RQD Clearing announced its official launch of market clearing, custody and execution services for broker-dealers servicing retail, institutional and active traders, as well as foreign financial institutions and proprietary trading firms.
The firm offers the industry’s first platform built entirely on cloud-native, real-time technology, enabling RQD to introduce enhancements, mitigate emerging cybersecurity threats and implement and scale client solutions quickly and efficiently.
RQD was spun out of Volant Securities, an options market maker, and brings a deep understanding of risk and technology, as well as the challenges that legacy clearing technologies and business models cause for broker-dealers. RQD’s platform has been live for six months, with multiple broker-dealers currently clearing through it. A spokesperson declined to name the broker-dealers.
The RQD platform supports US equities, options and ETFs, and has three main components – clearing, custody and execution services – all of which are accessible by advanced API. The clearing and custody solutions are fully hosted on Microsoft Azure, eliminating the need for any on-premise infrastructure. Both are highly scalable, offer real-time trade reporting through a web-based GUI and enable automated, paperless account opening. The colocated execution services include smart order routing, an advanced suite of algorithms and ultra-low-latency direct market access (DMA).
“We understand all too well the challenges that outdated technology, rigid business models and potentially insecure systems can present to the broker-dealer community,” said Craig Reilly, chief revenue officer at RQD in a statement. “The feedback from production clients on our technology platform and overall approach has been extremely encouraging, and we look forward to working with a broader segment of the industry to help alleviate some of their longstanding frustrations and risk concerns.”