PhillipSecurities has picked Integral to power its entry into institutional foreignexchange (FX) trading, adding technology infrastructure to support largerclients and higher trading volumes.TheSingapore brokerage, which has historically concentrated on retail customers,will use Integral's pricing and distribution systems to handle FXcontract-for-difference trades for institutional clients. The movebuilds on Phillip Securities' existing equity CFD business and follows similartechnology adoptions by sister companies PhillipNova and Phillip Securities Japan, both of which already run Integral'ssystems.Phillip Securities AddsInstitutional CapacityTheIntegral platform will let Phillip Securities route real-time price feeds toinstitutional clients and other entities within the PhillipCapital Group.Clients will be able to trade FX instruments through direct market access, amodel that's been picking up users across Asia-Pacific markets looking forfaster execution and transparent pricing.Thebrokerage can also add more FX products down the road without overhauling itssystems, thanks to the platform's flexibility. That matters as PhillipSecurities tries to serve a broader range of clients while managing theoperational complexity that comes with institutional volumes."Diversifyinginto the institutional markets is a key pillar of our development strategy, andIntegral's solutions give us the pricing precision and distribution efficiencyto deliver an institutional-grade FX capability that meets the expectations oftoday's professional clients," said Luke Lim, managing director of PhillipSecurities.Axi, CFI and Taurex arejust a few of the big names that have recently taken similar steps. Why are CFDbrokers going “insti”? According to Gold-i CEO Tom Higgins, professionalclients “understand the markets far better than retail clients, so they causefewer issues.”Two otherPhillipCapital units have already integrated Integral's technology for their FXoperations, giving Phillip Securities a preview of how the systems work withinthe group's structure. The setuplets the Singapore entity distribute pricing across the organization's network,which spans 15 countries and serves more than 1.5 million clients with over $65billion in assets under management.Technology ProviderExpands Asia FootprintIntegral, aPalo Alto-based firm founded in 1993, provides currency technology to banks,brokers and payment companies. The company operates from offices in six cities,including Singapore and Tokyo, and counts hundreds of financial institutions asclients.HarpalSandhu, Integral'schief executive, said the partnership shows how the company's tools haveperformed for other PhillipCapital entities. "Toexcel in institutional markets, garnering the trust of clients is key,"Sandhu said. "The reliability and efficiency of Integral's technology willsupport Phillip Securities in securing this trust."A fewmonths ago, Integralalso entered into a partnership with the Singapore-based brokerage StraitsFinancial Services.In themeantime, the company haslaunched direct connectivity to CME Group's primary foreign exchange tradingvenues, giving its clients immediate access to two major liquidity pools.This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.