APEX Clearing Corporation

What APEX Clearing Corporation does

APEX Clearing Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Apex Fintech Solutions Inc., operating as a cloud-native clearing and custody platform serving digital wealth companies, broker-dealers, banks, and fintech startups. The company's core offering combines SEC-registered broker-dealer clearing services with a modular technology stack built on its proprietary AscendOS platform hosted on Google Cloud. As of June 30, 2026, Apex supported $276 billion+ in assets under custody across 41 million+ brokerage accounts and 130 million+ cost basis accounts, licensed in 53 U.S. states and territories and regulated as an SEC broker-dealer, FINRA member, SIPC member, and CFTC-registered Futures Commission Merchant.

The platform delivers real-time ledger processing, real-time ACATS transfers, automated compliance, broad asset class coverage (stocks, ETFs, options, fixed income, alternatives, fractional shares, prediction markets), and a suite of wealth tech modules including Apex Rebalancer, direct indexing, Augmented Advice, Wavvest AI Planning, Ascend Workstation, and Apex Direct brokerage-as-a-service. The Apex AI Suite and Ask Ascend conversational assistant provide GenAI and agentic AI capabilities for prototyping and client integration. A Developer Portal exposes APIs, SDKs, documentation, and sandboxes for modular or end-to-end integration, targeting startups through to enterprise wealth managers.

Apex monetizes through transaction-based fees on clearing and custody plus subscription and SaaS revenue for its wealth tech and platform services, including a Fully Paid Securities Lending program. Customer logos span SoFi, Webull, Cash App Investing (Block Inc.), Ally, eToro, Gemini, Facet, Orion, Tastytrade, Tradier, Ramp, Zoe, and Avenue. Apex serves clients via direct enterprise sales, a developer-first self-service portal, and strategic partnerships with Google Cloud, State Street, U.S. Bank, and DTCC, with operational offices in Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Portland, Austin, Belfast, and Manila.

Name

APEX Clearing Corporation

Legal name

Apex Clearing Corporation

Website

https://apexclearing.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

APEX Clearing Corporation is a Dallas-based, cloud-native clearing and custody platform serving fintech companies, broker-dealers, banks, and wealth managers via its AscendOS platform on Google Cloud, supporting $276B+ in assets across 41M+ accounts under SEC, FINRA, SIPC, and CFTC regulatory frameworks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fintech Infrastructure / Clearing and Custody

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211), Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Clearing & Settlement for Equities (Prime Broker Clearing Services) (FSACAFAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Clearing & Prime Brokerage Custody Services (FSAAAOAE), Core Banking & Ledger Systems (Cloud Core, Deposits, Accounts) (FSAGAAAC), Post-Trade Matching, Confirmation & Affirmation (FSACAHAH), Sub-Accounting & Platform Servicing (Omnibus, Intermediary/NSCC, Retirement Platforms) (FSAAAMAI)

Keywords

• Clearing and custody services
• Fintech infrastructure platform
• Wealth technology solutions
• Broker-dealer services
• Digital investing APIs

Headquarters

HQ city

Dallas

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Clearing and Custody Services: Core clearing and custody services for brokerage accounts, providing trade settlement, securities custody, and back-office support for introducing brokers and wealth management platforms.
2. Technology Platform Services: Cloud-native platform infrastructure (AscendOS), APIs, and developer tools provided to fintech companies for building digital investing experiences.
3. Wealth Tech Solutions: Additional services including rebalancer, direct indexing, augmented advice, model marketplace, and advisor workstation tools.
4. Stock Lending: Fully Paid Securities Lending (FPSL) program enabling customers to earn interest on fully paid securities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

Apex Clearing Corporation provides B2B clearing, custody, and wealth technology infrastructure to fintech companies, broker-dealers, wealth management firms, banks, and credit unions through its cloud-native AscendOS platform. The company delivers trade execution, settlement, securities custody, real-time ledger, account opening and funding, fractional trading, and a suite of wealth tech tools via APIs and embedded modules that clients integrate into their own digital investing experiences.

