SWIFT announced today that it is piloting its FIX messaging service with fifteen firms connected to SWIFTNet, the Internet messaging platform the Brussels-based co-operative has developed.
The FIX Pilot Programme involves both buy and sell firms, and stock exchanges. The fifteen are: Gartmore Investment Management plc, Dresdner RCM Global Investors LLC, SWISSQUOTE Group Ltd., BNP Paribas Equities France, RBC Capital Markets, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Securities Limited, Salomon Smith Barney Inc, UBS Warburg, BNY Clearing Services LLC, Deutsche Bank AG London, Lehman Brothers, HSBC Investment Bank plc, Fidelity Capital Markets and the New York Stock Exchange.
The Pilot Programme, launched on 10 June, is expected to last for three months, prior to the live service being rolled out through an Early Adopter Programme. The SWIFTNet FIX Hub, powered by Financial Fusion, will be available for general use in September 2002.
“The entrance of SWIFT into the FIX network space promises to offer a unique opportunity to globally broaden the range of institutions that can interact electronically with their counterparties, while leveraging their other network needs,” says James Leman, Head of Global Equity Electronic Trading, Salomon Smith Barney. “Cost effective, technologically progressive communications from an historically stable global provider are always welcome, especially now as we see the range of messages supported and products served increasing at an accelerating pace.”
“FIX messaging over SWIFTNet provides a unique opportunity to use a single trusted supplier for securities messaging across the whole transaction lifecycle, from trading through to settlement,” added Chris Sims, Head of Development, Gartmore Investment Management.
The FIX messaging service will enable firms connected to SWIFTNet to access multiple trading partners around the world through a single FIX connection. This service aims to eliminate the need for firms to maintain multiple network and application-level connections to trading partners, so substantially reducing the cost and risk associated with electronic trade communications. SWIFTNet FIX will route, monitor and manage real-time FIX message traffic through FIX servers maintained in SWIFT data centres, ensuring a high degree of security and reliability.
Additional planned features for the FIX service include a certification programme, version translation, browser-based order entry application, reporting functionality and interoperability with SWIFT’s back office products and services, including SWIFTNet FIN. Firms participating in the Pilot Programme will help define pricing for the service and will also give input for future features and functionality.
“SWIFTNet FIX will reduce the complexity of our trade communications infrastructure by providing a single network connection to our trading partners and, potentially, use of the same network for post-trade communications,” says Anantha Padmanabhan, Director of Asset Management Systems, Dresdner RCM Global Investors. “The Pilot Programme will help us not only to determine security and reliability but also any additional features that may reduce the overall cost of trade processing.”
“As the use of FIX increases, so will the need for secure, reliable, managed communications,” concludes Matt Fox, SWIFTNet FIX Programme Manager, SWIFT. “The SWIFTNet FIX Hub service was built with that requirement in mind.”
In parallel, SWIFT will continue to support the industry’s standards convergence efforts by enabling interoperability between current and future versions of the FIX protocol and ISO 15022 messaging standard, as well as support for planned XML-based versions.