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Dear Members, Potential Members, and Friends of Direct Edge –
As we announce our intentions to enter the Brazilian market today, I thought I owed it to you to give you a brief overview of our plans. To sum it up, I am incredibly excited at the prospect of bringing what Direct Edge has to offer to Brazil. I believe this initiative will be another way for us to bring value to our customers (both new and old) and help move your business forward.
Why Brazil?
Over the past 15 years, Brazil has catapulted itself to a position as one of the world’s leading capital markets. With healthy trading volumes, a sophisticated customer base, and advanced telecommunications infrastructure, many of the prerequisites for successful competition have existed there for some time. The regulatory infrastructure is also open to competition, so we began to investigate the potential of this market early last year. As we learned more, what drove us to move forward was the belief that we could bring something truly different to the marketplace that would offer value to customers, and allow us to expand upon our success in the U.S. in a sustainable, enduring way. We wanted to take a focused approach to expanding our business, and Brazil offers a compelling opportunity to take the Direct Edge value proposition global.
Our Core Principles
As we enter this new market, I believe it is important for everyone to know how we will approach this opportunity. Our core operating principles for this effort should be familiar in spirit to many of you:
- Adapt Direct Edge's high-performance technology, innovative mindset and superior customer service to the unique needs of the Brazilian market and trading community;
- Compete as a respectful, responsible and positive member of the marketplace; and
- Try wherever possible to avoid the potential for increased systemic or operational risk, allowing customers to take advantage of what we have to offer as easily as possible
We will follow this approach because this effort isn’t about Direct Edge, it’s about you – the customer. If we are helping you in your business, we will participate in your success. We do not view customers as competition or an inconvenience – you are the reason we exist in the first place. If we continue to be true to this approach, we can be successful wherever opportunity presents itself.
Let Us Help You
Whether in Brazil or the U.S., market conditions, business models and the trading dynamic are changing rapidly. Direct Edge wants to be there for you as a partner in your journey through the markets. So whether you are also thinking about expanding to Brazil, want to understand the impact of our recent latency and functional improvements, or just want to take advantage of our great pricing, let us know how we can help. Please consider us a resource – we stand ready to serve you.
Look for more on Direct Edge Brazil at www.directedge.com.br, and wish us luck at our launch event in Rio de Janeiro on November 29th. Finally, on behalf of the entire Direct Edge team, our sincerest wishes to you and your family for a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday. We are incredibly thankful to have you as customers, partners, and friends.
Obrigado (Thank You) - Bill
William O'Brien
Chief Executive Officer
Direct Edge
