MF Global (Formerly Man Financial) Review & Alternatives

• Multi-Asset Trade Execution
• Clearing and Custody
• Support and Tech Solutions
• Capital Introduction
• Outsourced Trading
• Financing Solutions

Customer Types

• Hedge Funds
• Family Offices
• ETF Groups
• Mutual Funds
• Regional Banks
• Proprietary Traders

Trade execution StoneX Prime provides high- and low-touch execution across equities, fixed income, listed derivatives and FX. Clients can use experienced trading desks or electronic execution and algorithmic solutions for low-latency market access. The service is designed to combine global market connectivity with institutional execution across multiple asset classes. Clearing and custody StoneX provides clearing and custody alongside its execution services, including US self-clearing capabilities and segregated CASS-compliant custody internationally. For fixed income clients, custody can be combined with settlement, financing and execution, providing a central operational hub through which managers can hold and manage their assets. Financing solutions StoneX Prime offers repo financing, securities lending, margin financing and synthetic prime financing. For fixed income funds, its repo offering is designed to provide financing based more closely on the underlying securities, potentially offering more competitive haircuts and financing rates than traditional cash-prime models designed primarily for equities. Capital introduction StoneX's capital introduction service connects hedge funds with its network of family offices and other allocators. Support includes direct investor introductions, one-to-one meetings, networking and hosted events, and speaking opportunities. This can be particularly useful for smaller and emerging funds looking to develop their institutional investor network. Outsourced trading StoneX offers outsourced trading for asset managers that want to supplement or replace parts of their internal trading operation. The service provides cross-asset market expertise, additional trading capacity and execution support, potentially allowing smaller funds to access institutional trading capabilities without the expense of building a larger in-house dealing desk. Client support and technology StoneX combines operational support with trading and portfolio technology, including real-time reporting and account-management tools. Its prime services proposition is designed to support managers across execution, financing and custody, while technology and experienced support teams help funds manage the operational workload associated with running an institutional investment portfolio. Global market access StoneX Prime provides multi-asset market access across equities, fixed income, derivatives and FX. Its fixed income offering, for example, spans developed and emerging markets, investment-grade, high-yield and agency-backed bonds, while its wider prime offering combines market access with financing, custody and execution. Research and analytics StoneX provides macro market research and analytics alongside its prime brokerage services. For fixed income investors, this includes specialist support for assessing curves, spreads and hedged versus unhedged exposures. The aim is to combine market intelligence with execution and risk-management infrastructure rather than providing trading access in isolation.

• Multi-Asset Execution & Clearing
• Advanced API Order Management
• Deep Liquidity & Financing

Customer Types

• Hedge Funds
• Family Offices
• Managed Accounts

Trade execution

Interactive Brokers provides electronic execution across stocks, options, futures, currencies, bonds and funds through its global trading infrastructure. Institutional clients get access to 100+ order types and algorithms, SmartRouting and automated execution tools. Its API and FIX solutions also support systematic and rules-based trading strategies.

Clearing and custody

IBKR combines execution with clearing and custody through its institutional platform. Its OMS also supports multi-broker arrangements, allowing funds to route orders to external execution providers and allocate trades pre- or post-trade across multiple custodians. This makes it possible to use IBKR technology while maintaining relationships with other brokers and custodians.

Financing solutions

IBKR provides margin financing alongside a substantial securities lending operation. Its automated stock-loan tools show indicative borrow rates and security availability, helping funds locate shares for short positions. Clients can also earn interest on eligible cash balances and potentially generate additional income by lending eligible shares through its Stock Yield Enhancement Program.

Global market access

IBKR's Universal Account provides access to stocks, options, futures, currencies, bonds and funds across 170 markets in 40 countries and 29 currencies. Clients can fund accounts in multiple currencies and trade instruments denominated in different currencies, making its global market coverage particularly suitable for multi-asset and global macro strategies.

Securities financing

IBKR provides automated securities financing with global stock availability and transparent stock borrow information. Its systems combine multiple sources to determine indicative rates and display both borrow costs and availability electronically. Shortable security availability and borrow fees are also distributed in real time through its platforms, FTP files and APIs.

Order and portfolio technology

IBKR's OMS integrates order management, execution, research, risk management, operations, reporting, compliance, clearing and execution. It can operate within a multi-broker setup rather than requiring all trades to be executed through IBKR. Institutions can also integrate third-party portfolio management, order management, allocation and compliance systems.

Trading platforms and APIs

IBKR provides institutional trading through desktop, web and mobile platforms, including Trader Workstation, alongside proprietary APIs and FIX CTCI connectivity. Institutions can build automated trading systems using IBKR's order routing and market data infrastructure, with more than 100 order types and algorithms available for sophisticated execution strategies.

Risk management

IBKR provides real-time, multi-asset risk management through tools including Risk Navigator. Institutional clients can monitor exposures across different markets and asset classes and analyse risk against potential returns. This is integrated with IBKR's broader trading infrastructure, making it particularly useful for funds running multi-market or multi-asset portfolios.

Reporting and analytics

IBKR provides customisable account statements and reporting covering trading and portfolio activity. Reports can be downloaded in PDF or Excel and exported to several third-party systems. Institutional clients can also receive regulatory alerts and reports when positions reach thresholds associated with US Form 13F and Schedules 13D/13G.

Fixed income and bonds

IBKR's Bond Marketplace provides access to more than one million bonds, with transparent commissions and no built-in mark-ups or spreads. Its offering includes US Treasuries, which can be traded around the clock five days per week, giving hedge funds another asset class that can be managed through the same Universal Account.

