After helping to develop the London Stock Exchange Group’s trading system, Tony Weeresinghe left the Exchange operator in 2014 and arrived as the Chairman and COO of Ustocktrade at the beginning of 2015. Moving from the institutional space, Weeresinghe’s latest position has him using similar experience of building marketplace trading systems and order matching, but places him in the retail space.
Launching today, Ustocktrade is targeting the US retail investment market with a low-cost system that they believe provides retail investors with professional level tools. Licensed as a broker dealer, Ustocktrade is different than typical brokers as it operates as a stock trading network with $1 monthly membership for participants. In addition, the firm has built an alternative trading system (ATS) for facilitating trading flow, with internal customer trades matched on the platform.
Controlling its order flow, according to Ustocktrade, the firm will be able to provide customers with same day settlement, which compares to the industry’s typical T+3 clearing and settlement. The major benefit of this system for customers is the ability to initiate withdrawals on the same day that trades take place.
Also being offered are trading tools. They include a trading simulator and tools for developing automatic strategies. In this regard, Ustocktrade follows a developing trend of brokers integrating systematic trading functionality which is commonplace in the institutional market to retail traders.
In addition to the brokerage service, Ustocktrade has also announced a social mission attached to the company. Partnering with The Cainan Foundation, a Weeresinghe-founded philanthropic initiative to support disadvantaged children, Ustocktrade will devote a portion of profits to the foundation.
Commenting on the launch, Weeresinghe stated: “In the on-demand economy, companies like Uber have developed a platform that removes the middleman and allows people to interact amongst themselves because it's faster, easier and more efficient. Ustocktrade is the first retail stock trading network that eliminates unnecessary stock broker involvement so trading can be seamless and happen directly between members of our community”.
