"The increasing demand from our options traders for electronic, instantaneous execution led to the genesis of TAO," said Michael Bickford, senior vice president of Options at the American Stock Exchange. "We are proud to offer this evolutionary product, which will enable users to decrease execution times and costs, as well as better manage their order flow and their desktop real estate."
TAO displays the underlying quote information and the associated option chains for every expiration month and every strike. The quote data updates real time throughout the trading day. By clicking on a desired bid or ask quote, users bring up a pre-populated order ticket. Intuitive click controls allow the user to quickly modify the quantity or price of the order. Orders can be rapidly entered with users immediately notified of an order's execution time, price and quantity. Traders are also able to keep track of their orders throughout the trading day and can easily follow the status of such orders.
"We are thrilled to have the American Stock Exchange come to us with this notion," said James Kallimani, managing director of First Traders Analytical Solutions. "TAO will revolutionize the way member firm traders manage their order flow. With the increase in automatic execution sizes available and rapid turnaround of electronic orders by specialists, traders need a tool like TAO."
The TAO desktop application is easy to download from the First Traders website and install on a desktop PC with access to the Internet. It requires no dedicated connection to receive quotes and enter orders. TAO was developed by First Traders, with the American Stock Exchange serving as the exclusive marketing provider of the product. It is aggressively priced with products offering similar functionality. TAO, however, is the only exchange-marketed product to provide execution of options through all venues.
