Greg, please tell us a little bit about your background and your career trajectory.
I’m currently the Head of GlobalLINKTM, where I get to lead an incredible team that is focused on enhancing efficiency and growth through innovation. Working with brilliant colleagues across the organization, I’ve had the chance to bring to life some exciting initiatives – like Fund Connect®, a first-of-its-kind money market portal and more recently, LINK, a unique distribution platform that brings together multi-asset execution, analytics, post-trade and liquidity solutions in one place.
Since joining State Street in 1998, I’ve primarily been focused on delivering technology solutions in the trade execution arena, and along the way launched and grew businesses across Fixed Income, foreign exchange (FX), ETFs and Money Markets. I’ve also worked closely on regulatory strategy and risk frameworks.
Beyond the business, I’m passionate about nurturing and empowering top talent contributing to GlobalLINK’s recruitment initiatives to identify and promote exceptional team members.
In short, the past nearly three decades have been nothing short of rewarding and exhilarating for me – a truly amazing journey.
Help us understand your day-to-day responsibilities at the firm.
In my role, I’m responsible for all aspects of the GlobalLINK business unit which includes FX Connect®, Currenex®, TradeNexus®, BestX®, ClearConnect, Fund Connect and GlobalLINK SynergySM, our sell-side white label product.
I spend my time, energy and effort working with the leadership team to ensure innovation remains at the heart of what we do at GlobalLINK. The team focuses on what’s new, what’s next, where the market is headed and identifying ways to get ahead of it
We provide platforms and solutions that support our global client base, create alpha and make things more efficient in all workflows we touch. Recent areas of innovation include: the launch of LINK, within the interoperability space, and our BestXecutorSM product, which is a decision augmentation tool providing deep insights into the client’s execution framework. Both are cutting-edge areas where we are leading the modernization of the market.
State Street has a track record over many years of building award-winning electronic trading, technology, data and workflow solutions that improve transparency, enhance trading efficiency and deliver quantifiable trade cost analysis. What range and types of clients are you providing these for?
The client base that we have built at State Street, more specifically at GlobalLINK, is extraordinarily broad and deep. Looking at our core competencies, we have been a pioneer in the electronic FX multibank trading space since the mid-90s when FX Connect was launched. We have had deep penetration across the large and ultra-large asset management and asset owner segment for over 30 years now.
In 2007, State Street’s acquisition of Currenex puts GlobalLINK squarely in the middle of the hedge fund, broker and high frequency trading (HFT) space with a long standing track record of performance and flexible functionality. This has allowed us to expand into the regional bank white label space through our GlobalLINK Synergy product which leverages our best-of-breed Currenex technology.
GlobalLINK’s money market fund portal, Fund Connect, has some of the largest institutional investors and corporate treasurers in the world as clients. We are constantly evolving in the Fixed Income space both through our platform offerings (ClearConnect), Crypto ETFs and white label technology solutions.
Finally, our BestX multi-asset transaction cost analysis (TCA) product has our broadest client base including asset owners, asset management firms, regional banks, corporates, hedge funds and platforms.
What market-leading e-trading platforms and services are associated with your GlobalLINK brand and what do each provide?
The GlobalLINK suite of electronic trading platforms are delivered end-to-end on the LINK platform. Our solutions can be broadly categorized into four areas:
Execution venues – FX Connect, Currenex, Fund Connect
Pre- and post-trade solutions – BestX, BestXecutor, TradeNeXus, ClearConnect
White-label solutions – Fund Connect, GlobalLINK Synergy
Payment solutions – GlobalLINK PaymentsSM
By providing our solutions on a single platform, we facilitate access to all aspects of the trade lifecycle for our clients.
State Street recently announced a rebrand of its open platform GlobalLink Digital to LINK. What was the rationale behind the rebranding and what features stand out from this smart desktop offering?
