Mushegh Tovmasyan’s Forexify leads investment round in Advanced Markets
Institutional FX liquidity and prime-of-prime services provider Advanced Markets has announced what it has called a “significant investment” made in the company, led by merchant bank Forexify and Los Angeles based investment firm Corbel Capital Partners.
Forexify and Corbel join existing Advanced Markets shareholders Macquarie Group and GFI Group LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of BGC Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:BGCP), which have each reduced their stakes to accommodate new investors for the next phase of Advanced Markets’ growth. The parties said that the new investor lineup combines the specialist and deep Industry expertise of Forexify and Corbel with the institutional knowledge of Macquarie Group and BGC.
While the exact size of the investment round wasn’t disclosed by the company, one of the investors (Forexify) did mention in a social media post that it was an “8 figure investment round”, that is $10 million+.
“These new investors represent an important step in achieving our global strategy,” said Anthony Brocco, Founder and CEO, Advanced Markets. “Key industry relationships through Forexify will enable us to dynamically expand our product offering and technology capabilities, ensuring we continue to meet the needs of our fast growing and diverse institutional client base.”
Forexify Chief Investment Officer Mushegh Tovmasyan said,
“The top tier of this industry has seen a lot of consolidation in recent years driven by regulatory changes and increased capital requirements. Advanced Markets’ unique footprint, institutional ownership credentials and remarkable market access, provided by Prime Brokers such as UBS, Standard Chartered and Macquarie Group, make it the ideal company to lead a new era of trading.”
“Advanced Markets presents a hugely exciting opportunity,” said Michael H. Jones, Principal, Corbel. “The strong track record and leadership, combined with the positive market outlook made this an easy investment for us; we’re proud to partner with Forexify and its management to drive Advanced Markets’ next phase of growth.”
“We look forward to partnering with the industry experience of Forexify and Corbel in supporting Advanced Markets’ expansion into new markets and relationships,” said Lachlan Green, Macquarie Bank Division Director and Non-Executive Director of Advanced Markets Holdings.
This latest round of investment is the company’s first since a major investment led by GFI Group LLC in 2010, and Macquarie Group’s significant investment in 2007. Advanced Markets said it will continue to operate as an independent business under its current brand and leadership, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina with subsidiaries around the world.
Advanced Markets’ continued growth with leading brokers, fund managers and other institutions is driven by the combination of the firm’s Direct Market Access/Straight Through Processing (“DMA/STP”) model and robust, low-latency trading infrastructure.
Forexify is a Puerto Rico based merchant bank founded by former Divisa Capital Group CEO and current Zenus Bank Chairman Mushegh Tovmasyan (pictured above). Forexify provides advisory services and makes investments predominantly in FinTech companies that have the potential to disrupt legacy business models. The company was founded in 2015 and has achieved a number of relevant exits.
Corbel Capital Partners is an independent investment firm managing approximately $500 million of institutional capital that makes non-control investments in the form of creatively tailored structured debt or equity securities in profitable, lower middle-market businesses.
Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advanced Markets is a prime of prime broker offering wholesale services to institutional clients globally, providing technology access, trade execution and prime brokerage solutions directly to banks, hedge funds, commodity trading advisors, corporations and other institutional market participants. The firm offers direct market access trading in spot FX, precious metals, and contracts for differences (CFD) across financial and commodity products via various regulated entities globally.