Dash Financial

What Dash Financial does

Dash Financial Technologies is a US capital markets technology and execution provider focused on listed options and equities trading. Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Jersey City with offices in Chicago and West Palm Beach, the company operates as a FINRA-registered, agency-only broker-dealer, serving hedge funds, asset managers, investment banks, sell-side institutions, professional traders, and broker-dealers. DASH is the largest agency execution provider in the US listed options market, with membership across all US option and equity exchanges and connectivity to multiple dark pools and single-dealer platforms.

The company's technology platform comprises a unified core infrastructure with modular products: the SENSOR smart order router and its algorithmic variants (SMOKE, STRIKE, IMPROVE, OPTWAP, BLITZ, BLITZC, ATS PING, SWEEPNCXL, plus equity algos VWAP, TWAP, POV, CLOSE, Phantom, and SENSOR Dark); DASH ATS, an SEC-registered alternative trading system for off-exchange options liquidity via automated RFQ; DASH360, a web-based analytics and workflow application; DASH OMS, an options-centric order management system launched in 2022; BrokerPoint, a workflow layer connecting to floor brokers and IDBs; DASH360 Risk and Allocations modules for market access controls and post-trade processing; DASH 360R and its SBS add-on for SEC Net Capital Rule, Dodd-Frank, CAT, OATS, and CFTC compliance; and DASH Prime for introducing broker, clearing, and prime brokerage services. Integration is delivered via FIX across 30+ third-party EMS and OMS platforms.

DASH generates revenue through three streams: transaction-fee agency execution services (earning exchange rebates and technology/execution fees), managed prime brokerage services (clearing, reporting, and technology for hedge funds and professional traders), and recurring subscription RegTech (DASH 360R, available in SaaS and desktop editions). The company distributes through a direct enterprise field-sales motion with dedicated trade desk, concierge, and sales contacts, and since June 2021 has operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of ION Investment Group within the ION Markets division, gaining access to ION's global capital-markets distribution network. Prior to ION, DASH was backed by private equity firm Flexpoint Ford, and the company acquired eRoom Securities in December 2018.

Name

Dash Financial

Legal name

DASH Financial Technologies LLC

Website

https://dashfinancial.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Dash Financial Technologies is a US capital markets technology and execution provider serving institutional clients with agency-only routing, alternative trading, analytics, order management, prime brokerage, and regulatory compliance solutions for listed options and equities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Capital Markets Trading Technology

NAICS

Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage (5231), Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities (523)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Equity Prime Brokerage (Custody, Financing & Services) (FSACAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Equity Capital Introduction & Prime Services (FSACAFAK)

Keywords

• Options trading technology
• Algorithmic execution services
• Smart order routing
• Capital markets analytics
• Regulatory technology solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Electronic Trading Technology & Execution Services: DASH generates revenue through providing electronic trading technology and execution services to institutional clients. As an agency-only technology provider, DASH routes orders across US option and equity exchanges, dark pools, and alternative trading venues, earning rebates from exchanges and passing them through to clients, while also charging for technology and execution services. The company operates as a registered broker-dealer with FINRA.
2. Prime Brokerage Services: DASH Prime provides introducing broker services to professional traders, hedge funds and institutions including clearing, reporting, and technology capabilities.
3. Regulatory Technology Solutions: DASH Regulatory Technologies provides compliance and regulatory capital calculation software to broker-dealers, available in both SaaS-based and desktop versions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

DASH Financial Technologies provides electronic trading technology and execution services for US listed options and equities to institutional clients. Its core offering is an integrated platform of smart order routing algorithms, an SEC-registered alternative trading system, an options-centric order management system, real-time analytics, prime brokerage/clearing services, and regulatory capital compliance software. The company earns revenue by routing client orders across US exchanges and dark pools as an agency-only broker-dealer, while also selling subscription access to its regulatory technology and analytics platforms.

Product overview

DASH Financial Technologies provides a comprehensive, modular capital markets technology and execution platform for US listed options and equities. The platform consists of a unified core infrastructure with distinct product modules: DASH ATS (SEC-registered alternative trading system for options liquidity management), the SENSOR Suite (award-winning smart order routing platform for both options and equities with multiple algorithm variants including SENSOR Dark, SENSOR Pro, and specialized Volatility Suite algorithms), DASH360 (web-based analytics and visualization portal), DASH OMS (options-centric order management system), BrokerPoint (floor broker/IDB network integration), DASH360 Risk and Allocations (regulatory and trade management tools), DASH 360R (regulatory capital compliance platform with SBS add-on), and DASH Prime (prime brokerage services). The platform integrates with 30+ EMS/OMS systems via FIX connectivity and connects to all major US exchanges and dark pools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DASH360: Award-winning web-based analytics, visualization, and workflow application with real-time transparency into every stage of an order's lifecycle.
• SENSOR
• DASH ATS

