Alpaca has announced the support of FIX messaging as an option for order placement and lifecycle management.
Alpaca has claimed that they found success in integrating FinTech companies with their APIs – offering high throughput, low latency API options with enhanced stability, reliability, and scalability.
Now, they are pleased expand such benefits further by enabling firms using FIX to integrate with Alpaca.
The Financial Information eXchange (FIX) protocol is a “globally” accepted standard messaging protocol used to connect to financial markets.
As noted in the update, they decided to integrate FIX protocol with Alpaca for a few reasons.
The first was that FIX utilizes sequence numbers for messages “that are sent and received.”
This allows you to recover lost messages, ensuring you are “in sync with your counterparty.”
WebSocket APIs currently do not have sequence numbers which “could cause missed or out-of-order trade events.”
In addition to this, FIX simplifies the client-side state management with its bi-directional communication model.
A new order message is sent in the same sequence of the order status updates or execution reports and you know the “exact life cycle transitions of the order in a synchronous manner.”
This makes it easier to manage order states, and often you don’t need to worry about things like the replaying scenario as it’s standardized as protocol.
Notably, as FIX is a standard protocol in the industry, you can reuse your existing technology that you have built for other connectivities.
They find clients such as brokerage and hedge fund customers have connections with different brokers and liquidity venues with FIX, and the support of FIX by Alpaca “makes it easy to add or transition from your existing partners.”
In doing so, your firm would be able expect:
- Seamless Integration: Since FIX offers a globally standardized messaging protocol, conversions to Alpaca will offer a seamless integration with minimal setup and maximum compatibility with your current infrastructure.
- Low Latency, High Throughput: Just like our APIs, you can achieve high-speed order execution with our low-latency FIX solution, built for reliability so you can trade with confidence, even at peak market hours.
- Secure: Compliant and secure with our fully regulated FIX connectivity, designed to meet the strictest industry standards.
With Alpaca’s FIX API, you are able to trade both notional (fractional share trading) and whole share Equities trading.
Just like their Rest API, FIX supports various order types and durations to support your trading needs.
You can send Market, Limit, Stop, Stop Limit, Market on Close, or Limit on Close orders. Durations supported “include Day, Good Till Cancel, At the Open, Immediate or Cancel, Fill or Kill, or At the Close.”
The FIX Messages supported are New Order – Single, Execution Report, Order Cancel Request, Order Cancel / Replace Request, and Order Cancel Reject.
Options trading as well as Crypto via FIX are coming soon.
They’re offering connectivity methods to support your FIX integration, based on your “technical requirements and connectivity preferences.”
If you have a connection with TNS, they can arrange a dedicated virtual connection for secure and high-speed order transmission.
This interconnection operates through our cloud-based infrastructure and leverages TNS’s network to ensure stability / security.
Partners interested in this setup will need “an existing TNS contract and connection, as this is a direct, private link.”
They can assist with this process, leveraging the established relationship with TNS to streamline the setup for you.
For partners preferring a straightforward internet-based connection, they reportedly “support FIX over TLS, securing your orders with industry-standard encryption.”
By whitelisting your IP address, they can establish a verified, secure link to our systems without the “need for private network arrangements.”
This option is cost-effective and faster to implement, and well-suited for partners looking for flexibility and efficiency in their setup.