LINK is at the core of our strategy, bringing together GlobalLINK’s suite of trading, analytics and research solutions via a seamless digital environment. It provides true interoperability with single sign on and contextual data sharing. Contextual data sharing allows us to break down the old paradigm of point-to-point integration and has a multi-point integrated ecosystem with integrated platforms speaking to each other in real time on our LINK platform. This seamless integration leverages FDC3 standards built into our open platform inclusive of complimentary third-party products. With single sign-on connectivity to our suite of applications, third-party software, and access to more than 700 buy- and sell-side institutions, our clients are empowered to make smarter and faster decisions. One example would be our newest partnership with EM Alpha which allows clients to get real-time intuitive market information based on an artificial intelligence (AI) multilingual search tool.
In what ways does LINK help to improve the client experience and what feedback have you had about this so far?
A busy trader faces multiple logistical challenges – screen real estate, numerous log-ins, and an overwhelming amount of information constantly hitting your desk. This creates an inability to innovate and integrate best-in-breed systems for a tailored workflow. It requires you to compromise on workflow solutions resulting in poor workflow experience, especially when working across applications and platforms. As previously mentioned, LINK provides efficiency on a day-to-day basis on one screen with a modern user experience and single sign on, completely integrated. The solution allows users to identify, monitor and navigate to problem or focus areas.
The feedback from clients feedback has been phenomenal, and we are now bringing important information to users versus simply reducing noise. With LINK, you now have real- time access to data, analytics and information to enhance your trading, settlement and workflow process.
The LINK platform has been engineered with an open architecture. What advantages does that have?
When clients sign up for products that are integrated to LINK, they can build workspaces which are customized to their specific job function and objectives; even if they wear multiple hats. Through an open architecture set-up, we can solve challenges with our own products, components of our products or complimentary third parties because we stitch workflows together much easier. We can solve client challenges or provide robust solutions without waiting to build new platforms. We believe that clients will want to bring best-in-breed platforms to their workflow to meet their daily requirements so we need to meet them where they are. Also, our web-based interoperable system allows us to plug our solution into another third-party solution for added distribution and collaboration. The advantage is having to be on one proprietary solution with interoperability between several entry points for easier, smoother and faster decision-making.
Last year you also launched the first-of-its-kind decision augmentation tool BestXecutor. Please explain what it is designed to do and how it helps clients.
BestXecutor is at the forefront of pre-trade TCA, transforming how clients approach FX execution. This innovative tool empowers FX Connect users to streamline their selection process by identifying the most effective medium, counterparty and execution method tailored to their specific needs. Leveraging comprehensive data analytics from BestX, BestXecutor delivers actionable insights that facilitate consistent and well-informed decision-making in the FX execution processes. As a result, clients can enhance operational efficiency and achieve optimal outcomes, ensuring every execution aligns with their trading objectives. With BestXecutor, pre-trade TCA and counterparty optimization become integral parts of a client’s workflow.
The integration of BestX’s TCA with the powerful features of GlobalLINK’s FX Connect trading platform allows for a seamless flow of data, ensuring clients benefit from precise insights into their execution costs.
Why is State Street uniquely positioned to deliver a tool like BestXecutor?
BestXecutor processes extensive datasets rapidly, delivering results tailored to each client’s specific BestX factors. This capability empowers clients to make swift, informed decisions, significantly improving their executions by suggesting the optimal counterparties for both Request-for-Stream (RFS) and Algorithm (Algo) trades.
By streamlining the TCA process, clients experience minimal friction and time savings, ultimately benefiting from a comprehensive TCA loop that supports their trading objectives. This integration also fosters a more efficient trading environment.
State Street is an acknowledged leader in the post-trade FX space. Why has TradeNeXus become an essential part of your clients’ post-trade workflows?
We’re invested in enhancing the post-trade space, helping clients to adapt to market changes while providing improved risk management and efficiency. We are fortunate to have an ecosystem of partners and long-standing client relationships that we can consult to understand common challenges and nuanced customization requirements to build impactful solutions. Our strong track record of reliability and innovation speaks volumes with our clients as a dependable partner. Additionally, we actively engage in industry dialogues, offering insights and market advancements to our clients through comprehensive thought leadership.
What plans do you have for growing and expanding your portfolio of post-trade FX services and solutions further?
We have extensive plans to grow our post-trade FX services. Some of of our upcoming solutions and enhancements include:
TradeNeXus SSI Manager – Launching later this summer, it aims to help clients streamline their settlement instruction exchange and authentication process with their counterparties. Streamlining the process will help clients improve on some of the manual keying and reduce callback procedures.
