SunGard has launched an independent, real-time transaction cost analysis (TCA) solution for foreign exchange (FX) trading to help traders, corporate treasurers and portfolio managers understand the quality of their executions. 

SunGard’s FX TCA solution helps firms gain transparency over their FX trading by providing real-time FX pricing and transaction data on a customisable data analysis toolkit delivered in a software-as-a-service (SaaS) environment.

The absence of a central or regulated pricing venue is driving the need for FX pricing transparency for managing exposure and costs. As FX execution unbundles from custody arrangements, and trading continues to move from manual to electronic methods, more attention is being paid on monitoring the cost of execution, closing out positions intraday to drive real-time trading and hedging of FX risk, and utilising TCA to evaluate performance while maintaining better control over pricing. SunGard’s FX TCA solution analyses FX transactions and shows the relative performance of the customer’s FX trading activity.

“With growing adoption of electronic FX trading, including algorithmic order routing, becoming an integral part of the daily workflows of real asset managers, hedge funds, and corporate treasury departments’ end-users alike, the resulting demand for FX TCA services of all types - post-trade, pre-trade, and real-time analysis - will continue to grow healthily into the foreseeable future,” says Howard Tai, senior analyst, Aite Group.

“Corporations, insurance companies, pension funds and asset managers know that the FX component of their trading performance is becoming more important to track and manage as investors seek alpha. As an independent provider of pricing data and analysis not tied to a particular execution venue or pricing source, SunGard is able to focus on helping organisations gain real-time performance of trading activities while providing clients with the flexibility to maintain their current broker relationships,” says Bob Santella, president, SunGard’s global trading business.