What Proof Trading does

Proof Trading is a privately held, woman-owned institutional equities broker-dealer founded in 2019 and headquartered in New York. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Proof Services LLC, is a FINRA and SIPC member that operates as an execution-only agency broker — meaning all revenue derives from commissions on trades routed for institutional clients, with no proprietary trading desk or principal conflicts. The company targets US-domiciled institutional equity asset managers and provides them with four proprietary execution algorithms (Proof, VWAP, Aggressive, Close) that navigate US equity markets using internally developed quantitative models for impact minimization, dynamic volume prediction, and close-auction sizing.

The company's underlying platform is cloud-native and built from scratch, including a custom message bus, modified FIX gateways, and a database architecture engineered specifically for algorithmic trading — a deliberate architectural choice to avoid the cost of co-location and exchange proximity. Algorithms leverage optimization techniques (dynamic programming, linear programming) and predictive models trained on historical and real-time market microstructure data, and are closely integrated with IEX exchange features (D-Limit, D-Peg, IEX Router). The firm distinguishes itself commercially through radical transparency: every algorithm design is published as a public whitepaper, alongside ongoing TCA reports, educational tools (market structure primer, Quant Intro Course), and a Medium blog chronicling its engineering and research.

Proof's revenue model is pure transaction-fee agency brokerage, with pricing undisclosed and negotiated individually with institutional clients. Distribution is exclusively direct enterprise sales to a narrow segment of large US institutional asset managers. The team is small (~13 people including 6 core members and 3 advisors), with a leadership bench drawn from IEX, Goldman Sachs, RBC, Citigroup, and academia — founder Allison Bishop (President, majority owner) and CEO Daniel Aisen previously co-founded or led quantitative strategy at IEX. Total disclosed funding is approximately $4.65M from BoxGroup, Correlation Ventures, Y Combinator, and MAGIC Fund.

Name

Proof Trading

Legal name

Proof Trading, Inc.

Website

https://prooftrading.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Proof Trading is a woman-owned, execution-only institutional equities broker-dealer offering proprietary algorithmic trading (Proof, VWAP, Aggressive, Close) to US asset managers via a cloud-native platform, differentiated by full publication of its algorithm designs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Institutional Equities Execution

NAICS

Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage (5231), Securities and Commodity Exchanges (52321), Commodity Contracts Intermediation (52316), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200), Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211), Commodity Contracts Brokers & Dealers (6221)

akta.pro primary industry

Regulatory Reporting Workflow, Validation & Reconciliation Tools (FSAFAKAK)

Keywords

• Institutional equities execution
• Algorithmic trading platform
• Broker-dealer services
• Execution algorithms
• Transaction cost analysis

Headquarters

HQ city

Nyack

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Agency Brokerage Commissions: As an execution-only broker-dealer, Proof generates revenue through commissions on equity trades executed on behalf of institutional clients. The company operates on an agency basis without conflicts of interest from proprietary trading.
2. Algorithmic Trading Services: Provides institutional clients with access to proprietary execution algorithms (Proof, VWAP, Aggressive, Close) that navigate the market on behalf of clients, with fees embedded in the execution service.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Proof Trading operates as an execution-only institutional equities broker-dealer that builds and operates proprietary algorithmic trading software for institutional US equity asset managers. The company offers four execution algorithms—Proof (hybrid liquidity seeker/impact minimizer), VWAP, Aggressive, and Close—that trade US equities on behalf of clients through a cloud-based platform the firm engineered from scratch. Proof generates revenue through agency commissions on equity trades routed through its wholly-owned broker-dealer subsidiary, Proof Services LLC.

Product overview

Proof Trading offers a cloud-based institutional equities execution platform with four core execution algorithms: Proof (flagship hybrid liquidity seeker/impact minimizer), VWAP, Aggressive, and Close. The company distinguishes itself through radical transparency, publishing all algorithm designs, quantitative research papers, and transaction cost analyses publicly. Supporting tools include a market data fee calculator, market structure primer, Find My Fills execution exploration tool, and Quant Intro Course. The platform is engineered as an agency-only broker-dealer (Proof Services LLC) built from scratch in the cloud, emphasizing accountability and scientific rigor over black-box approaches.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Proof Algo

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Apex Clearing CorporationcoreOthersPrimary clearing firm for Proof Services LLC. Maintains customer accounts, delivers funds and securities, and provides backup and recovery services. Located at 350 North St. Paul Street, #1300, Dallas, TX 75201. Conducts clearing and settlement of all equity transactions.
• RBC Clearing and CustodycoreOthersSecondary clearing firm partner for Proof Services LLC. Provides clearing and custody services. Located at 250 Nicollet Mall, Suite 1700, Minneapolis, MN 55401. Serves as backup clearing option.
• IEX (Investors Exchange)coreTechnology or IntegrationProof's algorithms heavily leverage IEX's exchange features including D-Limit, D-Peg, and IEX Router for order execution. The company was founded by former IEX executives and their algorithms are designed around IEX's market structure innovations.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• IEX (Investors Exchange): IEX operates an exchange and ATS with its own D-Limit and D-Peg order types. It is the closest peer — co-founded by the same team (Allison Bishop, Daniel Aisen) and architecturally intertwined with Proof's execution algorithms. Proof's algos are designed to leverage IEX's microstructure innovations.

Broad incumbents

• Virtu Financial: Virtu is one of the largest electronic market makers and execution providers globally, offering institutional algorithmic trading across equities and other asset classes. It competes for institutional execution wallet but as a much larger, diversified electronic trading firm.
• Citadel Securities: Citadel Securities is a leading global market maker and execution venue offering institutional equity execution services. It competes in the same institutional algo execution space but at vastly greater scale, with significant principal trading alongside agency services.
• Goldman Sachs Electronic Trading (Sigma X): Goldman Sachs offers Sigma X and other execution algorithms to institutional clients as part of its broader Securities Division. Proof's CTO Marcio Moreno spent 11 years at Goldman building LatAm trading systems; Sigma X is a primary incumbent competitor for institutional US equity execution wallet.
• JPMorgan Electronic Trading: JPMorgan offers institutional algorithmic execution services across global equities as part of its Markets business. It is one of the largest institutional execution providers and competes directly for the same asset-manager clients Proof targets.
• Morgan Stanley Electronic Trading: Morgan Stanley provides institutional execution algorithms as part of its Institutional Securities business. It is a major bulge-bracket competitor offering bundled execution alongside prime brokerage and research.
• UBS Neo: UBS Neo is the firm's cross-asset execution platform offering algorithmic trading in equities and other asset classes to institutional clients. It represents the bulge-bracket competitive set Proof must displace to win institutional wallet.
• Hudson River Trading: HRT is a leading quantitative trading firm with substantial institutional execution and principal trading across global equities. It competes in the same algo execution space with significantly more capital and engineering capacity.
• Two Sigma Securities: Two Sigma Securities offers institutional execution services leveraging the firm's quantitative research capabilities. It competes in the algorithmic US equities execution space but as part of a much larger quantitative firm.
• Deutsche Bank Autobahn: Autobahn is Deutsche Bank's electronic trading platform providing institutional clients with algorithmic execution across global equities. It is a bulge-bracket competitor offering similar algo execution capabilities bundled with broader investment banking services.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/prooftrading
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/prooftrading

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Proof Trading