Felipe Calderon (Mexico), President Juan Manuel Santos (Colombia), President Ollanta Humala (Peru) and President Sebastián Piñera (Chile) were all on hand to witness the accord.

The agreement, which will begin to explore operational and technology requirements of this partnership, was signed by Dr. Luis Téllez President of BMV Group, Juan Pablo Córdoba, President of Bolsa de Valores de Colombia, Francis Stenning, General Manager of Bolsa de Valores de Lima (Peru), Mr. Pablo Yrarrázaval, President of Bolsa de Comercio de Santiago and Mr José Antonio Martínez Manager of Bolsa de Comercio de Santiago.

The partnership, which is subject to the authorization of regulators and legal adjustments, will integrate BMV Group to MILA with the goal of increasing listings and bringing further technological and operational benefits to participants in the region.

About BMV Group

BMV Group is a fully integrated Exchange Group that operates cash, listed derivatives and OTC markets for multiple asset classes, including equities, fixed income and exchange traded funds, as well as custody, clearing and settlement facilities and data products for the local and international financial community.

BMV is the second largest stock exchange in Latin America with a total market capitalization of over US$ 453.8 billion. The Exchange is home to some of the most recognizable and profitable global corporations, including: beverage giant Grupo Modelo, whose brands include Corona Extra and Pacifico; América Móvil, one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world; CEMEX, the world’s biggest building materials supplier; and Televisa, the largest media company in the Spanish speaking world, among many others. In addition, MexDer (the Mexican Derivatives Exchange) is also part of BMV Group and is the leading marketplace for trading benchmark Mexican derivatives products.

About MILA

Mercado Integrado Latinoamericano (MILA) is a regional partnership of the Peruvian, Chilean and Colombian Exchanges that started with an agreement signed on November 9th, 2010 to integrate a new trading alternative for LATAM equity markets. It aims i) to expand listing opportunities, ii) to add value in order routing, and iii) to provide market data distribution of the integrated market. It was launched on May 30th, 2011.

Source: Business wire, 05.12.2011

Filed under: BMV - Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Exchanges, Latin America, Mexico, News, Peru, , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 2, 2011 • 10:58 pm 0

Brazil: Foreign investors exempetion from paying 2% IOF tax on equity trades BM&FBOVESPA

The Brazilian government has repealed a tax placed on foreign investors trading equities, in a move which domestic exchange BM&F Bovespa believes is sure to stimulate trading activity in the country.

The IOF tax, which stood at 2% for equities since its launch in October 2009, has now been eliminated. The tax was also removed for debt instruments that have a tenor of four years or longer.

The levy was introduced by the Brazilian government in order to help it control the rapid appreciation of the Brazilian real. It was initially set at 2% for all initial investments made by foreigners in fixed income and derivatives transactions. The tax was increased to 6% for fixed income transactions in October 2010.

“We are not easing our currency policy. If there is any risk of the currency appreciating, we will increase the IOF on derivatives,” Brazilian finance minister Guido Mantega is reported to have said at a press conference today.

The announcement by the Brazilian government had an instant positive impact on equities prices in the country, with shares in BM&F Bovespa surging by almost 7% today.

“By reducing the IOF to 0% on foreign investments for equities, the government has sent a clear message about the importance of the capital markets as a way to support local companies,” Sergio Gullo, chief representative for BM&F Bovespa in EMEA, told theTRADEnews.com. “The removal of the tax will encourage more foreign investment to our market.”

The removal of the IOF tax may also help to bring more high-frequency trading (HFT) to Brazil, the increase of which BM&F Bovespa has identified as a key aspect of its growth strategy. Gullo says that the exchange believes HFT will reach 20% of overall equity trading volumes in the next few years.

As part of its plans to attract HFT, BM&F Bovespa has partnered with US exchange operator CME Group to develop Puma, a new US$200 million multi-asst class trading platform. The new platform will be able to process 200 million messages per day and offer an average round-trip latency of 1.1 milliseconds.

“The removal of the tax has very little downside and it appears that the Brazilian government is not concerned about the effect of equity trading on currency appreciation,” said Danielle Tierney, analyst at consultancy Aite Group. “It will be more of a positive for HFT firms than traditional market participants. The exchange should have no trouble in reaching its 20% HFT target.” Source: Trade News, 01.12.2011

São Paulo, December 01, 2011 – BM&FBOVESPA considers the measure that the Brazilian government announced today as bang on target, demonstrating an understanding that the Brazilian market is going through a moment of great opportunities and also constitutes a fundamental instrument for companies’ growth and the development of the country.

