IRVINE, Calif., June 14 /PRNewswire/ -- TradePortal, a software developer for the financial services industry specializing in direct market access technology, today announced that it has opened new doors to Asia through the recent development of its DirectEX Application Programming Interface (API), which converts market data into a localized format that can interface with other trading applications.

Adopted by Takada Group, a direct access software company based in Tokyo, Japan, the API enables U.S. stock market access through Takada's front end trading application, Musashi. Musashi is written entirely in Japanese thereby limiting Takada Group's customers the ability to execute trades against the U.S. equities markets. The DirectEX API provides an interface that localizes data and seamlessly routes directed and non-directed orders and executes trades globally.

"We recognize the need for advanced trading systems to become part of Japan's growth strategy," said David Smithey, TradePortal CEO. "Direct market access (DMA) is center stage in the financial services community and the technology is crossing continents as foreign exchanges embrace the solutions which the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ have recently acquired. The partnership with Takada Group is our first step toward introducing Japanese traders to the benefits of directed order routing and the accompanying speed of trade execution in the U.S. markets."

As DMA technology is undergoing rapid adoption by institutions, in order to remain competitive with the market forces that are changing the landscape of traders everywhere in the world, several countries are positioning themselves to take advantage of the benefits offered by the technology. For example, the Australian Exchange has abandoned prior efforts at developing exchange technology in favor of DMA technology. Southeast Asia has come to the forefront in overseas DMA expansion. Tokyo, Hong Kong, Taipei and China are also well positioned to take advantage of the unique order routing and execution benefits that DMA technology offers.

According to Smithey, the next phase for DMA expansion into Japan will likely be its integration into the equities exchanges themselves and might incorporate the use of Electronic Crossover Networks (ECNs). TradePortal is well positioned to support this evolution through its enterprise solution, MatriXsuite. MatriXsuite is an enterprise application that brings the best of DMA technology to all sectors of the securities industry. Later this month, TradePortal will launch its newest product, MarketMatriX, its DMA application customized to the needs of Market Makers.

"Recent years have seen a phenomenal shift in securities trading in Japan, with active traders becoming a driving force behind the retail markets," said Neil Katkov, senior analyst, Celent Japan. "DMA technology for cross-border trading can potentially answer a real need in this and other sectors of the Japanese securities market for access to new products and best execution."

"We are pleased to have the first mover advantage and to be involved with the early adopters of DMA trading systems in Japan," added Smithey. "We know what DMA has done for the U.S. and how fast it was adopted here. We are a full two months ahead of Goldman Sachs who announced their plans to extend into Japan in July with their REDI platform."

About TradePortal

Since 1998, TradePortal has been providing Direct Market Access (DMA) software to the financial services industry. MatriXsuite, its flagship offering, provides traders on both the buy-side and sell-side with fully integrated trading applications, real-time compliance and back office administrative tools for easy management.

TradePortal's enterprise applications suite is distinguished by its single code based architecture. This unique approach enables the MatriXsuite to service multiple markets, including hedge funds, market makers, and active traders. TradePortal is the only company that offers an entire solution suite across two industry sectors (retail and institutional) and ten industry segments.

Headquartered in Irvine, California, TradePortal is an equity partner of Thomson Financial, an operating unit of The Thomson Corporation , and Tibco Software . TradePortal licenses its software to leading financial institutions including Merrill Lynch, National Financial/Fidelity, Computer Clearing Services, Pacific Growth Equities, and the Takada Trading Group, Inc.

For more information, visit the company's web site at http://www.tradeportal.com/.

CONTACT: Lauri Julian of Lages & Associates, +1-949-453-8080,
lauri@lages.com, for TradePortal

Web site: http://www.tradeportal.com/