Awards: Barracuda FX

Order management on a manual basis is nearly impossible, especially as regulation and the voluntary FX Global Code of Conduct are pushing markets towards more automation.

Kieran Fitzpatrick, chief executive officer of Dublin-based Barracuda FX, says the Code has been a key driver of demand for OMS products, particularly as smaller banks seek to integrate these systems into their technology stack.

“Simple trading ethics, conflict of interest, who is allowed to see orders and control them, execution policies, transparency of mark-up and risk management – they’re all there in the Code and it has forced market participants to take a closer look at their FX processes,” he says.

Barracuda FX has been voted the winner of the Best FX Order/Execution Management System category at the 2018 FX Week e-FX Awards.

“The ongoing challenge of staying ahead of the regulatory changes makes a vendor solution that much more attractive in the order-management space. We see orders as a utility and, as such, our solutions are an essential part of a market participant’s trading stack,” Fitzpatrick adds.

The ongoing challenge of staying ahead of the regulatory changes makes a vendor solution that much more attractive in the order-management space

Kieran Fitzpatrick, Barracuda FX

The company was founded in 2009, and initially focused on Tier 1 and Tier 2 banks. Today, 20 of the top 50 FX banks use Barracuda FX’s OMS and there is increasing demand from the buy side as well. Diversifying the customer base also involves catering to more varied demands.

For banks big or small

Due to the Code, demand for OMS has reached smaller banks too. So Barracuda FX launched OMSCloud, a software-as-a-service offering, with regional banks and adherence to the Code’s principles specifically in mind.

“The regulatory overheads and requirements are the same, whether I have one or one million orders. I still have to demonstrate to my regulator that I have removed any potential conflicts of interest, that I have executed orders in a transparent and fair way, and that I have a full audit trail on everything,” Fitzpatrick says.

The firm also set-up Order Hub – an electronic network that connects all of Barracuda FX’s banks to allow the outsourcing or insourcing of orders, while keeping the identity of the client protected throughout.

Both OMS and the OMSCloud can be connected to Order Hub, to support existing bilateral trading relationships.

“With the arrival of the Code and greater focus on regulation, banks need to demonstrate they have the proper controls in place, [and] that they have clear segregation of orders, as well as control of visibility, execution policies and operational risk,” Fitzpatrick adds.

VIEW THE LIST OF WINNERS