SWIFT ISO 20022 migration – We are working with our clients to prepare for the upcoming SWIFT ISO payment message change in November, providing early availability for thorough testing ahead of market cutover.
Post-trade analytics – We introduced our first cut of KPI analytics and look to further expand the metrics available to our clients to aid in identifying areas of potential risk and efficiency improvements.
LINK – We are looking to further expand our capabilities to bring increased transparency from execution through to settlement.
T+1 – The European Union (EU) and United Kingdom are shifting to T+1 in 2027. To prepare for this upcoming transition, which is expected to be more complex than the United States’s transition to T+1, we are analyzing potential enhancements to support our clients and ensure preparedness.
Future plans – We continue to stay abreast of market developments with increased comfort and use of AI within the financial markets and the progression from proof of concept cases with digitization.
How have you been meeting the growing interest amongst buy side firms in utilizing FX execution algos and associated toolsets?
Traders are leveraging advanced Algo strategies to optimize execution, access deeper liquidity and automate complex orders. Our diverse liquidity options provide traders access to more than 220 strategies across 29 providers. BestXecutor, our decision augmentation tool set, assists in making a more informed decision for Algo versus RFQ at the optimal stage in the workflow. We also offer our quick ticket functionality for rapid and seamless order creation, saving your custom Algo values and eliminating the need to re-enter values each time.
Data, analytics, and automation are three key themes in electronic FX trading. How does State Street’s traditional strength in these areas allow your team to bring them together to unlock their potential for clients?
Data is revolutionizing e-FX trading by boosting speed, efficiency and decision-making. It differentiates FX market participants by enabling those with advanced analytics and real-time insights to execute faster and more informed trades, thus giving them a competitive edge. As the FX market moves toward greater automation, the effectiveness of automated workflows relies heavily on the quality and validity of the data that powers them. Central to all of this is cutting-edge technology, like AI, which is driving innovation in FX trading with data acting as the essential fuel powering this transformation.
Our GlobalLINK platforms encompass several execution and trade workflow solutions. Whether its BestX, FX Connect, TradeNeXus or Currenex, client trades often touch each of these technologies. As a result, we have a complex spectrum of data, that when pulled together can help optimize a client’s trading workflow, from pre-trade to post-trade. We have centralized this data, mapping values of a single trade through the whole trade cycle, and structured technology around this data to create efficiency at every point of the trade, empowering clients towards optimal trade outcomes.
As an experienced e-FX professional, are you convinced by the hype and promise associated with next generation technologies like AI and Machine Learning across the Capital Markets? What are your expectations about their use in the e-FX trading space?
Data and analytics is at the core of what we do and we are constantly evolving to provide the best solutions for our clients, evidenced when we acquired BestX a number of years ago. The BestX philosophy from the start was not just to follow the fashion for ‘big data’ – we believed instead in ‘smart data’, simple clear visualization of results that would enable busy Traders & Compliance personnel to draw actionable conclusions.
AI will allow you to continue that journey of smart data and look through large data sets and point out any issues. We do not want to fully automate the trader because that would take the human element out of the market. Traders add a lot of value but with the right level of automation they’re able to make more efficient and informed decisions.
Quality assurance and UAT testing should be easier going forward with AI machine learning tools because they have access to millions of regression tests in seconds or minutes versus currently, where it takes days or weeks of testing to get the same results, without the use of AI.
A final question: How would you sum up what you and your team are trying to achieve with your suite of electronic trading solutions – both in helping clients and advancing the business?
GlobalLINK aims to provide clients with a flexibility that enhances their preferred trading, research and analytical toolsets – never imposing a singular view or a one-size-fits-all execution model. We see the interoperable framework and contextual sharing model as the future of the trading desk. We deliver the most pertinent information right to the trader’s screen, whether it be news, analytics, optimized liquidity pools or trade execution methods.
At the same time, we’re focused on deepening long-term client partnerships built on trust, which is what allows us to keep evolving and pushing the business forward while transforming the way the world’s largest asset managers, hedge funds, corporates and banks interact with the market.
