Electronic Market Maker GETCO Provides Investors With High Frequency Trading Tools by Launching Algorithm Focused on Micro-Executions

CHICAGO, June 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Leading global market maker GETCO today announced the launch of GETCO Execution Services' GETAlpha, an execution algorithm for U.S. equities.

GETAlpha is the first product to provide the investment community with the same high-tech trading tools as a dedicated electronic, or high frequency, market maker. Utilizing GETCO's research, technology and infrastructure, GETAlpha provides professional investors with an execution-targeted edge.

As a modern day market maker, GETCO focuses on optimizing micro-executions to create macro-results. Market makers facilitate trading and price discovery by posting buy and sell orders, and, in turn, attempt to capture a small portion of the bid-ask spread. Widely recognized as one of the world's most sophisticated trading firms, GETCO is a market-maker on more than 50 exchanges, ECNs, ATSs and MTFs in North and South America, Europe and Asia.

By utilizing the same strategies as GETCO's core market making business, GETAlpha enables institutional investors' order executions to mimic the order execution behaviors of a dedicated market maker, thus minimizing order detection and information leakage, and providing superior executions.

"It's clear investors want tools to help keep them competitive in today's rapidly evolving financial markets. That's why GETCO Execution Services is launching GETAlpha," said Daniel Coleman, Head of GETCO's Client Services. "With GETAlpha, institutional investors now have access to the same world-class strategies and infrastructure that GETCO has spent more than a decade developing, refining and, most importantly, using. Leveraging GETCO's continuous investment in market-leading technology gives our customers micro-alpha with reduced market impact."

GETAlpha is the latest offering from the firm's client services division, GETCO Execution Services (GES). GETCO Execution Services helps investors solve their execution needs with a variety of high-tech trading solutions, including:

    
    - GETMatched, an SEC-registered Alternative Trading System (ATS), or dark
      pool, where approximately 100 million shares per day are executed on
      average. (GETMatched formerly was known as GES when it was the
      division's only client service offering.)

    - GETRouted, a customized low latency router.

About GETCO:

GETCO is a leading global market maker. The firm's primary business involves both buying and selling securities to provide two-sided markets on exchanges around the world. The liquidity GETCO supplies allows individual and institutional investors to immediately transfer the risk often associated with securities while saving money on trading costs. In addition, GETCO provides customers with a range of execution services through its client services arm, GETCO Execution Services.

    
    Media Contact:
    Sophie Sohn; +1-312-931-2299; media@getcollc.com

    Sales Contact:
    Drew Krichman; +1-646-747-0034; sales@getcoexecution.com