Citigroup (NYSE: C) will be overhauling its platform of trading strategies as part of an ongoing effort to grow its share of the U.S. equities from 14%, according to Young Kang, global head of algorithmic products at the firm.
The New-York based broker is introducing a new set of algorithmic strategy shifts, as well as technology which will be focused on speed and geared at trading in an electronic marketplace with dozens of different venues. Nearly 1,000 of Citigroup’s clients will make the transition to new trading products by May 1st when the old system is brought out of commission.
The new initiative, headed by Kang, is designed to attract businesses from rivals such as Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse. The global platform, called Citi Algorithmic Trading Strategies, has been used by the company’s own traders during the last 11 months and is now available to clients in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Steve Swanson, Citigroup’s head of global electronic trading at Citigroup, said that he expects the new platform to help lift the broker’s volume to about 20% of the market, up from its current market share of 14%. Swanson said that 20% is Citigroup’s goal across all of its equities business.
“This has been our biggest project for the last year and a half,” said Kang, who joined Citigroup in April 2007 from hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors, where he managed algorithmic strategies and trading technology.
