Saxo Bank Taps Acquire Media for Local News

Saxo originally enlisted Acquire Media in 2009 to deliver real-time news and economic calendar data from an unnamed global news provider to traders using its SaxoTrader platform in Copenhagen and London.

In March, Saxo launched a next-generation version of its platform, dubbed SaxoTraderGO, which includes a Web version for desktop computers as well as versions for iOS and Android. Today, Acquire provides its news service to Saxo Bank's traders and investors globally through SaxoTraderGO.

In recent months, Saxo has used Acquire Media's API to determine the types of news requested by users, by making a record of every time a user clicks on a story and calls Acquire's API.

"Using our API and customer feedback, Saxo has identified a trend whereby their clients are less keen on major global newswires such Dow Jones, Reuters and Bloomberg, and more interested in niche regional wires specific to their own markets," says Toby Cook, managing director at Acquire Media.

As a result, Saxo is now reigning in its use of global news providers, and is carrying out research with users in each region to determine which local news sources are required.

Acquire Media already works with most "established" news providers in the market, but if Saxo requires news from a provider that is not already partners with the vendor, "we contact them directly and can create a feed handler in a few weeks. Saxo has effectively outsourced that part of the IT function to us," Cook says.

Acquire Media's API allows Saxo's servers to pull news from the vendor's servers, while the broker also uses the Acquire Media Protocol Suite to deliver XML news into Saxo's databases over a continuously streaming secure internet connection.

SaxoTraderGO users can then configure which news stories they receive based on their portfolio, leveraging Acquire's Media proprietary taxonomy, which filters stories based on categories such as instrument, subject and geography.

As a vendor-neutral news provider, Acquire Media carries a wider breadth of news than many global providers who want to promote their own content rather than support niche news providers, Cook says.

"We don't provide our own news stories; we are a technology company that specializes in delivery of news, so we have no preference for which news providers our clients use" Cook adds.

The demand for niche and regional news is being driven by trading customers who require local-language domestic or regional news to support trading in local instruments.

"At each local exchange where people are trading, local news providers have a level of knowledge often lacking in the global newswires. Around the world, traders are demanding local knowledge in all languages. We have the ability to deliver that news content to our customers through a single connection," Cook says.