The JSE’s position as the continent’s leading stock exchange has been enhanced by the implementation of JSE-FIX, the Financial Information eXchange (FIX) protocol that standardises electronic messaging for order routing and execution.

‘JSE-FIX connects buy-side and stockbroking communities, who make up as much as 60% of the activity on the exchange, in a standardised format,’ according to Nasheen Sharma, the JSE’s Colocation Technical Account Manager. ‘It positions the JSE as a truly global exchange, as we now have the services, technology and footprint to truly be the gateway to Africa.’

Supplied in partnership with leading global FIX engine provider Rapid Addition, JSE-FIX enables machine-to-machine communication between brokers, trading firms and the JSE’s trading systems, making it easy for international trading firms and algorithmic/automated trading systems to connect to the exchange without needing custom, exchange-specific integration work.

‘It’s a vital new element in our market access suite, sitting alongside our Colocation service, which launched in 2014; and our Colo 2.0 managed infrastructure-as-a-service solution, which went live in 2023,’ says Sharma. Colo offers low-latency physical hosting by letting clients place their own trading infrastructure right next to the JSE’s trading engine, while Colo 2.0 adds on-demand, self-service cloud compute and analytics that cuts time-to-market and total cost of ownership without requiring clients to own hardware. JSE-FIX ties it all together by providing a standardised electronic messaging protocol for order routing, execution and market data – enabling straight-through processing and easy connectivity for both local and international trading firms.

‘Our suite of market access solutions provides true economies of scale, allowing access to both the JSE and our South African competitor exchange,’ says Sharma. ‘If a client were to connect to both the JSE and A2X independently, they’d be doubling up on their connection, infrastructure and technology costs. Our services are market agnostic, service agnostic and venue agnostic – so you pay one fee to access all our markets, all our services as well as those of our competitor exchange.’

Under the JSE’s predictable cost model, users are charged a set fee per session. ‘You can add on markets, you can add on exchanges, you can send multiple messages, and the price we quote – the standard price is ZAR3 000 – is the price you pay,’ says Sharma. ‘JSE-FIX is a global standard service at an affordable price. In some instances, we’ve seen clients reporting cost savings of 35%.’

The system’s neutrality is another important differentiator. ‘To achieve true economies of scale, we knew that JSE-FIX had to be neutral to services, markets and vendors,’ says Sharma. ‘Again, it’s about enabling fast market access at an affordable price.’

JSE-FIX provides international clients with choice and flexibility, allowing them to align their connectivity models with their trading strategies and operational requirements. It positions the JSE alongside its global peers and competitors – most of whom offer equivalents to the JSE’s Colo and Colo 2.0. ‘We’ve gone a step further with JSE-FIX, so we’re ahead of some of our global peers in terms of the product suite that we’re offering,’ says Sharma. ‘With FIX being a global application programming interface standard, it means that if I were located in London, for example, and I bought FIX-enabled software, I could open it up onto the JSE network.’

That seamless access through international order-routing networks makes the JSE a truly global exchange. ‘It’s also a growth opportunity for Africa, which doesn’t have a standardised technology,’ says Sharma. ‘We are working with the FIX organisation to broaden the adoption of FIX technology within Africa. With JSE-FIX, the continent now has a standardised technology from a trading standpoint, and we are looking to increase activity by bringing in more international partners.’

By Mark van Dijk
Image: iStock