Auction Rate Securities to Trade over Zealous ATS or ZATS Electronic Marketplace
Zealous Trading Group, Inc. announces that through its Zealous ATS or ZATS electronic marketplace, it will facilitate secondary trading for the $330 billion market of Auction Rate Securities (“ARS”). ZATS has already received strong interest from many participants who will use the platform to transact in this market. The failure and disruption that has occurred in the ARS market has had an extreme adverse affect on the ability of many municipalities and corporations to effectively finance their ongoing operations as Auction Rate Securities were meant to be short term investments offering a slightly higher return than standard money market instruments, but with immediate liquidity.
Paul Kessler of Bristol Capital Advisors, LLC, fund managers to Bristol Investment Fund Ltd. States, “The widespread failures in the once highly respected and supported Auction Rate market has serious implications for all participants. The introduction of the Zealous trading platform to this market may prove to be the most important announcement during this time of dislocation in the Auction Rate market, thus shifting the power to those who hold these securities, and away from those who left a void in the marketplace; our firm would in fact be a buyer of these securities.”
Former Executive Vice President and Treasurer of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, Gnanesh Coomaraswamy, stated, “The crisis that currently exists in Auction Rate Securities has had an extremely negative impact on large institutions and individual investors alike, and an immediate solution is critical in order to restore confidence in participant’s ability to access liquidity and financing.”
To help launch and manage its debt business ZATS recently hired industry veteran Joseph K. Latona as a Managing Director. Mr. Latona has more than nine years of experience in the sales and trading of debt securities, having spent his entire career as a fixed income trader and founding member of Intercapital Securities a subsidiary of ICAP. Mr. Latona stated, “When I realized the opportunity that existed for ZATS to provide a centralized electronic marketplace for various domestic and foreign debt instruments it became an easy decision to become part of their organization and help build the effort.”
Zealous Trading Group CEO and President Milton “Todd” Ault III states, “Since ZATS is a neutral platform that only facilitates transactions, we don’t compete with our members, so we encourage broker dealers whose clients hold these securities and need liquidity to use our platform.”
For more information regarding liquidity for Auction Rate Securities investors or their representatives may contact us at 212-551-3655, or mvanpatten@zealousats.com
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