Nomura Securities International, Inc. today announced the official opening of its new 75,000 square foot equities trading floor in New York at 2 World Financial Center, coinciding with the launch of US Cash Equities and US Equity Research. Together with a new equity research floor opened in midtown Manhattan, the equities department includes 430 professionals and has seating in these two new facilities to expand headcount to over 600 positions as it continues its growth in the Americas.
US Equities now offers full capabilities in cash, convertibles, derivatives, electronic trading, futures, prime brokerage, program trading, and quantitative and fundamental research. Nomura also has sizeable sales forces delivering the full range of equity products from Japan, Asia and EMEA. The firm’s US customers benefit from a global network of content, ideas, structuring and liquidity across all markets, including the #1 ranked Institutional Investor international research team. Nomura has also built powerful fixed income capabilities over the past fifteen months and is amid an ambitious expansion of its investment banking and advisory services.
The brand new trading floor brings together all products in a single, cutting-edge environment, underpinned by the latest trading technology and infrastructure. Nomura’s clients and traders execute through the firm’s ultra-low latency platform, NXT Direct, and a single, unified order management architecture that was built from the ground up over the past year. This platform benefits from the expertise and intellectual capital of an extensive global technology and operations team, with the advantage of completely new construction and the latest trading systems innovations.
“Nomura’s goal in US Equities is to create an idea house that is fully customer driven, employing the best talent and proven teams. The people and businesses now up and running on this trading floor embody that vision. Together with our global edge in equities and fixed income, particularly our unmatched access to Asia and Japan, it creates a compelling offering for our clients,” said Ciaran O’Kelly, senior managing director and Head of Equities Americas.
At the same time, US Equity Research launched its business as a global provider of leading industry and investor-focused content, marked by the coverage initiation of the #1 ranked Institutional Investor Media analyst for the last four years, Michael Nathanson, who launched coverage today on 12 media and entertainment stocks. “Michael Nathanson’s initiation marks Nomura’s launch of a first-rate research department, and one that is driven by the exceptional talent of its analysts,” said Michael Rietbrock, Head of US Equity Research. Nomura’s US equity research department has hired ten publishing analysts in the last six months and continues to recruit in key industries.