Multicomputer distributed processing of trading information

Abstract

A trading platform and trading method that may allow access to additional pools of liquidity is described. Other embodiments are also described.

1 . A method of interaction between electronic marketplaces to facilitate trade execution, comprising:
 receiving, by a first electronic marketplace, a first indication of a firm order from a broker, in which the firm order defines a side of a trade for a financial instrument;   transmitting a second indication of the firm order from the first electronic marketplace to a second electronic marketplace without attempting to execute the firm order at the first electronic marketplace;   receiving, by the second electronic marketplace, the second indication;   in response to receiving the second indication by the second electronic marketplace, transmitting, by the second electronic marketplace, a third indication of a non-firm order defined by the firm order to the first electronic marketplace;   receiving, by the first electronic marketplace, the third indication;   in response to receiving the third indication by the first electronic marketplace, determining a matching order for the non-firm order at the first electronic marketplace, in which the matching order defines an opposite side of the trade for the financial instrument;   in response to determining the matching order at the first electronic marketplace, confirming by the first electronic marketplace the non-firm order with the second electronic marketplace, and facilitating execution of the trade;   transmitting a fourth indication that the non-firm order has been fulfilled to the second electronic marketplace from the first electronic marketplace;   receiving, by the second electronic marketplace, the fourth indication;   in response to receiving the fourth indication, transmitting from the second electronic marketplace to the first electronic marketplace, a fifth indication that the firm order has been fulfilled;   receiving, by the first electronic marketplace, the fifth indication; and   in response to receiving the fifth indication, transmitting, from the first electronic marketplace, a sixth indication to the broker that the firm order has been fulfilled.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , in which the fifth indication identifies that the firm order was fulfilled at the first electronic marketplace in the form of the non-firm order; and in which the method further comprises: determining a fee to charge the broker based on at which of electronic marketplaces the firm order was fulfilled. 
     
     
         3 . An apparatus comprising:
 at least one processor configured to execute a plurality of instructions; and   at least one machine readable medium on which the plurality of instructions are stored, in which the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor causes the apparatus to perform a method comprising:
 receiving a first indication of a firm order from a broker, in which the firm order defines a side of a trade for a financial instrument; 
 transmitting a second indication of the firm order to an electronic marketplace without attempting to execute the firm order; 
 receiving, from the electronic marketplace, a third indication of a non-firm order defined by the firm order; 
 in response to receiving the third indication, determining a matching order for the non-firm order, in which the matching order defines an opposite side of the trade for the financial instrument; 
 in response to determining the matching order, confirming the non-firm order with the electronic marketplace; 
 in response to confirming the non-firm order, facilitating execution of the trade; 
 receiving, in response to facilitating execution of the trade and from the electronic marketplace, a fourth indication that the firm order has been fulfilled; and 
 in response to receiving the fourth indication, transmitting a fifth indication to the broker that the firm order has been fulfilled. 
   
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , in which the method further comprises:
 in response to facilitating execution of the trade, transmitting a sixth indication that the non-firm order has been fulfilled to the electronic marketplace.   
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , in which facilitating execution includes at least one of executing the trade and transmitting an indication to a remote destination indicating that the trade should be executed. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , in which confirming the non-firm order includes:
 transmitting a request for confirmation to execute the trade to the electronic marketplace; and   receiving a sixth indication that the trade should be executed.   
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , in which in order for the non-firm order to be confirmed, the sixth indication must be received in a time period. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , in which the time period includes a time period between about 10 milliseconds and about 1 second. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , in which the method further comprises:
 receiving an indication of an agreement that the electronic marketplace will confirm the non-firm order unless at least one of the firm order is cancelled and the firm order is fulfilled.   
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , in which determining the matching order includes:
 transmitting an order query identifying the non-firm order to each of a plurality of systems, in which each of the plurality of systems is associated with a respective order management system; and   receiving, from a first one of the plurality of systems, a sixth indication of the matching order.   
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , in which the order query identifies the non-firm order as firm. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , in which the sixth indication identifies that the trade should be executed without a negotiation. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , in which the order query indicates that the trade would be executed without a negotiation. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , in which facilitating execution includes facilitating execution without a negotiation involving a price and a quantity. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , in which the fourth indication identifies that the firm order was fulfilled in the form of the non-firm order; and in which the method further comprises: determining a fee to charge the broker based on where the firm order was fulfilled. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , in which the apparatus includes a second electronic marketplace and in which determining the fee includes determining whether the firm order was fulfilled by the electronic marketplace or the second electronic marketplace. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , in which the fourth indication includes a FIX message that includes a portion identifying the non-firm order. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , in which the method further comprises: determining a fee to charge the broker based on the portion of the FIX message. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , in which the third indication includes a FIX message that includes a portion identifying the firm order. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , in which the method further comprises: determining a fee to charge the broker based on the portion of the FIX message.