e-Forex Magazine | Debate | Debate : High frequency FX trading: technology, techniques and data
Debate : Debate : High frequency FX trading: technology, techniques and data
First Published in e-Forex Magazine July 2007
With Dr Richard Olsen, Chairman and CEO of Olsen, Thomas Parry, Director of Algorithmic trading at Plimsoll Capital, Jonathan Webb, Portfolio manager at C-View
Is success in high frequency trading (HFT) in FX almost entirely dependent upon having superior technology?
Dr Richard Olsen: Definitely, HFT is
technology-driven. At Olsen we have developed a systematic
trading environment that executes approximately 3,000 trades per
day. The platform is computer-based, where humans oversee the
trading activity without actively intervening. We human beings
check that the processes are running according to plan. In an
emergency we will reactivate a process.
Our trading-model environment comprises the following services:
the core trading model taking trading decisions; a
trading-support service for trade execution (the actual trades);
customer reporting; and a host of monitoring tools. As is typical
of modern technology, the success of our environment does not
rely on one or two ideas, but builds on a complex system that has
been well-tuned at all levels of operation.