October 29th, 2009 - Bank of America Merrill Lynch launches algorithm suite for Brazilian equities

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has announced the expansion of its algorithmic trading platform into Brazil to meet what it describes as increasing demand from international and local investors for more sophisticated trading products designed for Brazil's Bovespa. The new offering includes several of Bank of America Merrill Lynch's algorithms, including implementation shortfall and VWAP.

"Interest and liquidity in Brazilian stocks have risen significantly this year and as a result our international investor clients are asking for more sophisticated trading tools to access this market," said Steve Schneider, head of Latin America Equities at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. "We are also seeing increasing demand from our local high-touch trading clients, many of whom are now looking forward to using these new trading tools in Brazil," he added.

"We are well-versed in customizing our offering for new markets, and relied heavily on local trader feedback when fine-tuning our algos for the Bovespa," said Lee Morakis, head of Execution Services Sales at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. "Our clients now have a robust new channel for accessing Brazil's equity markets, complementing our full-service sales, trading and research operation in Sao Paolo."