Aquis Exchange Share Discussion Threads

[pugugly] 21/9/2023 06:56

Interim results "Profit before tax up 64% to GBP1.1m" Looks expensive to me -v- market cap of £102Million.

Thoughts?

[pck76] 12/9/2023 18:59

Hi Maddox, it comes from the RNS this morning: Aquis Exchange PLC (AQX.L) announces that it intends to change the proprietary trading rule on its UK and EU trading platforms in its Aquis Markets division.The rule, which does not allow aggressive non-client proprietary trading, was introduced by Aquis in 2015 and has successfully reduced market impact and signalling risk. However, in response to member demand Aquis will change the rule to allow liquidity providers the option to choose if they wish to interact with aggressive non-client proprietary trading or not.This innovative modification is consistent with Aquis' commitment to provide members with the greatest choice and flexibility when transacting on the MTF platform.Implementation of this change will take place, subject to regulatory non-objection, in October 2023 to allow members and data providers to adapt to this change.

[maddox] 12/9/2023 16:17

Hi pck,

Perhaps you could paste a reference to that statement,

Regards Maddox

[pck76] 12/9/2023 15:51

"Aggressive non-proprietary trading" they mentioned they have eased the rules around this. Does anybody know how this stuff works?

[likeawalrus] 25/8/2023 13:48

very disappointing over the last year, I thought the share price would be close to £6 or £7 by now, I got this one badly wrong

[pck76] 18/8/2023 14:23

Thanks, good to know there are no major changes in market share. When I have time I'll double check their transaction numbers vs. overall transactions.

[robsy2] 18/8/2023 08:23

The monthly stats have been reinstated, see link above.

I can see that market share is holding steady at 5% , so no big breakthrough there and overall market trading volumes are down.

[robsy2] 08/8/2023 13:54

No news yet,still the RNS makes interesting reading. Seems like the two companies have a lot to offer each other. Maybe attacking the fund manager side of the market can drive more business to Aquis markets fixed- cost,lower cost offering?

[pck76] 01/8/2023 23:05

Your message is quite timely Robsy as I checked some data this afternoon and did notice the number of transactions has gone down since I had last checked (at some point in 2021). I found it strange as, to me, their pricing structure is so good, usage should only increase over time. I would be interested to know what IR tell you, please share when they respond..

[robsy2] 01/8/2023 07:01

Hi Maddox
Thanks for your replies by the way . I read them at the time with interest but failed to acknowledge them,apologies.
I am still sat tight here waiting for something to happen ....
I notice that since March 23 they have not issued any monthly stats re market share etc .
I have written to IR asking them what happened. Perhaps they don't read well and they have stopped posting them?

[maddox] 18/4/2023 15:27

Hiya Robsy,

My understanding of the monthly data reported is that it demonstrates that AQX has the venue providing 'best execution'.

When financial institutions (FIs) want to acquire or sell a stock - they will be buying or selling large tranches of shares. Their shareholdings are large and it thus takes time to complete. Other markets allow 'High Frequency Trading' (HFT) firms to front-run the FI's brokers - they detect the buying and selling - hover-up shares and sell them back - making a turn in the process. This causes the price to move against the FI. Without the parasitic HFTs acting in this way means AQX offers the FIs better prices - i.e. best execution.

However, in periods of high market volatility the HFTs dominate the trading activity - so AQX's market share falls as they don't have the HFTs.

Consolidated Tape: Yes, If EU/UK follow the US model - then AQX will do well. But don't hold your breath.

[robsy2] 18/4/2023 11:44

Forgot to mention data, which is cited as a possible game changer.The intro of the Consolidated Tape does appear to be in the offing. They feel they can get something from this in FY25. My understanding here is that since it is all very uncertain, they are not including anything extra in the forecasts,though they think it is definitely a case of when it happens ( whatever form it takes ) rather than if it happens and they do think if things pan-out here like they have in the USA, then they can expect the extra revenues to be very significant.
I like this piece of the puzzle a lot!

[robsy2] 18/4/2023 11:36

I see that they have filled out their offering to include Dark Market, closing auctions, auctions on demand etc. This is deemed to be important and a good thing,though I don't know enough about market making and how it shakes down financially to understand the significance of it all.
Having been inspired by Maynard Patons excellent intro to the company, trying to get my head around it all is an enjoyable WIP for me. I've seen the charismatic and highly enthusiastic CEO, Alisdair Haynes present a few times and really like the look of it all and have bought in.
One thing I don't get is the significance of the monthly stats they release on their website . Rising market share would seem to be a decent measure of their traction so to see it stalling of late doesn't look good?
The markets side is only 50% of the business now so maybe some slowdown here is not so important .
The Aquis exchange seems to be doing quite well compared to AIM though while I don't really know if I bought my AQS shares on Aquis or Aim the spread was brutal either way.Plus ca change?
The tech side of the business is growing well and also profitable, but here I lack understanding of the opportunities they allude to, especially regarding 24/7/365 trading and the provision of exchange grade markets tech to non-financial institutions so they can run things like procurement etc .
I don't understand what their competitive advantage is in this area or whether there is strong potential demand for what they are capable of providing.
More questions than answers I guess!!
Also happy to hear others thoughts.

