NEW YORK–October 6, 2025– SOFR Academy, Inc., a leading financial engineering firm, today announced the appointment of Thomas Pluta, one of the most respected leaders in global rates trading and market structure, as Senior Advisor. Mr. Pluta, former President of Tradeweb Markets and longtime JP Morgan executive, is widely recognized as one of the industry’s foremost authorities on interest rate markets.
Mr. Pluta brings three decades of leadership in global fixed income markets, technology, and market structure to SOFR Academy, along with a wealth of knowledge in electronic trading and markets regulation. He most recently served as President of Tradeweb Markets, where he was a member of the Executive Committee, and served on the Board of Directors for seven years. Prior to joining Tradeweb, Mr. Pluta spent 27 years at JPMorgan, where he held a variety of senior leadership roles, including Global Head of Linear Rates Trading, Co-Head of North America Rates Trading, and Co-Head of Global Rates Trading. He also served as the Corporate & Investment Bank lead for JPMorgan’s firmwide LIBOR Transition Program.
Mr. Pluta has also held prominent industry leadership roles in the past, including membership on the CFTC’s Global Markets Advisory Committee (GMAC), the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Treasury Markets Practice Group (TMPG), and SIFMA’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee, including a year as Board Chair. He currently serves on SIFMA’s Advisory Council.
“SOFR Academy’s mission to enhance the transparency, resilience, and efficiency of financial markets through the implementation of IOSCO-aligned benchmark credit spreads that work with SOFR is vital, and I’m excited to contribute my experience to support this important work.”– Thomas Pluta
“Throughout my career, I’ve worked at the intersection of trading, technology, and regulation with the goal of strengthening financial markets,” said Thomas Pluta. “SOFR Academy’s mission to enhance the transparency, resilience, and efficiency of financial markets through the implementation of IOSCO-aligned benchmark credit spreads that work with SOFR is vital, and I’m excited to contribute my experience to support this important work.”
“We are truly honored to welcome Tom to the firm,” said Marcus A. Burnett, Chief Executive Officer of SOFR Academy. “Tom is widely recognized as one of the preeminent leaders in global rates trading. His distinguished record at JPMorgan and Tradeweb, his instrumental industry leadership during the transition to SOFR, and his unmatched depth of knowledge in market infrastructure make him an extraordinary addition. His confidence in our mission sends a powerful signal to market participants and policymakers alike about the importance of AXI and FXI as resilient, IOSCO-aligned benchmarks.”
SOFR Academy is implementing benchmark credit spread indices designed to complement risk-free rates such as the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR). Its flagship U.S. dollar benchmarks are the Across-the-Curve Credit Spread Index™ (AXI) (Bloomberg: AXIIUNS Index) and the Financial Conditions Credit Spread Index™ (FXI) (Bloomberg: FXIXUNS Index). AXI and FXI are the only benchmarks introduced at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Credit Sensitivity Group Workshops that have been independently confirmed as having fully implemented the relevant IOSCO Principles for Financial Benchmarks (IBM Promontory, 2024). Grounded in observable market transactions, independent research shows that these indices will enhance the efficiency, resilience, and transparency of U.S. financial markets.
About SOFR Academy, Inc.
SOFR Academy, Inc. is a financial engineering firm that develops tools to support global financial market participants and public institutions. The firm’s products are designed to complement (near) risk-free rates and promote well-functioning credit markets. Headquartered in New York, SOFR Academy works with market participants, academics, and regulators to strengthen financial system resilience and transparency. SOFR Academy’s backers include 8VC, and former Goldman Sachs partner Robert Litterman who developed the Black–Litterman model together with Fischer Black in 1990. For more information, please visit www.SOFR.org.
About the Secured Overnight Financing Rate
SOFR is published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and is subject to The New York Fed’s Terms of Use. The New York Fed has no liability for your use of the data. Neither USD-AXI or USD-FXI are associated with, endorsed, or sponsored by The New York Fed or the Federal Reserve System.
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