Between 2004 and 2011, Brazilian companies held 232 public share offerings, of which 138 were IPOs. These operations resulted in a total of BRL 370.7 billion raised, which went towards these companies’ growth projects, contributing towards a significant increase in job creation and incomes in Brazil. It is important to bear in mind that around 70% of this volume came from foreign investors.

Brazil’s capital market has a great capacity to attract foreign investment, due to its credibility built on strong regulatory foundations and on best practices in corporate governance.

In this manner, BM&FBOVESPA believes that with the government measure to exempt the IOF tax on operations by foreign investors, there will be an even more favorable picture for the more than 40 companies that are waiting for the right moment for their share offerings to raise the resources they need for their investments and growth in 2012.

Source: BM&FBOVESPA, 2.12.2011

Filed under: BM&FBOVESPA, Brazil, Exchanges, Latin America, News, , , , , , , ,

November 25, 2011 • 1:28 am 0

China and Mexico: Strategic Partners or Competitors? 中国与墨西哥: 战略伙伴关系还是竞争对手?.

China and Mexico’s bilateral relationship is the subject of an ongoing debate, characterized, in general, by strongly conflicting views. On one hand, there are the ones that quite often quote unfair trade practices from China, or Chinese companies who have suffered losses of time, energy and money when entering the Mexican market.

It is quite common to listen at business meetings that after months of negotiations, companies found out that their potential local partner was not the most adequate. Sadly, cross-cultural misunderstandings often contributed to break the potential association, since the local partner didn’t have the financial strengths nor was knowledgeable enough of the local market, etc. On the other hand, bad experiences are not a must. It is also possible to identify success stories from companies establishing in China, and vice-versa, doing business profitably. The examples include small and medium size companies on trading, sourcing, and exporting to and from China; but also large corporations with standalone investments or join ventures with local players.

At Mexican malls you can buy electronic products with a Chinese brand manufactured in Mexico; in China, flour made “tacos” have paved their way to gain preferences in the Chinese middle class.

Even tough for many specialists the investment and trade flow between China and Mexico is not significant in terms of value and diversity of industries; there are some figures that are worth keeping in mind. Based on official statistics in 1990, Mexico exported nine million USD and imported around fifteen million USD from China. For 2010, the bilateral trade reached almost fifty billion USD, while the bilateral trade between India and China reached about sixty billion USD in that same year. This is an impressive amount if we consider Mexico does not share borders with India, and Mexican population is around ten times smaller than the Indian.

On December 11, 2011; the agreed program between Mexico and China on compensatory import duties will come to an end. It is expected for this to reinvigorate the debate on trade and business practices. Nevertheless, it would be worth it to keep in mind that in a twenty years period, Mexico’s exports to China had a compound annual growth rate of over 36 per cent (CAGR), while imports from China to Mexico registered a CAGR of 49 percent. Moreover, although exports from China are generally associated to end products, during the last decade, imports such as intermediate products have increased significantly.

Therefore, if you are doing business between both countries, it would be relevant to review if your company is growing two digits too. Although there is no “fail-safe” recipe for doing business between China and Mexico, the more informed the company is, the greater its chances are of succeeding. On this issue, you can review complimentary articles on innovation, resource allocation, and metrics, among many other factors to be considered in a successful market expansion strategy.

At Deloitte, from Tijuana to Shenzhen and from Hong Kong to Monterrey, we have highly experienced professionals ready to help you succeed in China and Mexico. For more information on our services email us at: deloitte_contacto@deloittemx.com

Source: Deloitte Mexico, 25.11.2011 -  José Luis Enciso deloitte_contacto@deloittemx.com

Filed under: Asia, China, Latin America, Mexico, News, , , , , , , , ,

November 22, 2011 • 8:34 am 1

Brazil: Direct Edge intents to launch new Exchange in Rio de Janeiro … challenge for BOVESPA or marketing for Rio?

