RJ O'Brien Taps Fidessa for its Algo Suite Ahead of MiFID II
- The accord will foster the distribution of Fidessa’s futures and options workstation to RJ O‘Brien’s institutional clients.

The passage of MiFID II is weeks away and venues are quickly moving to shore up their compliance requirements ahead of the January 3 implementation date. Consequently, US futures broker, RJ O‘Brien has entered into an agreement with Fidessa, focusing on the group’s futures and options capabilities.
MiFID II has been in the works for the past couple of year and will dramatically reshape the financial services space. This year has seen a surge in demand for MiFID II-ready and compliant solutions, with Fidessa, among others, drawing interest for its services suite.
In particular, RJ O‘Brien’s accord with Fidessa will target non-clearing member clients of its UK subsidiary. This will see the distribution of Fidessa’s futures and options workstation to RJ O‘Brien’s institutional clients. Of note, the agreement with RJ O‘Brien will initially cover markets operated by CME, ICE, and Eurex exchanges.
Best Execution Execution Execution is the process during which a client submits an order to the brokerage, which consequently executes it resulting in an open position in a given asset. The execution of the order occurs only when it is filled. There is typically a time delay between the placement of the order and the execution which is called latency.In the retail FX space, reliable brokers always strive to deliver best execution to their clients in order to maintain a solid business relationship with them. This is a common marketing point of emphasis by brokers, whose action execution varies considerably from company to company. When execution prices are not matching the submitted price the client is charged or credited the difference resulting from the negative or positive slippage.Slippage is a very contentious issue among retail traders, which can lead to issues. Many traders view levels of slippage at brokers as a key determinant for their business. Best Execution a Legal ObligationBrokers are required by law to diver to their clients the best execution possible. Some regulators are requiring brokers to submit execution stats in order to assess the quality of their services. Other brokers are regularly posting execution statistics in order to boost the confidence of their clients in the best execution commitment of the company.Best execution has been a point of emphasis in recent years from both retail and institutional players in the FX industry. Negotiating and executing transactions in order to promote a robust, fair, open, liquid and appropriately transparent FX market is identified as one of the six main principles outlined in the FX Global Code of Conduct, which came into effect in 2018. Execution is the process during which a client submits an order to the brokerage, which consequently executes it resulting in an open position in a given asset. The execution of the order occurs only when it is filled. There is typically a time delay between the placement of the order and the execution which is called latency.In the retail FX space, reliable brokers always strive to deliver best execution to their clients in order to maintain a solid business relationship with them. This is a common marketing point of emphasis by brokers, whose action execution varies considerably from company to company. When execution prices are not matching the submitted price the client is charged or credited the difference resulting from the negative or positive slippage.Slippage is a very contentious issue among retail traders, which can lead to issues. Many traders view levels of slippage at brokers as a key determinant for their business. Best Execution a Legal ObligationBrokers are required by law to diver to their clients the best execution possible. Some regulators are requiring brokers to submit execution stats in order to assess the quality of their services. Other brokers are regularly posting execution statistics in order to boost the confidence of their clients in the best execution commitment of the company.Best execution has been a point of emphasis in recent years from both retail and institutional players in the FX industry. Negotiating and executing transactions in order to promote a robust, fair, open, liquid and appropriately transparent FX market is identified as one of the six main principles outlined in the FX Global Code of Conduct, which came into effect in 2018. Read this Term in focus
Thomas Texier, Managing Director of RJ O’Brien, commented on the agreement: “A number of our customers were particularly impressed with Fidessa’s options trading capability, together with its fully integrated benchmark algo suite.”
Fidessa seemed a logical choice for RJ O‘Brien, given the group’s penchant for providing best execution algorithms. The group’s services suite has previously offered users MiFID I-compliant capabilities in both cash and equity markets. With the newer iteration of the regulations being broadened to other asset classes however, these requirements are now more important than ever.

