Virtu upbeat about market making options expansion

The management of Virtu Financial Inc. expressed optimism for 2022, calling it a "key year" for the company as its options market making business outperformed during the third quarter.

During a call to discuss earnings for the quarter, Virtu Financial CFO Sean Galvin noted that the market making segment reported adjusted net trading income of $249 million or $3.9 million per day, 3% down from the year-ago quarter and 5% higher than the previous quarter. The business principally consists of market making in the cash, futures and options markets across global equities, fixed income, currencies and commodities.

Virtu Financial CEO Douglas Cifu highlighted the continuous expansion of the options market making business, which logged "strong" results despite options volumes being down 15% from a recent peak in early 2021.

"[W]hile we do not expect this business to simply grow in a straight line, we continue to evolve our capabilities, connectivity and expand the amount of symbols and venues we trade," Cifu said, adding that the company will continue making select key hires to expand the segment's geographic footprint and accelerate growth, according to a transcript.

An analyst asked what percentage of the market the company is interacting, and Cifu said "it's still pretty early innings." Cifu noted that the company was very active in the index options in the U.S., and it is market making in index options in Asia, "which is a significant expansion for us."