ARQA Technologies: 2017 results
Clients
Last year 19 banks and companies became new clients of the company, with two of them implementing both software product lines — QUIK and QORT — by ARQA Technologies.
Projects
A major operating priority for ARQA Technologies in 2017 was implementation of two product upgrading projects that were necessitated by infrastructure innovation and new regulatory requirements on Russian and international financial markets:
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in support of the ’Unified collateral pool’ project of Moscow exchange a number of features were introduced in some QUIK modules
the modules include: Moscow Exchange FX Market trading interface, Moscow Exchange Derivative Market trading interface, Market Data Export Module, QUIK Workstation, QUIK server software -
to help market participants support European requirements MiFID II that come in force in January 2018, necessary changes were introduced in technological solutions providing trading access to international venues
updated software spans: LSE trading interfaces, LSE Derivatives Market trading interface, FIX2LS, WSE trading interface, Eurex trading interface, Market Data Interface of TREP RT system(Thomson Reuters), QuantHouse Market Data Interface, FIX Program Interfaces, Algorithmic Trading Module, ARQA OMS, QUIK Workstation, QUIK server software
One concluded pilot project involved implementation of a specialized version of backQORT serving forex dealers and adapted to Russian regulatory requirements.
In 2017 ARQA Technologies and Sberbank continued working on automation of client services. Sberbank installed the system of FX Dealing based on QUIK software to provide its clients with the service of FX conversion operations. FX liquidity is delivered from an external trading platform Sberbank Markets.
Last year ARQA Technologies in collaboration with Sberbank developed a new mobile application ‘Sberbank Investor’ that makes it very easy to buy and sell stocks and bonds of Russian companies as well as appraise the value of one’s portfolio.
2017 marked the start of regular webinars for end-users — ‘QUIK from its producer’ — originated by the Moscow Exchange School and the terminal’s developer, ARQA Technologies. Via the webinars company representatives deliver essential information on the scope of the QUIK Workstation, its operation, personal adjustments, and functional choices for efficient application.
Services
- The service of portfolio analysis — analyses of client portfolios based on several evaluation techniques for instruments of stock market and futures and options market (including VaR for portfolio and separate instruments).
- The service of QLIQ (QUIK Liquidity) for access to liquidity in OTC instruments (primarily Eurobonds) for brokers and their clients.
QUIK
Server modules
Several trading interfaces were upgraded in order to support new versions of exchange trading systems — these are direct access interfaces to MOEX markets, spot and derivative markets of LSE, Saint-Petersburg exchange, and SunGard Global Network.
The range of market data interfaces expanded thanks to a new solution — Bloomberg B-PIPE Market Data Interface that provides trading data on LSE, NASDAQ and NYSE and is based on Bloomberg Market Data Feed (B-PIPE) service.
Great strides were made in ARQA OMS functional development. New features embrace OMS classes for processing various instruments, pre-trade control of OMS-orders, submitting OMS-orders from a QUIK workstation, and bond trading.
User terminals
In 2017 the Company developed and released new mobile terminals QUIK Android X and iQUIK X with a brand new interface of altered functional design and improved ergonomics. Changes introduced to the mobile terminals simplify typical operations, data appraisal and trades. The terminals allow easy authorization of users by name and password without obligatory access keys installation on the mobile device.
Last year the principal QUIK user terminal — the QUIK Workstation — went through nine updates with multiple ergonomic alterations. Among improvements, there are additional graphic analysis possibilities, enhanced window linking functionality and table operation mechanism.
The final stage of creating a single terminal module of risk manager CoLibri
saw the merger of functionality for spot market — equity and FX (CoLibri SM/FX) with that for derivative markets (CoLibri FM). Combining the two terminal modules in one brought about new opportunities for consideration and appraisal of positions and liabilities on different markets as well as for closing positions on various venues at one go.
QORT platform
The most popular QORT platform product in 2017 was the middle office for asset managers capQORT. Every implementation project of this software complex provided a boost for development of its trading and analytical functionality.
Last year the QORT product line received another solution — the system of depository accounting depoQORT.
There was a new back-office module released for backQORT — Module of monitoring non-standard operations, which identifies orders, trades and non-trade operations that seem unusual and suggestive of market manipulation as specified by regulatory directives.
There are more integration modules of QORT now, following the release of program interfaces Bloomberg DataLicense and Bloomberg VCON drop copy that allow delivery of Bloomberg data via QORT products.
Events
Last year ARQA Technologies traditionally took an active part in leading technological forums in Russia and abroad – exhibitions and conferences such as EMEA Trading Conference (London), IDX 2017 (London), Extent 2017 (London), MOEX Forum (London), TradeTech Europe 2017 (Paris), TradeTech FX 2017 (Barcelona), Expo 2017: 33rd Annual FIA Futures & Options (Chicago), FOW: Derivatives World (Warsaw), Moscow Exchange Forum (Moscow), InvestTech of Moscow Exchange (Moscow), Technological Forum Thomson Reuters (Moscow), Finnopolis (Sochi), NAUFOR Conference (Ekaterinburg), Siberian forum of exchange and financial markets of Moscow Exchange (Novosibirsk).
Ever a major attraction for clients and partners of ARQA Technologies is the company’s own seminar taking place in Moscow every year. In 2017 its attendance closed on 350 representing 100 Russian and foreign companies.
Also in Moscow ARQA Technologies conducted a joint seminar with Bloomberg and held a joint reception with QuantHouse.
In 2017, for the third consecutive year ARQA Technologies acted as the technological partner of the competition held by Moscow Exchange for newcomers to exchange trading ‘Invest Trial’ and for the second time with its own nomination — ‘A Random Walk Down Bolshoy Kislovskiy - 2’ — among winners. A special prize — Apple Watch Sport — was raffled at the award-presentation ceremony.