[maddox] 14/4/2023 13:01

Hi Robsy,

True, although AQX have been filling-out with new propositions pretty quickly - Dark Market and Auctions, for example.

Nevertheless, your main point is well made. One would think that the HFT parasites in the other markets should be sufficient to drive AQX adoption. If I were running a fund I would be expecting my brokers to be seeking best execution - not providing a free lunch to the HFTs. I don't understand what the brokers get out of the status quo? Perhaps there is a lack of awareness amongst fund managers?

Happy to hear other's thoughts and insights on this.

[robsy2] 14/4/2023 08:20

The Aquis offering looks compelling,in as much as I can work it out, but what explains the slowness of uptake?
Maybe it is just what you say Maddox and maybe some users don't like some of the restrictions that the trading restrictions? other users may see that they need to be members of lots of exchanges to get full access to all the stocks they want to deal in so the AQuis offering doesn't cover their needs?

[maddox] 05/4/2023 09:08

Hi pck,

It appears that these major banks aren't as quick on the uptake as you would imagine.

However, this is typical, market disrupters take far longer to break through than logic would suggest. There is a natural inertia resisting change; often vested interests in the status quo; and a 'risk-averse business approach' - let others go first to prove the model. This is often referred to as a 'fast-follower strategy' but not particularly fast in my experience.

The positive side of this is that it provides an opportunity for investors. We can see the model working and have time to leverage-up having taken an early stake.

The last results presentation was excellent - there is certainly more than sufficient adoption to conclude that the model is working - with 3 new FIs and others increasing volume. The Technologies Division is really showing its worth in building renewable/recurring revenue. The transformation of the Aquis Stock Exchange (AQSE) is remarkable with 22 IPOs.

So IMHO 2022 has been a pivotal year - in proving the AQX business model.

[pck76] 04/4/2023 22:28

Does anybody understand why not all clients are in the top tier? In a subscription model like this I would expect every client to increase their traffic, therefore lowering their fees per trade. Why is this not happening?

[likeawalrus] 03/4/2023 10:37

good to see directors' buying today plus the new 24/7 exchange could be a big winner for aqx

[maddox] 30/3/2023 13:12

We have the retail investor presentation today hosted by

AQUIS EXCHANGE PLC Year End Results 30th Mar 2023 at 4:00pm BST

If you've just come across AQX - I'd recommend highly watching the Capital Markets Day presentations

[likeawalrus] 30/3/2023 08:04

very good results for 2022 but seems to be unloved (at the moment). share price is very disappointing but that's ok as it gives me an opportunity to park some in my ISA after the 5th at what I see as a very good price

[robsy2] 21/2/2023 17:08

Jan figures out. Total value traded 53 billion € up 20% on December 21,Aquis market share up to 5.81%.

[robsy2] 16/1/2023 17:55

Aquis shows up ‘fat, lazy’ peers, says JOHCM’s Costar

Aquis Exchange (AQX), the operator of pan-European equity trading exchanges, has proved that its unique technology can disrupt ‘fat, lazy’ financial markets, says JOHCM fund manager Mark Costar.

Citywire A-rated Costar holds the stock in his £252m JOHCM UK GrowthMark Costar fund and in his latest fund update said Aquis had been a recent top performer having been ‘beaten down to comical levels over the late summer-early autumn’ but with ‘the boots removed from [its] throat is starting to chart a strong and fully merited path of recovery’.

‘Acquis Exchange had an excellent capital markets day, which fully showcased its unique technology platform and disruption opportunities in pockets of the financial markets that have become fat, lazy and innovation-free for decades or more,’ Costar said.

Shares in Aquis Exchange closed 3% down last week at 370p.

[robsy2] 21/12/2022 07:26

Just checked out the data figures on Aquis website.

Value traded (EUR): €50,291,407,714 / Auction on Demand value traded (EUR): €548,531,173. Market share 5.25%.

Figures trending upwards again after a lull back in the summer.

[likeawalrus] 10/11/2022 10:08

good to see the share price on the up, due for a substantial re-rate in the next few months imo, I'm hoping for £6-£7 after the Finals in March