| Type | Public (NYSE: KCG) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial Services |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Headquarters | Jersey City, New Jersey, USA |
| Key people | Thomas Joyce, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer |
| Products | Market making and trading |
| Revenue | $1.149 billion USD (2010) |
| Net income | $91.6 million USD (2010) |
| Employees | 1,326 (2010) |
| Website | www.knight.com |
Knight Capital Group (NYSE: KCG) (formerly called Knight/Trimark Group, Inc. and Knight Trading Group, Inc.) is a global financial services firm based in Jersey City, New Jersey that provides access to the capital markets across multiple asset classes to buy- and sell-side firms and corporations.[1]
Knight is a specialized firm with highly developed market-making and trading capabilities. A heavily technologically-driven firm, it makes a market or trades in over 19,000 U.S. securities and is the largest trader of U.S. shares by volume.[2] Knight has been expanding beyond equities into fixed income, foreign exchange, options and futures.[3]
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Knight Trading group has multiple offices located in the United States and in other cities around the world. Knight's Asset Management offices are headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, with offices in Hong Kong, China, and London.
In 2003 the company was worth $670 million.[4] Knight employs approximately 933 people.[4] In 2008, Knight traded an average of 3.97 billion shares per day.[5]
In 2002, The Wall Street Journal reported that Knight traders were being probed by regulators for taking advantage of anticipated price changes by placing their own orders before carrying out customer orders.[6] The company was fined $1.5 million for committing trading violations, such as not respecting posted quotes.[7]
In 2004, the company paid a $79 million settlement to customers whom they had overcharged.[8]
Knight Capital Group is engaged in trading activities in numerous asset classes, ranging from equities to options to fixed income. It is ranked #1 with respect to other securities firms in terms of volume traded in listed names, consisting of over 17% of market share.[9]
The Equities segment includes all global equities market-making and trading, including electronic trading and traditional sales and trading, within Knight Capital Americas, L.P., Knight Capital Europe Limited, and Knight Capital Asia Limited. Products and services in this segment include Corporate Access, Knight Link, Knight Match and Knight Strategic Research.
Knight Capital Group operates in three segments: equities, fixed income, currencies and commodities, and corporate. Current operating business subsidiaries include Knight Capital Americas, L.P., Knight Execution & Clearing Services LLC, Knight Capital Europe Limited and Hotspot FX Holdings, Inc. [10] Knight Capital Group discontinued operations of its asset management segment in 2009 when its subsidiary, Deephaven Capital Management, sold most of its assets to Stark & Roth, LLC. [11]
In October 2010, Knight acquired Astor Asset Management, LLC to provide further diversification to Knight’s offering.
Astor Asset Management seeks to identify fundamental economic shifts in order to provide retail and institutional investors with capital appreciation while managing risk in diverse market conditions. The firm utilizes proprietary macro-economic models to construct portfolios of ETFs which are offered through financial advisors within separately-managed accounts and the Astor Long/Short ETF Mutual Fund.