OptionsCity Upgrades Metro Platform for Automation and Risk Management

Chicago-based multi-asset trading firm OptionsCity, has upgraded its main trading terminal. The technology firm has enhanced a number of functions on its flagship platform, Metro, including Risk Management , volatility views and filtering solutions.

OptionsCity will be rolling out the new updates in the middle of August, the firm stated. The platform developer has extended performance with added functionality that allows traders and brokers to manage execution, risk and efficiently navigate electronic markets.

The new enhancements are part of OptionsCity’s aim to change the way traders use technology in the congested automated trading space. “Our goal has always been to change the way traders think about and use technology,” states Victor Glava, CTO at OptionsCity, in a statement.

The new improvements took the firm’s development team four months to implement. Mr. Glava added in a comment to Forex Magnates: “The development time for Metro 5.2 was approximately 4 months, this included testing and QA.”

The key amendments on the platform include, new views that enable users to engage the robust risk management tools of the Risk Command Center within Metro. This specific function will enable users to view volatility and underlying moves in the same report across several user-defined intervals by leveraging the new volatility offset bucket in the Risk Command Center.

Mr. Glava explained to Forex Magnates that his core development team uses a number of project management approaches to optimise the skillset. He added: “OptionsCity has a very nimble organization that employs Agile development practices. The flexibility of our approach means that the number of developers and allocation of their time towards Metro 5.2 varied, but on average we had 5 developers going full time.”

In a recent job advertisement online, the firm was searching for Software Engineers with exchange connectivity experience, the firm stated that it required individuals with the following skillset: “BS in Computer Science preferred, other engineering/technical degree acceptable and strong in Java development."

Metro 5.2 will also offer users sophisticated filters. In the forthcoming release there is an array of new comprehensive instrument filters which allow traders to build custom filters as well as dynamic instrument sets. Coupled with the ability for users to auto-respond to requests for quotes by leveraging powerful instrument filtering capabilities.

The firm also plans to connect to a number of global exchanges, although the firm was unable to comment on specific roll-outs, a spokesperson stated in an emailed interview: “We cannot go into specifics, but on the exchange-connectivity side, OptionsCity continues to push towards increasing coverage on the international arena, especially Europe.”

The firm added that it has strengthened its exchange connectivity on Metro 5.2 with additional statistics for Eurex, CME, ICE and CBOE.

OptionsCity regularly upgrades its solutions, both on a monthly and quarterly basis. The firm concluded regarding its next projects: “We don't like to say too much about our plans when it comes to major releases, but there will be another major release coming later in the year. We think it's going to be a game-changer both for OptionsCity and the trading industry.”