MAS Marketshas appointed Matt Porter as head of operations, hiring him from rival brokerATFX, where he had run operations for the institutional desk since 2019. TheLondon-based liquidity provider announced the move today (Tuesday) anddescribed it as its second senior hire within a month.Porterspent more than seven years at ATFX UK, according to his career history, thebulk of a financial services run that also includes nearly a decade at tradingtechnology firm FIXI and earlier roles at Morgan Stanley and NatWest. A Hiring Run ThatStretches Back to JanuaryTheappointment is the latest in a steady stretch of senior recruitment at MASMarkets. In May, the firm named former Equiti Capital and Rostro executive Saul Knapp as chief risk officer, hiring him from Rostro Group'sinstitutional arm Scope Prime.That cameafter three senior appointments to itsinstitutional team in January, including a head of institutional sales and an account manager, plusthe earlier hire of Gold-i's Chris James as chief technology officer.Thebuild-out has tracked rising revenue. MAS Markets nearly doubled its 2025 turnover to6.13 million poundsfrom 3.19 million a year earlier, and said platform trading volumes rose 81%year on year, though it did not disclose absolute volume figures.CEO andfounder Simon Blackledge said "having the right operational leadership inplace is essential" as the firm scales. Porter added he was "joiningMAS Markets at such a pivotal time in the company's growth journey."In the newrole, Porter will oversee internal processes, client onboarding, and servicedelivery, the company said. MAS added that he would also work on initiativesmeant to improve efficiency and support expansion into new markets.Poaching OperationalTalent From a Larger RivalPorter'smove points MAS Markets at a bigger institutional competitor. ATFX runs ATFX Connect, the broker's Prime of Prime arm launched in2019, and reported $1.09 trillion in group trading volume for the first quarterof 2026, a 40.6% increase from a year earlier, according to FM Intelligence data.ATFXoperates from 24 locations and holds nine regulatory licenses, a far widerfootprint than MAS Markets, which is regulated by the UK's Financial ConductAuthority and runs infrastructure out of the LD4 and TY3 data centers. MAS Marketsdescribes itself as a provider of institutional-grade liquidity, servingbrokers, hedge funds, family offices, and professional trading firms. It sitswithin MAS Group, which also operates a digital-asset liquidity unit and afunds-management arm.Liquidity ProvidersCompete for a Shrinking Talent PoolThe hirelands as liquidity providers across the sector chase senior staff and brace forconsolidation. A Marchsurvey of over-the-counter participants by Finery Markets found that 60% expected fewer liquidityproviders to survive 2026, with a quarter predicting an outright decrease, a backdrop that hassharpened competition for clients and experienced operators alike.Rivals havebeen moving on talent and territory at the same time. oneZero Financial Systemsopened its first Middle East office in Dubai this year and appointed LochlanWhite as director of sales, while GTC Group named Alexandros Patsalides vicepresident of institutional after poaching a trade solutions head fromScope Markets.This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.