Direct Edge, a leading stock exchange in the United States, today announced its intention to launch Direct Edge Brazil, an all-electronic platform for the trading of Brazilian equities.  The exchange will be headquartered in Rio de Janeiro with a tentative launch date of the fourth quarter of 2012, pending regulatory approval from the Comissão de Valores Mobiliários.

Direct Edge looking for clearing options in Brazil (Security Technology Monitor)
UPDATE 2-Direct Edge to take on Brazil’s BM&FBovespa (Reuters)
BM&FBovespa Drops Most in Two Months as Direct Edge Plans Brazil Platform (Bloomberg)

“The Brazilian economy is among the fastest growing in the world and we believe that a second stock exchange in the country will spur even greater investor participation through competition that drives innovation and price improvement,” said William O’Brien, Chief Executive Officer of Direct Edge.  “The exchange will leverage proven Direct Edge technology and architecture that will be customized to the unique needs of the Brazilian market.”

Direct Edge Brazil will operate as an independent, local company majority owned by Direct Edge.  A Brazil-based CEO will be appointed to lead a team in Rio de Janeiro to develop Direct Edge Brazil and maintain close working relationships with the Brazilian financial community as well as with local officials and vendors. Direct Edge Brazil, if approved, will be the first stock exchange headquartered in Rio de Janeiro since 2002.

“The arrival of Direct Edge is further proof of the importance of Rio to the global financial markets,” said Eduardo Paes, Mayor of city of Rio de Janeiro.  “Having one of the largest stock exchanges in the United States operating here will provide added incentive for other global financial market participants and will likely attract broker services and financial technology firms.”

“Rio has been a global financial hub for years; the financial markets in Brazil started here” said Eduarda La Rocque, Municipal Secretary of Finance, City of Rio de Janeiro.  “The decision by Direct Edge to establish its headquarters in Rio reinforces the relevance of the local economy and highlights how the global financial markets realize the plentiful growth opportunities that exist in our city.  The pending arrival of a world class stock exchange can create opportunities for Rio’s young professionals, and will boost efforts to revitalize the financial sector in our city.”

Rio Negócios, the investment promotion agency of Rio de Janeiro, worked closely with Direct Edge in supporting the project.  “This is a great day for Rio,” said Marcelo Haddad, Executive Director of Rio Negócios.  “Direct Edge Brazil will serve as the inspiration to recreate a new and modern financial center in the city.”

Source: Directe Edge, 21.11.2011 For more information on Direct Edge Brazil and to sign up for updates, please go to: www.directedge.com.br

Filed under: BM&FBOVESPA, Brazil, Exchanges, , , , , , , , , , ,

November 21, 2011 • 10:57 am 0

Mexico´s Exchanges take huge steps to boost High-Speed Trading.

The Mexican Exchange, which is the second largest exchange in Latin America, announced a number of strategic and technology initiatives designed to promote foreign investment in the Mexican financial markets and its position as a Latin American leader in high-frequency trading.

While Brazil continues to be the hottest emerging market in Latin America, the Mexican Exchange (BMV Group), is taking huge steps to boost its growth in the high-speed marketplace.

The Mexican Exchange, which is the second largest exchange in Latin America, announced a number of strategic and technology initiatives designed to promote foreign investment in the Mexican financial markets and its position as a Latin American leader in high-frequency trading.

Mexico now provides worldwide participants with seamless, high-speed and efficient access through low touch direct market access (DMA), high speed co-location services, and FIX standard protocol for order routing and market data Part of Mexico’s success is down to its determination to improve its operative rules to better comply with international market standards, as well as adopting new technology.

In 2012, the Mexican Exchange will announce the launch of a new trading engine, internally developed. This multi-market, multi-asset, flexible and scalable trading engine has throughput of more than 200,000 messages per second. The trading engine will be ultra low latency, executing trades in 100 microseconds roundtrip (improvement over 25 milliseconds on legacy trading system). Full deployment is planned for Q2 2012. Further in 2012, The Mexican Exchange will introduce several new initiatives including midpoint hidden order book trading, aimed at institutional investors looking to trade large blocks anonymously with reduced execution risk. Simpler cross order rules will also be implemented; all stocks, global market equity securities and debt instruments will be crossed within the best bid/ask spread with no intervention. And, VWAP executions for the day will be able to be entered from 8:00 AM CT to 2:40 PM CT.

