JPMorgan has agreed to acquire Neovest Holdings, Inc., a provider of execution capabilities and direct market access(DMA) to hedge funds, and other high frequency trading houses.
Neovest’s electronic capabilities aim to allow hedge funds access to every major pool of liquidity, including electronic networks, exchanges, floor brokers, block desks, and algorithmic products, plus anonymous trading and segregated support.
It is the latest stage in a more ambitious strategy adopted by Morgan for the hedge fund industry. Last December the bank entered the hedge fund business directly by taking a majority interest in New York-based Highbridge Capital Management.
Morgan will use Neovest to deliver algorithmic trading, trade optimization models and pre- and post-trade analytics directly to clients. However, clients will still be free to access these services through proprietary order management systems (OMS).