• Custom trading solutions
• Professional platforms & APIs
• Deep liquidity & asset choice

Customer Types

• Hedge funds
• Banks and brokers
• Asset managers

Group, the leading CFD, Margin Trading and Spread Betting provider, also has a prime broekrage service aimed squarely at institutional customers, High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI) and their families.

The institutional division is called IG Prime and as the name suggests it offers Prime Brokerage services to organisations such as Hedge Funds, Family Offices and startup money managers

IG Group has courted institutional business for the last twenty five years and indeed it started to offer prime brokerage services as far back as 2006. However, the more focussed IG Prime department consolidates all of its institutional offerings and products under “one roof” and the division will seek to leverage IG’s presence in international financial centres such as Switzerland and Singapore.

Tony Lim who heads up IG’s Singapore operations said of the news

"IG has always taken pride in providing the best trading experience for our clients, the launch of IG Prime will enable us to better serve institutional clients based on their different trading needs with innovation and first-class technology,"

Whilst Fouad Bajja CEO of IG Bank in Switzerland commented that

“I am proud to announce the launch of IG Prime today”  and that “ IG Prime gives hedge fund managers and family offices access to the full spectrum of prime brokerage services across synthetic, custody, trading and financing solutions”

The new division has a very specific target market in mind and will focus its attention on the 8000 funds that the company has identified, which have less than US$200 million in assets under management.

IG's management believes that this pool of prospective customers represents a potential fee pool of some £500 million per annum for the company's prime brokerage offering.

Given current market conditions, the timing of the launch may seem odd, however, there is likely to be a method to IG’s apparent madness

In the wake of previous market downturns, banks and other providers have historically trimmed their services and clients lists, by raising thresholds on client activity or fund size. It’s these small fish, that currently swim in the big ponds of the global investment banks, that IG is keen to catch.

IG Group’s status as an internationally regulated, well established listed company, that sits within the UK's FTSE 250 index, is likely to provide new customers with a degree of transparency and financial security that many others in the small to medium prime brokerage sector, may not be able to match.

As was pointed out by Max Hayden IG’s Global Head of Prime Brokerage Sales who was quoted as saying

"Hedge Fund clients are more focused on cost than ever as the industry has gone mainstream, but they still want the comfort of a secure well capitalised counterparty"

IG Prime is the latest in a series of moves by IG to try and diversify its income streams and move away from a reliance on retail trading flows and commission.

• Bespoke Trading Technology
• Multi-Asset Liquidity & Connectivity
• Custom Reporting Solutions

Customer Types

• Banks
• Hedge Funds
• Family Offices

Trade execution

CMC Connect provides institutional multi-asset execution, combining electronic market access with trading-desk support. Its Prime Services offering includes global cash equities, ETFs and synthetic single-stock exposure, with DMA and smart order routing across exchanges, MTFs and other liquidity venues. Trading is available through FIX connectivity or CMC’s institutional platform.

Cash prime brokerage

CMC Connect’s Cash Prime Brokerage combines execution and financing for institutional clients trading physical equities and ETFs. Clients can access global cash equity markets using DMA and smart order routing, with post-trade support integrated into the service. The offering is designed for institutions wanting execution and prime financing within one environment.

Synthetic prime brokerage

CMC Connect provides Synthetic Prime Brokerage for institutions wanting synthetic exposure rather than owning the underlying securities. Its offering includes synthetic single-stock exposure alongside financing and execution infrastructure. This can give hedge funds a way to establish leveraged long or short equity exposures while consolidating their trading through CMC’s institutional Prime Services platform.

Financing solutions

CMC Connect’s expanded Prime Services offering combines flexible financing with execution and post-trade support. Financing is available alongside both cash and synthetic prime brokerage, allowing institutional clients to structure equity exposure according to their strategy. The material provided does not specify financing rates, margin methodology or securities-lending terms.

Direct market access

CMC Connect provides DMA to global cash equities and ETFs, enabling institutional clients to access trading venues electronically. Orders can also use smart order routing across exchanges, MTFs and other liquidity venues worldwide. Connectivity is available through FIX or CMC Connect’s own trading platform, supporting institutions that want automated electronic execution.

Futures & options

CMC Connect provides futures and options trading across 27 exchanges, with direct electronic access to trading venues. Clients can trade through CQG and TT, with position monitoring and cash-management facilities. Its trading desk can also provide account support and voice-broking execution for institutional clients and eligible professional individuals.

Liquidity

Liquidity provision is a core part of CMC Connect’s institutional offering. Its infrastructure provides access to multiple asset classes and global trading venues, with smart order routing helping clients access available liquidity across exchanges, MTFs and other venues. CMC positions the service for banks, brokers, hedge funds and family offices.

Trading technology and connectivity

CMC Connect provides multi-asset institutional trading technology through API connectivity, FIX, its own platform and white-label solutions. CMC says it has invested more than £100 million in technology, with its infrastructure designed to give institutional clients a single connection through which they can access global markets and multiple asset classes.

Reporting

CMC Connect provides custom data delivery designed around clients’ regulatory, performance and risk requirements. Reporting forms part of its wider institutional technology offering alongside execution, connectivity and liquidity. The information provided does not detail specific portfolio analytics or reporting tools, so I wouldn’t position this as being as extensive as IBKR’s disclosed reporting suite.

Client support

CMC Connect provides institutional support through local teams and its trading desk, with 24/5 support available through its international network. Clients can receive assistance with implementation, account management and voice execution. CMC Connect works with banks, brokerages, family offices, hedge funds and dealing desks across its institutional business.