GTS Completes Buyout of Cantor’s ETF, Market Making Business

Global Trading Systems (GTS), the largest designated market maker on the New York Stock Exchange, has closed the deal to acquire Cantor Fitzgerald’s broker dealer business that involves ETFs and the wholesale OTC market making.
is a New York-based broker-dealer in equities, US Treasuries, fixed income securities and currencies. It also operates an investment bank and prime brokerage business.

As part of the deal, approximately 30 Cantor Fitzgerald personnel will become employees at , the company said Wednesday in a statement that didn’t disclose financial terms.
Two units will shift to GTS. The ETF business, which trades with customers and on exchanges, will be led by Reginald Browne along with his partners Eric Lichtenstein and Darren Taube. In addition, Joe Pleffner, Mike Strashnov and Menash Cohen will oversee the wholesale market-making business, which executes stock and ETF trades for retail investors.
GTS challenges dominant position of Citadel and Virtu
leans on proprietary algorithms to trade in a range of commodities, futures, forex and derivatives around the world. The takeover of Cantor Fitzgerald’s business makes it look more like competitors and Virtu, which are giants in handling orders from retail brokers.
In the US, Global Trading Systems trades securities only with other registered broker-dealers, while operates as principal via GTS Securities, LLC, a FINRA member broker-dealer. The company also serve as a market maker on a variety of exchanges in North America and Western Europe.
Ari Rubenstein, co-founder and CEO of GTS, commented: “We are extremely excited about the opportunity to provide our clients with industry-leading execution services and premier client service. The GTS offering creates a new standard that will unite technology and capital deployment to create efficiency across asset classes. Investors around the world can now leverage the very best in machine learning, artificial intelligence and execution technology to help them save money whenever they trade and invest.”