Products and services

• SENSOR Smart Order Routing Platform Award-winning, customizable smart order routing platform balancing high yield capture with cost optimization for US listed options and equities; supports single-leg and complex orders with client-specific routing customization.
• DASH ATS SEC-registered alternative trading system (ATS) for US Listed Options that augments on-screen liquidity, reduces or eliminates exchange fees, and provides price improvement through an automated RFQ process.
• DASH360 Analytics Platform Web-based analytics, visualization, and workflow application providing real-time transparency into every stage of an order's lifecycle, comprehensive performance and cost reporting, and actionable intelligence for electronic execution.
• DASH OMS Modernized options-centric order management system providing streamlined workflows for US Listed Options and Equities, supporting simple, complex, and volatility-based algo strategies with inbound and outbound FIX connectivity.
• DASH 360R Regulatory Capital Platform Regulatory capital calculation and reporting platform automating SEC and FINRA net capital compliance including intra-day capital charges, haircut calculations for equities, derivatives, baskets and OTCs, portfolio margining, and regulatory reporting.
• DASH 360R SBS Solution Security-Based Swaps add-on to DASH 360R enabling compliance with CFTC and SEC capital, margin and segregation requirements for broker-dealers engaging in SBS transactions, considering single name and index CDS and IRS with optimized haircut calculations.
• DASH Prime Introducing broker providing multi-asset trading technology, agency execution, risk management, clearing, and reporting capabilities to professional traders, institutions, and hedge funds; led by a team with over 25 years of experience in clearing and prime brokerage.
• BrokerPoint Workflow solution for accessing floor brokers and Inter-Dealer Brokers through DASH's proprietary options routing network, with compliance support for 15c3-5 market access controls, CAT, and OATS reporting requirements.
• DASH360 Risk Risk management module providing real-time visibility of activity at firm, account, or trader level including risk limit consumption, breaches, and alerts, with the ability to manage 15c3-5 market access thresholds.
• DASH360 Allocations Allocation management software enabling dynamic pre- or post-trade allocation of options and equities executions with comprehensive client reference data capture, OCC Actionable ID processing, and operational reporting.
• Options Algo Suite (SENSOR, SMOKE, STRIKE, IMPROVE, OPTWAP, BLITZ, BLITZC, ATS PING, SWEEPNCXL) Suite of single-leg and multi-leg trading algorithms including SENSOR (SOR), SMOKE (dynamic sweep), STRIKE (hyper-aggressive), IMPROVE (price improvement), OPTWAP (time-driven), BLITZ (low latency), BLITZC (complex strategy), ATS PING, and SWEEPNCXL.
• Volatility Suite (VOLT, VOLHEDGE, VEGA) Options volatility trading algorithms including VOLT (Delta-adjusted orders), VOLHEDGE (with equity auto-hedge), and VEGA (Vega-based basket strategy) for implied volatility management and dynamic hedging.
• Crossing Algorithms (SMARTX, SWEEPX, MINSWEEPX) Single-destination and multi-destination crossing algorithms including SMARTX, SWEEPX, and MINSWEEPX for creating simple and complex crossing orders routed to exchanges with electronic crossing mechanisms.
• Equity Algo Suite (VWAP, TWAP, POV, CLOSE, Phantom, SENSOR Dark) Equity trading algorithms including SENSOR (Smart Order Routing), SENSOR Dark (dark liquidity), SENSOR Pro (enhanced routing), SMOKE, VWAP, TWAP, POV, CLOSE, and Phantom (opportunistic) strategies for US equities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 80% quarterly options yield capture (Q3 2020)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability5 records

Feature12 records

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Citadel Securities: Citadel Securities is one of the largest market makers and agency execution providers across US equities and listed options. Its execution, smart-order-routing, and off-exchange liquidity offerings overlap directly with DASH's SENSOR, DASH ATS, and equity algo products.
• FlexTrade Systems: FlexTrade is a long-standing provider of execution management systems and smart-order-routing technology used by buy-side and sell-side institutions. It is directly comparable to DASH on the EMS/SOR layer, particularly for institutions building multi-asset execution workflows.
• Virtu Financial: Virtu is a leading global agency execution and market-making firm with deep options and equities smart-order-routing capabilities. It competes head-to-head with DASH for institutional agency execution flow and ATS share in US listed options and equities.
• SS&C Eze: SS&C Eze (formerly Eze Software) provides an integrated OMS/EMS platform widely used by hedge funds and asset managers. It competes directly with DASH on options-centric order management, execution workflow, and connectivity to brokers and ATS venues.

Emerging players

• Optiver: Optiver is a global market maker with deep expertise in US listed options execution and proprietary trading. While primarily principal rather than agency, its scale and options execution capabilities position it as a competing liquidity and execution counterpart to DASH's institutional offerings.
• Wolverine Trading: Wolverine is a leading proprietary trading firm with a strong focus on US listed options market making and execution. While not a pure agency technology vendor, its options flow and execution strategies intersect with DASH's agency execution and ATS business, particularly on the buy side.

Broad incumbents

• Broadridge Trading Solutions: Broadridge, including the legacy Itiviti and NYFIX franchises, provides order-routing, connectivity, and trading infrastructure across equities, options, and FX. It is a broad incumbent competing with DASH on EMS/OMS integrations, FIX connectivity, and post-trade workflow for institutional clients.
• State Street Charles River Development: Charles River Development, part of State Street, provides an OMS used by large asset managers and hedge funds, with adjacent execution and analytics capabilities. It competes with DASH OMS and DASH360 for institutional buy-side workflow and analytics wallet share.
• Goldman Sachs Execution Services: Goldman Sachs offers agency execution algorithms, SOR, and trading technology for institutional clients across cash equities and listed options. As a bulge-bracket incumbent with global distribution, it competes with DASH for sell-side and large buy-side execution mandates.
• Bloomberg Tradebook: Bloomberg Tradebook is the agency execution arm of Bloomberg, offering algorithms, SOR, and analytics to institutional clients on top of the Bloomberg Terminal. It competes with DASH for institutional agency execution, particularly among asset managers that already standardize on Bloomberg EMSX.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dash-financial
• Xx.com/DASHFinancial
• Facebookfacebook.com/DASHFinancial

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Dash Financial