Recently, the Mexican Exchange has established major alliances broadening investment opportunities in the Mexican market. The Mexican Derivatives Exchange (MexDer) and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) established phase one, “south-to-north,” of its strategic order routing agreement, giving Mexican investors access to CME Group’s benchmark derivatives contracts, including interest rates, foreign currencies, equity indexes, energy, metals and agricultural commodities.

Phase two of the partnership, “north-to-south,” now in place provides CME Group customers with access to MexDer benchmark products, including Mexican Stock Exchange Index futures, bond futures and MXN Peso / US dollar futures contracts.

Source: Wallstreet&Technology, Melanie Rodier, 18.11.2011

Filed under: BMV - Mexico, Exchanges, Latin America, Mexico, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

November 20, 2011 • 10:54 pm 0

Fidessa opens São Paulo office in Brazil

Fidessa group plc (LSE: FDSA), provider of high-performance trading, investment management and information solutions for the world’s financial community, has today announced the expansion of its Latin American operations with a new headquarters in the region, new staff and data centers that provide resilient, redundant hosting.

The new office, located in São Paulo, Brazil, will serve as a base for the whole of Latin America and comes about as a direct result of Fidessa’s continued growth there, as well as from the ongoing demand for its products and services from domestic and international firms across the region. As well as cultivating and growing the local business further, the team based in São Paulo will also provide dedicated service and support functions for the regional client base.

The new office is headed by Bryan Miller, Managing Director for Fidessa’s Latin American business, who was previously Senior Vice President and Director of Hosted Client Services for Fidessa in the US. Miller’s background in implementation, project management, and ongoing support for Fidessa’s US clients, positions him well to ensure that the same market-leading levels of delivery and support, for which Fidessa is well known globally, are provided to clients locally as well.

Miller comments: “We are seeing increasing demand for our award-winning investment management, trading, connectivity and market data solutions from many emerging regions around the world. The markets of Latin America, in particular, are growing rapidly and have attracted significant interest from international players looking for opportunities in expanding economies. This is fueling the need for our solutions among both local and international firms looking to trade in the region.”

“Establishing this office is a clear sign of Fidessa’s commitment to the marketplace and we will be building the local team with a mixture of experienced Fidessa people from North America as well as local hires.” Continues Miller, “Latin America is an important strategic step for Fidessa globally, and I look forward to cementing and expanding our presence here to take advantage of the exciting opportunities that it presents.”

Source: Finextra, 17.11.2011

Filed under: Brazil, FIX Connectivity, Latin America, Trading Technology, , , , , , , ,

November 16, 2011 • 1:56 am 0

Finamex launches Algorithms with US Equities in the Mexican market

Finamex, a full-service independent broker dealer from Mexico City, and leading provider of innovative trading solutions, has released four opportunistic market trending algorithms for use by Direct Market Access (DMA) clients. The main idea is to allow clients to effectively gain arbitrage profits while mitigating collocation and/or their own strategy development costs.

Finamex’s latest release of arbitrage algorithms have been designed to build opportunities on fungible domestic equities displayed in the Mexican exchange marketplace. Execution calculations work through pre-programmed algorithms built on leveraging theoretical quote pricing as the primary driver of behavior, speed and momentum.

There are a variety of features to how the Finamex arbitrage algorithms provide opportunities with US equities in the Mexican market:

1. Hunter – is an algo which seeks to take advantage of sudden inefficiencies between the equities of foreign listed symbols in Mexico versus their originating market (such as the QQQ or AAPL on the Nasdaq or NYSE markets). The Hunter algorithm computes required data-sets and adjusts itself independently within defined price spreads on the Mexican Stock Exchange (Bolsa Mexicana de Valores: BMV).

2. Ghost – has a characteristic of lying dormant until a desired buy/sell signal appears with a non-previously indicated ask/bid price then it executes contrarily. Similarly with the Finamex “Hunter” algo, Ghost receives the side, quantity and spread parameters of opposing bids/offers satisfying spread parameters of its local market yet quickly hitting IOC type status. This feature helps in the recognition of desired price opportunities without revealing trade strategy intentions by its clients.

