Sucden Financial unveils STAR’s Dynamic Spreader to trade on two markets simultaneously

Sucden Financial has developed a new advanced trading feature on its in-house developed STAR trading platform. The Dynamic Spreader now allows users to monitor and trade on two exchanges/markets simultaneously, taking advantage of any arbitrage opportunities.

Traders may trade the sugar premium, for example buying New York (Raw) sugar contracts whilst simultaneously selling London (White) sugar futures at the click of a button. Another example would be buying LME copper and selling COMEX copper futures contracts.

Intra-exchange spreads may also be created and traded, such as buying LME aluminium and selling LME copper, taking advantage of any relative value. The new system can save a trader time and potentially obtain better prices, whilst minimising risk.

 

The system works by allowing users to create and trade intra and cross-exchange synthetic spreads, utilising an algorithm that releases orders in clip sizes as determined by the trader to mitigate ‘legging’. The platform is programmed to reduce risk, together with alerts, providing the user strategies and built-in protection against excessive price slippage.

STAR is Sucden Financial’s in-house developed futures and options trading platform, providing access to many of the world’s major exchanges. The system is used by a broad range of clients, including brokers, proprietary trading houses and hedge funds, as well as the firm’s internal execution desks.

Michael Overlander, CEO, Sucden Financial explained:

“This is a great additional tool for our STAR traders and a good example of where in-house development has enabled us to develop specific functionality, coupled with stringent risk controls. We believe this major enhancement will further demonstrate our desire to make STAR the platform of choice.”

Gavin Parker, COO, Sucden Financial said

“Legging risk, where only one side of the trade is filled when trading across multiple exchanges is always a potential issue for traders, especially when dealing with less liquid contracts. This new feature has taken significant development by our in-house team who have created tools to minimise these risks as far as possible. STAR is a user friendly system, providing electronic access to derivative markets at a fraction of the cost of some ISV platforms with similar functionality, together with an excellent set of tools for advanced trading strategies.”