GTS (company)
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| GTS | |
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Founders |
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| Headquarters | New York City, U.S. |
Key people | Ari Rubenstein (CEO) |
| Products | |
Number of employees | 400 (2023) |
| Website | www |
Global Trading Systems, commonly known as GTS, is an American proprietary trading and market making firm headquartered in New York City. The firm is responsible for approximately 3 to 5 percent of the daily trading volume in US equities and has facilitated over 250 initial public offerings since 2013.
Besides its main office, GTS maintains additional locations in Chicago, Florida, London, Paris, Warsaw, and Israel.
Background
GTS was founded in 2006 by Ari Rubenstein, David Lieberman, and Amit Livnat, who previously worked together at Pax Clearing Corporation. The company was created to harness advanced technology for electronic trading, inspired by the transformative impact of algorithmic markets following the IPO of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
Starting with a primary focus on equity markets, GTS broadened its scope to include futures trading in 2009 and expanded further into currency markets by 2013.
In August 2014, Strike Technologies, a subsidiary of GTS, divested its microwave communication division StrikeNet to the TMX Group.
A pivotal development came in 2016 when GTS purchased the Designated Market Maker (DMM) business from Barclays at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). This acquisition positioned GTS as the DMM for more than 1,200 listed securities such as Twitter, Berkshire Hathaway, and Alibaba. This deal signified a major shift in NYSE floor market making from traditional banks to technologically driven trading firms, with competitors including Virtu Financial and Citadel Securities.
In November 2017, GTS collaborated with BNP Paribas to leverage its technology in US Treasury trading, aiming to improve pricing accuracy and increase market presence. As a result, BNP Paribas’s share of electronic secondary US Treasury trading grew from 1.5% to 4% within one year; this cooperation later extended into US equities markets.
GTS expanded its footprint in November 2018 by acquiring Cantor Fitzgerald’s automated ETF and retail stock trading units to enter direct retail channels. At the same time, it established a strategic partnership with Mischler Financial Group to enhance its capital markets capabilities.
In December 2018, GTS took an equity stake in Wavelength Capital Management, a firm specializing in quantitative investment strategies.
Building on these expansions, GTS announced plans in June 2019 to venture into US corporate bond markets.
Further growth occurred in December 2019 when GTS acquired Barclays' equity options trading business.
Most recently, in October 2023, GTS purchased HC Tech’s foreign exchange (FX) trading division, capitalizing on heightened FX market volatility influenced by global geopolitical events including the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the conflict in Gaza.