3. Scaled – uses a two-spread metric like the Hunter algo, with a signal that triggers in a suddenly inefficient environment. The Scaled algo strategy is seen on a big spread definition, called a “base.” Scaled reacts instantaneously when a lower spread, called the “target”, is satisfied on the other side. Unlike the Finamex “Ghost” algo, the Scaled algo’s intentions are exposed but move immediately when the target spread is satisfied. The Scaled strategy allows other market participants to preview this algo’s activity, causing them to sometimes take a glance on the board, which in turn drive executions over the spreads.

4. Market-maker – a next generation algo intended to provide liquidity and act as a market maker within the local Mexican marketplace. Market-maker absorbs the last trade, adds an indicated spread and automatically places or replaces the order with an indicated quantity. In combination with pegging and short-sell models, the Marketmaker algo is highly beneficial for market making strategies and for acting on market divergences.

“We’re putting in place all of these free strategies for clients who want to access the Mexican stock market with an almost-zero setup price. Our goal is to take Mexico to a higher level in the emerging markets priority list of global investors,” states Hector Casavantes, head of Electronic Trading at Finamex. “We wanted to offer automated algo strategies in order to let investors know how active and easy this market can be to trade. All algorithms were architected with profitability in mind. They’re highly customizable, completely auditable and comprehensive, fully meeting our clients’ demands”.

“With the addition of these tools, we’ve further enhanced our suite of algorithmic-trading products beyond our well-known execution algos in VWAPs, TWAPs, Implementation Shortfall and POV, “Roberto Larenas, Head of Equity Markets at Finamex added. “While we are aware that these algos are more opportunistic, we are still keeping our business model as pure-agency. Buy-side firms are increasingly requesting new tools, new ideas, and new ways to exploit opportunities in emerging markets. Finamex is fully committed in addressing these demands with our best-of-the breed solutions

Source: A-Team, 14.11.2011

Filed under: BMV - Mexico, FIX Connectivity, Latin America, Mexico, Trading Technology, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

November 12, 2011 • 3:02 am 0

Mexican Market Leaps Forward – FIX, Technology, Co-Location and Regulation

In the last 12 months dramatic changes have occurred at Mexico’s stock exchange and among its brokerage clients. Cross border partnerships, technology upgrades, new FIX infrastructure and business friendly regulatory changes have opened the Mexican market to high frequency trading (HFT).

While US regulators can be seen to scold HFT firms, the Mexican market has opened its arms. The Mexican Exchange (BMV) and its brokerage firms have upgraded their infrastructure and sought business opportunities north of the border. Earlier this year after the CME Group and the BMV signed their partnership, high frequency traders on the CME Globex trading system began to route orders to the Mexican Derivatives Exchange or MexDer. Today 90 percent of average daily volume on the MexDer comes from high frequency traders north of the border.

Mexico’s brokerage firms have completed significant infrastructure upgrades. Last spring only a few brokers in Mexico could handle a highfrequency hedge fund client and many Mexican brokers could process no more than one connection to the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (BMV) at a time. The landscape has changed quickly and improvements in broker and exchange systems have ushered in a new capacity for speed in the transmission and execution of orders in Mexico.

Over the summer a major milestone occurred for the industry. Working with the BMV, Mexico’s brokers completed an industry-wide upgrade to FIX 4.4. The top 25 brokers are now certified with FIX 4.4 to the BMV. Leading the way, are brokerages like GBM, Interacciones, Actinver, UBS Mexico, IXE and others.

Now that Mexican brokers speak FIX 4.4, all of the order routing to the BMV can now be done through FIX allowing the BMV to retire the antiquated SETRIB protocol. The only way the BMV will allow Mexican brokers to continue to use SETRIB is by paying excessive fees, and even this will not be allowed by the end of 2011. Retiring SETRIB sets the stage for more positive changes in the industry and at the BMV.

Work is already underway to upgrade the BMV’s trade matching engine. The existing engine was built in the 1990s for a Tandem mainframe. Retiring the Tandem has many benefits. Faster order matching and processing is high on the list. In addition, more choices for application and software vendors and significant cost savings are expected. Retiring the mainframe will also eliminate the scheduling nightmares associated with the limited availability of the central mainframe for testing with the broker community. The new matching engine will be hosted on modern Unix based hardware. The release of the new matching engine and infrastructure is planned for the first quarter of 2012.

