Instinet Agrees to Acquire FIS Execution Services

**June 08, 2022 **– Nomura-owned equity trading venue Instinet has entered into an agreement to purchase the FIS® Execution Services business (formerly known as “Fox River”) from FIS.

FIS Execution Services is an agency-focused broker providing customised algorithms that can help to improve client execution quality, minimise information leakage and decrease execution costs. The business was founded in 2000 and is based in Geneva, IL. FIS acquired the business through its 2015 acquisition of SunGard.

FIS Execution Services provides buy- and sell-side firms, and in particular many of the industry’s leading quant-driven funds, a suite of leading execution solutions. Key products offered include trading algorithms and execution services, including Direct Market Access and Sales Trading.

Ralston Roberts, Global CEO of Instinet, said, “We’re very excited to bring FIS Execution Services into Instinet’s legendary agency business. There is tremendous alignment between our mission and theirs – we both are intensely focused on our clients’ execution performance quality. And we both use quantitative research and advanced technology to drive efficiencies and lower trading costs. This will be a joining of complementary platforms, and it promises to be a great fit culturally, as well as strategically. We look forward to providing the benefits of this combination to our collective clients.”

Nasser Khodri, Head of FIS Capital Markets, said: “It’s not an easy decision to divest a business that has the depth of skills and reputation our FIS Execution Services team has earned. But after extensive analysis, we felt that the synergies our algorithmic trading business would have with a global, highly scalable platform like Instinet’s were very compelling. This move will provide the team and the product suite with growth opportunities, and will complement Instinet’s already award-winning execution capabilities.”

Pursuant to the acquisition agreement, Instinet will offer employment to the FIS Execution Services staff and will acquire the assets of the FIS Execution Services business, including its algorithmic trading technology and intellectual property. Pending regulatory approvals, the deal is expected to close later this year.