TT to hire 50 more staff to realise growth plans - CEO Todd

The chief executive of Trading Technologies International (TT) has said the firm will hire around 50 more staff this year to bolster customer services and accelerate the Chicago-based firm’s growth plans, by Radi Khasawneh.

A year after taking the helm at TT, Keith Todd says the time is right to accelerate TT’s growth plans which requires more staff.

“As we transition into 2023, we are going to be accelerating growth,” Todd said. “The customers now benefit from a wider offering and more stable platform, the team is very aligned and motivated for the future, and the investors have good visibility into our trajectory for the future. We are intending to add approximately 15% more to the company next year in terms of resources across various roles, which translates to just under 50 people so that’s a big investment. Alongside that we will continue to globalise our presence and footprint across regions.”

TT announced late last year the roll-out of its revamped algorithmic execution service to four Asia Pacific exchanges, leveraging its acquisition of algorithmic trading provider RCM-X in March. Behind the scenes, Todd says a lot of work has been undertaken to improve customer experience.

“What I will say is that the last year has seen a very serious focus on service quality, and we have been able to build on that significantly,” he added. “Certainly feedback I have had from customers has included an appreciation for that heightened service quality of the platform and expansion of our offering, enabling us to achieve better than planned growth and profitability. We have created a customer service team dedicated to improving communications on that with our users.”

TT was acquired in late 2021 by a consortium called 7Ridge comprising private equity, Cboe Global Markets and Singapore Exchange. As part of the deal, the 7Ridge bought 25% of KRM22, the risk tech firm that Todd ran previously.

That relationship came to fruition late last year with the launch of a realtime post-trade risk service aimed at futures commission merchants (FCMs), brokers and traders. And Todd sees potential for further collaboration.

“Interest rates are rising, volatility continues to be in existence and high, and that has translated into record volumes and performance among our client community,” Todd said.

One negative market events has been the dramatic sell-off across crypto markets this year, leading to FTX’s collapse earlier this month.

“Without doubt, the FTX news was tragic; events are still unwinding and might be for some months,” Todd said. “There are roles in business for innovators, but the adults need to lead the business. We as a company have been very adult about our approach. As it happens, I’m more optimistic about the future of digital assets than I was before, because there is almost no way that this marketplace cannot now be regulated properly, and some order and protection will be put in place for those who need assistance to avoid some of the downfalls of it.

“What we have indicated to the market is we are going to be bringing other attributes to this KRM22 Risk Manager on the TT platform, with a particular focus on the data that comes out of the surveillance world,” he added.

TT sealed in November a partnership agreement with post-trade technology firm ATEO Finance to deliver an allocation service to its largest customers. The recent shifts in market sentiment across various asset classes have solidified the conviction that customers are looking to benefit from flexible technology infrastructure as they navigate shifting markets.

“What I see going forward is a more natural, healthy and regulated marketplace. That will take a little bit of time as people take a timeout, and we see a drop in trading for a while, but that shouldn’t be interpreted as a long-term trend. Once confidence comes back in the underlying marketplace for the digitalisation of assets, I think it will be healthy for TT going forward.”

TT partnered with digital assets technology specialist Talos in June. It has also steadily grown its connectivity to crypto exchanges since first connecting to native crypto venue Coinbase in 2018, adding BitMEX, Bakkt and Deribit as well as CME Group cryptocurrency futures and options.