BMO Financial Group has completed the acquisition of fintech firm Clearpool to enhance its electronic trading platform with innovative technology.
The acquisition is a response to a trend shifting away from equity trading to increased electronic trading, the Canadian bank said.
It cited a 2018 report by Greenwich Associates, which estimates that 73% of global equity flows are executed electronically and, in case of more liquid developed markets, the rate is likely over 90%.
Clearpool is a New York-based provider of holistic electronic trading solutions and an agency broker-dealer operating in the US and Canada.
Its cloud-based platform offers visual data analytics and customisable algorithmic trading strategies.
BMO announced the acquisition on 22 January, but did not disclose the terms.
Transparency commitment
Clearpool will continue to be a separate broker-dealer with information barriers to secure clients’ confidential information, BMO said.
Aine O’Flynn, managing director and head of global equity products and research at BMO Capital Markets, commented: “Clearpool’s business was built on providing transparency and control to all market participants.
“We are committed to maintaining those principles.”
BMO Financial Group is a diversified financial services provider based in North America with $665bn (€611bn) of total assets as of 31 January 2020.
