nuam paves the way to a single market with world-class infrastructure

Three exchanges, one data center, one market

nuam consolidated its infrastructure into a single Equinix data center to support the integration of the Chilean, Colombian and Peruvian stock exchanges under a unified market. Equinix enables nuam to strengthen its technology performance, attract greater participation from global investors and lay the groundwork for future regional expansion.

Cross-border trading: Global reach, local management

The term “under the hood” doesn’t just refer to engines. It’s where the real machinery of the financial markets quietly drives every trade. In the Andean region, Andrés Araya Falcone is well aware of this less visible, but vital, dimension of the market. As CTO of nuam, a regional financial services holding company that promotes the integration of the Chilean, Colombian and Peruvian stock exchanges, he leads the expansion and technological modernization of the company, in line with its growth strategy and international projection. “Normally, when people talk about market infrastructure, the ‘sexiest’ or most well-known part is the stock market,” he says. “But market infrastructures are much more than that. They also include internal systems such as securities clearing and settlement houses and securities depositories, what we call post-trade. Post-trade infrastructure is used by securities intermediaries, such as broker-dealers, to ensure that securities in buy transactions and cash in sell transactions are delivered to their final beneficiaries.”

These systems allow each operation to be completed safely, safeguarding regulatory compliance and reliability in each jurisdiction. However, the three markets have distinct processes, separate operating rules and different experiences for investors. Together, they accumulated a market capitalization of US$500 billion in 2025, which represents a growth of 57% compared to 2024. “We want investors from each country to trade shares from all three countries as easily as they do in their local markets, under a standardized model and common connectivity,” says Falcone. This vision raised the bar for reliability and speed requirements for nuam’s technology infrastructure. The company operated in seven data centers in South America, adding complexity and making it difficult to deliver large-scale performance.

Upgrading and modernizing core infrastructure systems 

Falcone and the IT team were looking for a technology partner with global connectivity capabilities and a future-proof digital infrastructure, which would help nuam achieve its goals. They selected Equinix, with its extensive international presence, to facilitate nuam’s global growth and technological expansion. The first step was to consolidate into a single Equinix data center for continued availability and reliability. This is especially important in the Andean region, where more than 60% of transactions are conducted electronically. These are operations executed by algorithms that rely on predictable performance. The Santiago Stock Exchange alone processes approximately 100,000 transactions per day. 

In practical terms, nuam has latency targets across the region to support e-trading and attract local and international high-frequency traders (HFTs). The new infrastructure at Equinix includes colocation services (participants’ algorithms are housed in the same data center as the trading engine, connected via optical fiber), which enables the execution of buy and sell orders in less than 80 microseconds. nuam’s goals now align with the latency standards of major global financial centers. The data center consolidation project helps nuam eliminate duplication in infrastructure, licensing and energy costs, as well as operating expenses, reinforcing its focus on cost efficiency.

Projecting beyond the Andes

Centralized infrastructure will raise the economic profile of the Andean region as a whole. “On their own, it was more complex for Chile, Colombia, and Peru to attract international investors on a large scale,” says Falcone, who adds that a unified market “makes it easier to attract capital to the region, and to these countries in particular.” 

In fact, nuam’s three markets have a combined market capitalization of US$500 billion (2025), surpassing Mexico’s US$450 billion market, a regional benchmark for equity trading. But Falcone hopes to overcome that, and now, nuam has the infrastructure to do so, capable of supporting up to 10 times its current capacity over the next five years. nuam is also exploring other expansion opportunities, evaluating points of presence at the Equinix data center in New York. The goal is to enable investors to use nuam’s market data to execute algorithmic trades beyond the Andean region, powered by colocated infrastructure and ultra-low latency links back to nuam’s South American data center. 

“With Equinix, we are opening up South America to global investors, offering the same technology, expertise, and standards as the world’s leading markets,” concludes Falcone.

Benefits

World-class trading performance

With Equinix, nuam’s latency targets match those of major global financial centers.

Reduced operating costs 

By consolidating into a single Equinix data center, nuam reduces duplicate infrastructure and additional costs. 

Increased market liquidity

With Equinix, nuam unifies three exchanges with a combined market capitalization of US$500 billion and growing.

Faster growth potential

Equinix supports nuam’s goal to increase capacity by up to 10 times over the next five years.