Aquis Exchange

Aquis Exchange is a pan-European is a multilateral trading facility (MTF) regulated by the UK FCA. It was established in October 2012 and launched in November 2013. Aquis Exchange operates a subscription based cash equities trading platform and develops exchange software. Aquis Exchange is set to revolutionize the European trading landscape. Currently, over 90% of European equity trading in each individual country takes place on two exchanges. The aim of Aquis Exchange is to bring fresh competition into the marketplace in order to lower the trading costs maintained by the existing duopoly. Aquis Exchange’s subscription pricing works on a similar model to that of the telecoms industry and is designed to encourage participation from all categories of professional trading firm. Users are charged according to the message traffic they generate, rather than a percentage of the value of each stock that they trade. There are different pricing bands to accommodate varying degrees of activity. There is a very low usage band for small firms, which are traditionally disadvantaged by the pricing structure of the incumbent exchanges and, at the other end of the pricing structure, is the top category where usage is unlimited (subject to a “fair usage” policy). The Company is led by former Chi-X Europe chief executive Alasdair Haynes.