When Nick Thadaney first started looking for clients in 2000, few investors were interested in trading with his brokerage firm ITG Canada. Despite the company's sophisticated electronic trading system, which offered cheaper, faster trades than traditional institutional brokerages, he couldn't attract the attention of portfolio managers riding out the bull market.
What a difference market turmoil can make. When the stock market took a dive in 2001, and returns flat-lined, Mr. Thadaney's business took off.
Karen Mazurkewich and Barbara Shecter write in the Canada's Financial Post.
"Electronic trading is prominent in the United States, but has been slow to catch on in Canada. Until now."
"In the electronic trading world, everybody will be competing with the Big Five, in addition to the rest of the international and domestic brokers in Canada, to capture their piece of the pie… I think you could say it's the tip of the iceberg," - Stephen Blatney, head of electronic trading at Thomas Weisel Partners in New York.
"Definitely, there's a shift toward electronic trading, no one's going to deny that. But traditional trading is not dead. From being at BMO for three years, and seeing both sides of it, I see what's best for the clients is more of a hybrid... I think the winners in this technology paradigm shift are going to be firms that merge the best of both worlds to give clients the entire trading tool kit instead of one or the other..." - Rizwan. Awan, director of quantitative execution at BMO Capital Markets.
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