Trading Technologies International, Inc. (TT), a capital markets technology platform provider, announced that the firm has established a new foreign exchange (FX) business unit, TT FX, and appointed industry veteran Tomo Tokuyama to lead it. Tokuyama has an extensive FX trading track record on the buy side and sell side, most recently as Head of Trading at a multi-billion dollar quantitative fund manager.
TT made the announcement at the start of the FIA International Derivatives Expo (IDX) in London.
TT FX represents the firm’s latest expansion into new asset classes, following its acquisition in March of AxeTrading, a leading global provider of fixed income trading solutions. Tokuyama will manage the new business line with initial focus on the hiring of other key talented FX industry product and technology experts, connectivity to major electronic communication networks (ECNs) and liquidity providers, and the delivery of advanced FX trading capabilities through TT’s execution management system (EMS).
The first phase of implementation for TT FX, slated for late 2023, will enable TT buy-side clients to trade spot FX through a choice of curated ECNs. In early 2024, TT will extend the offering to include liquidity from major banks and expand the product set to include forwards, non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) and swaps.
TT CEO Keith Todd said: “We have more than 6,000 buy-side users alone on the TT platform – including hedge funds, CTAs, proprietary traders and commodity trading firms – who already trade a huge amount of FX on other systems and platforms. Following many months of outreach and research with our clients, we’ve heard significant positive feedback and strong demand to consolidate this activity on TT’s EMS. TT FX will leverage the unparalleled global distribution capabilities of our platform, the award-winning functionality of our EMS and the widest possible choice of liquidity providers to deliver a truly best-in-class solution. We are delighted to have Tomo on board to lead this initiative for TT. He brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in this space from both the sell-side and buy-side perspectives.”
Tokuyama said: “I have long believed that technology will continue to advance and shape the future of FX trading through greater focus on automation and data. I’m pleased to join a firm that not only shares that view but listens carefully to clients to deliver innovative tools and access to markets that traders and firms actually want. FX is in high demand by TT clients, and I’m excited about the opportunity to further shape the FX strategy and deliver a product that TT clients will be proud to use.”
For more than a decade, Tokuyama was at Los Angeles-based First Quadrant, LLC, a quantitative fund that at its peak managed over $25 billion in assets. As Head of Trading, he transformed the firm’s FX trading from 98% voice execution to 95% electronic, and positioned First Quadrant at the forefront of FX algorithms and automation. He was responsible for managing the trading team and overseeing all trading activity at the firm including FX, equities, commodities, futures, listed options and total return swaps. He, along with the head of Portfolio Construction, managed day-to-day implementation of the firm’s portfolio strategies and analyzed new ways to improve trading efficiencies, which included vetting all of the latest Fintech offerings.
Prior to joining First Quadrant, Tokuyama worked at Goldman Sachs in Tokyo and Hong Kong, where he was a member of the Macro Asset Sales team specializing in electronic FX, responsible for distributing the Goldman Sachs electronic FX offering across Asia. He was instrumental in launching both electronic NDFs and first-generation FX algorithms.
Tokuyama is a frequent speaker at FX and financial services industry events and has served on numerous advisory boards, including for Best X, FX Connect, FX Hive and the TradeTech FX conferences. He earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree in management from Toronto Metropolitan University.
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