TradeStation Hires New Head of Prime Brokerage Sales

TradeStation, an online brokerage firm and trading platform, has hired Michael Collins has as head of prime brokerage sales in the company’s prime services division.

In his new role based in New York, Collins will attempt to expand TradeStation’s prime services offering, and he will particularly focus on providing services such as securities lending to emerging managers and small to mid-sized established hedge funds.

Previously, Collins worked for Citigroup as a director of prime finance sales, and before that he worked for Morgan Stanley on the institutional equity sales desk.

“I’m excited to join such a great franchise, which is focused on serving the hedge fund community with a unique combination of execution and prime,” said Collins. “With the structural changes that big banks are undergoing, our senior team of prime-brokerage veterans can serve small to mid-sized managers with an electronic execution platform that leads the market in its technology and speed.”

“Mike’s expertise will benefit both new and existing customers. Small to mid-sized hedge funds are often seen to be at a disadvantage to larger funds when comparing prime services. Our goal is to level that playing field. With our self-clearing capabilities and the hiring of bulge bracket personnel such as Mike, we’re poised to make a large impact in the small to mid-sized hedge fund space,” said Rob Sackett, head of TradeStation prime services.

TradeStation Prime Services division, based in New York, seeks to provide prime brokerage services, including securities lending, to small and mid-sized hedge funds and other firms.