Another important milestone is the availability of a state-of-the-art co-location facility at KIO Santa Fe. The BMV infrastructure is located here and starting in October it will be easy for brokers and third party providers to collocate order routing and market data in this hosting facility leading to high throughput low latency services.

While all of the infrastructure and matching engine upgrades are momentous, they would bear no fruit without the simultaneous modernization of Mexican regulations. The initiative to modernize Mexico’s regulations, called RINO, began a year ago and phase two is due to rollout in the fall of 2011. The goal of RINO is to conform Mexican regulations to international standards. By converging with international standards, regulators hope to bring more international order flow and greater liquidity to the market, resulting in increased investment in the Mexican market.

While regulations in the US like Sarbanes Oxley and Dodd-Frank can be seen to drive businesses offshore, the regulatory changes in Mexico are removing handcuffs from businesses and facilitating opportunities. The first step forward occurred early this year with RINO I. RINO I allowed brokers to have multiple channels to the BMV’s electronic trading system. Previously all orders were in a single queue. Multiple access points per broker provides more flexibility in executing strategies and handling client requests, including separate BMV channels for program trading and orders called into the trading desk. RINO I also eliminated sizebased criteria from order management,  thus leveling the playing field in the processing of orders. RINO II takes effect on October 10, 2011, bringing more modernizations including pegged orders, improvements in crossing operations, average price operations, price delivery regardless of volume, and decimal bids for fixed income securities.

Crosses, in which a brokerage carries out a transaction through the stock exchange between two of its clients, were permitted previously but the rules were very arcane. Starting in October, the crossing operations will be vastly simplified allowing clients to simply choose whether to cross inside or outside the spread. With this modernization, the BMV hopes to repatriate orders that brokers would previously carry out in the US, where crossing orders was possible using ADRs in dark pools or at the NYSE.

In addition the RINO II regulations a very important new mid-point hidden book order. The orders execute at the midpoint, broker anonymity is guaranteed and the order priority is determined by volume. This is effectively a dark pool. Similar to Xetra, this new BMV order helps the market participants and simultaneously protects the BMV from  providers toying with moving into the Mexican marketplace.

As the regulations modernize and the FIX infrastructure hardens, opportunity beckons. Brokers are beginning to push for more high frequency trading algorithms, more efficient routing of international orders, and more sophisticated risk controls, all of which will attract even more international business. As the need for speed grows, co-location previously offered by the exchange may become more strategic, particularly to brokers wanting to attract high frequency traders.

All of this progress was made possible in large part because of the exchange’s demutualization and subsequent listing in 2008. The demutualization coincided with rule changes allowing Mexico’s pension funds or AFORES to invest. Before the rule changes, the AFORES were forced to invest almost entirely in short-term government paper. Today, Mexico’s pension funds are allowed to invest up to 25 percent, in individual stocks and shares and 12 percent in a hybrid of corporate debt and equity capital to allow companies to raise funds to expand businesses.

Considered together, regulatory improvements and infrastructure updates have morphed the BMV and the Mexican brokerage community into a thriving and modern marketplace. The BMV reported a 22 percent jump in earnings last year, with operating income increasing 70 percent in the last three months. A record six initial public offerings made it to market last year and overall trading volumes rose 50 percent in 2010. This year Mexico’s IPC index has tested and hovered near record highs.

In 2011 there are fewer IPOs, but trading volume remains strong. The order-routing agreement signed with Chicago’s CME Group has opened Mexico’s derivatives market to the world. Now, electronic trading infrastructure and investor friendly regulations have set the stage for act two.

Latin America has enjoyed a strong recovery for the most part it has sailed through the recession without lasting damage. Boosted by capital inflows, by record prices for commodity exports, by sound policies and by a heady expansion in domestic credit, the region saw economic growth of 6% last year and is on course to notch close to 5% this year. The region faces slower growth but not disaster. To up the pace, now is the time for reforms to boost productivity.

The main engines for growth in Latin America are China’s demand for minerals, food stuffs and raw materials – this looks set to continue – and consumption as tens of millions edge out of poverty and benefit from newly available credit.

Source: FIX Global Trading, 15.09.2011

Free Subscription of FIX Global Trading Magazin at http://fixglobal.com/subscription

Filed under: BMV - Mexico, FIX Connectivity, Latin America, Market Data, Mexico, News, Risk Management, Trading Technology, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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