Steve Grob
MiFID II will necessitate a focus on derivatives, futures and options – an increased call for transparency will also obligate RJ O‘Brien and others to demonstrate that they are spending investor money in a responsible manner when trading these instruments.
“We’re providing the container that runs these things robustly, and with a complete audit path and exchange reporting, so all the heavy lifting is taken out,” explained Steve Grob, Director of Group Strategy at Fidessa.
According to Mr. Grob: “We’re providing consistency in terms of how algos are developed, deployed and run, and consistency over how they’re measured. If you’re serious about best execution, its the only way to do it.”
The passage of MiFID II is weeks away and venues are quickly moving to shore up their compliance requirements ahead of the January 3 implementation date. Consequently, US futures broker, RJ O‘Brien has entered into an agreement with Fidessa, focusing on the group’s futures and options capabilities.
MiFID II has been in the works for the past couple of year and will dramatically reshape the financial services space. This year has seen a surge in demand for MiFID II-ready and compliant solutions, with Fidessa, among others, drawing interest for its services suite.
In particular, RJ O‘Brien’s accord with Fidessa will target non-clearing member clients of its UK subsidiary. This will see the distribution of Fidessa’s futures and options workstation to RJ O‘Brien’s institutional clients. Of note, the agreement with RJ O‘Brien will initially cover markets operated by CME, ICE, and Eurex exchanges.
Best Execution Execution Execution is the process during which a client submits an order to the brokerage, which consequently executes it resulting in an open position in a given asset. The execution of the order occurs only when it is filled. There is typically a time delay between the placement of the order and the execution which is called latency.In the retail FX space, reliable brokers always strive to deliver best execution to their clients in order to maintain a solid business relationship with them. This is a common marketing point of emphasis by brokers, whose action execution varies considerably from company to company. When execution prices are not matching the submitted price the client is charged or credited the difference resulting from the negative or positive slippage.Slippage is a very contentious issue among retail traders, which can lead to issues. Many traders view levels of slippage at brokers as a key determinant for their business. Best Execution a Legal ObligationBrokers are required by law to diver to their clients the best execution possible. Some regulators are requiring brokers to submit execution stats in order to assess the quality of their services. Other brokers are regularly posting execution statistics in order to boost the confidence of their clients in the best execution commitment of the company.Best execution has been a point of emphasis in recent years from both retail and institutional players in the FX industry. Negotiating and executing transactions in order to promote a robust, fair, open, liquid and appropriately transparent FX market is identified as one of the six main principles outlined in the FX Global Code of Conduct, which came into effect in 2018. Execution is the process during which a client submits an order to the brokerage, which consequently executes it resulting in an open position in a given asset. The execution of the order occurs only when it is filled. There is typically a time delay between the placement of the order and the execution which is called latency.In the retail FX space, reliable brokers always strive to deliver best execution to their clients in order to maintain a solid business relationship with them. This is a common marketing point of emphasis by brokers, whose action execution varies considerably from company to company. When execution prices are not matching the submitted price the client is charged or credited the difference resulting from the negative or positive slippage.Slippage is a very contentious issue among retail traders, which can lead to issues. Many traders view levels of slippage at brokers as a key determinant for their business. Best Execution a Legal ObligationBrokers are required by law to diver to their clients the best execution possible. Some regulators are requiring brokers to submit execution stats in order to assess the quality of their services. Other brokers are regularly posting execution statistics in order to boost the confidence of their clients in the best execution commitment of the company.Best execution has been a point of emphasis in recent years from both retail and institutional players in the FX industry. Negotiating and executing transactions in order to promote a robust, fair, open, liquid and appropriately transparent FX market is identified as one of the six main principles outlined in the FX Global Code of Conduct, which came into effect in 2018. Read this Term in focus
Thomas Texier, Managing Director of RJ O’Brien, commented on the agreement: “A number of our customers were particularly impressed with Fidessa’s options trading capability, together with its fully integrated benchmark algo suite.”
Fidessa seemed a logical choice for RJ O‘Brien, given the group’s penchant for providing best execution algorithms. The group’s services suite has previously offered users MiFID I-compliant capabilities in both cash and equity markets. With the newer iteration of the regulations being broadened to other asset classes however, these requirements are now more important than ever.

Steve Grob
MiFID II will necessitate a focus on derivatives, futures and options – an increased call for transparency will also obligate RJ O‘Brien and others to demonstrate that they are spending investor money in a responsible manner when trading these instruments.
“We’re providing the container that runs these things robustly, and with a complete audit path and exchange reporting, so all the heavy lifting is taken out,” explained Steve Grob, Director of Group Strategy at Fidessa.
According to Mr. Grob: “We’re providing consistency in terms of how algos are developed, deployed and run, and consistency over how they’re measured. If you’re serious about best execution, its the only way to do it.”