Product overview

Apex Clearing Corporation operates as a fintech platform provider with a modular, cloud-native architecture built on the AscendOS platform. The core offering combines clearing and custody infrastructure with a suite of wealth tech tools including rebalancer, direct indexing, and advisor workstations. The Apex AI Suite provides GenAI and agentic AI capabilities for prototyping and deployment. Additional modules cover account opening and funding (including ACATS transfers and 401k rollovers), trading (OMS/EMS/FIX, fractional trading, treasury management), and cost basis and tax reporting. The Developer Portal enables API-based integration, while products like Apex Direct offer brokerage-as-a-service for the industry. The platform serves 41+ million brokerage accounts with $276 billion+ in assets under custody.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AscendOS: Cloud-native wealth platform for fintechs, broker-dealers, and wealth management firms
• Apex Pro
• Apex Direct
• Apex AI Suite
• Apex Crypto

Products and services

• AscendOS Platform Cloud-native ecosystem providing core custody and clearing infrastructure, digital investing tools, advisor workstation, and modular APIs for building unique digital investing experiences. Built on Google Cloud with real-time ledger, embedded data warehouse, and trade execution engine for fintechs, broker-dealers, and wealth management firms.
• Apex AI Suite Advanced GenAI and agentic AI tools for developers and decision-makers enabling AI-powered prototyping, process automation, and accelerated time to market for financial infrastructure. Includes the Ask Ascend AI assistant and the Wavvest AI Planning Tool.
• Clearing and Custody Core custody and clearing infrastructure for brokerage accounts including trade settlement, securities custody, real-time ledger, embedded data warehouse, trade execution engine, and broad asset class coverage including alternatives, fixed income, margin lending, and stock lending. For introducing brokers, wealth management platforms, and fintech companies.
• Wealth Tech Suite of advisor and investor tools including Augmented Advice hybrid digital advisory, rebalancer, direct indexing, model marketplace, Ascend Workstation, data insights, white-label investor apps, Apex Direct brokerage-as-a-service, and loyalty investing.
• Account Opening and Funding Digital account opening, account funding and money movements, real-time ACATS transfers, AML and fraud-protection checks, and 401(k) rollovers including 530A (Trump) account rollovers.
• Trading Trading capabilities including Apex Rebalancer, 24x5 overnight trading, OMS/EMS and FIX engine, fractional trading, treasury management, and trade desk support for brokerage accounts.
• Cost Basis and Tax Automated intraday cost basis tracking and tax reporting built for scale. Formerly Apex Silver, delivers real-time automation for regulatory cost basis and tax reporting across 130+ million cost basis accounts.
• Developer Portal APIs, SDKs, documentation, recipes, and sandbox environment enabling AI-powered prototyping, process automation, and accelerated time to market for building on the AscendOS platform.
• Treasury Management Corporate treasury management investment solutions putting idle cash to work with professional-grade investing tools for businesses and corporate finance teams.
• Prediction Markets CFTC-regulated event contract trading offering an integrated, streamlined solution for trading headline events through prediction markets.
• Apex Direct Embedded investing brokerage-as-a-service with FINRA registration, providing brokerage services for the brokerage industry through Apex Fintech Brokerage Services LLC.
• Apex Crypto (Apex Digital Markets) Cryptocurrency trading and custody services offered through wholly-owned subsidiary Apex Digital Markets LLC (dba Apex Digital Assets).

Quantifiable outcome

• Assets under custody of $276+ billion as of June 2026
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability7 records

Feature12 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Stirlingshire (Stirling One)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 July 2026Stirlingshire selected Apex as the first clearing firm integrated with Stirling One, its AI-native Wealth Management Operating Platform. The integration operates exclusively on Apex AscendOS, with additional clearing integrations anticipated in 2027. This represents a strategic co-development relationship for the launch of a next-generation wealth management platform.
• GeminicoreTechnology or Integration · 8 July 2026Apex Clearing Corporation handles custody, trade execution, and clearing services for Gemini's commission-free U.S. stock trading launch. Gemini operates as an Introducing Broker under updated FINRA registration while Apex provides the clearing infrastructure.
• Cash App Investing (Block Inc.)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 May 2026Cash App Investing selected Apex as its strategic clearing platform after an extensive evaluation process. The partnership leverages Apex AscendOS technology to support Cash App's 59+ million monthly transacting active users with real-time processing and scalable infrastructure. This is a flagship partnership positioning Cash App to expand product offerings.
• Cashmere Fund (Sweater Ventures)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 21 January 2025Strategic partnership to broaden access to venture capital investments for retail investors. The Cashmere Fund's offerings became available to clients of an Apex-supported brokerage, with additional distribution partnerships planned throughout 2025.
• U.S. BankcoreTechnology or Integration · 21 April 2022Real-time payments collaboration enabling individual investors to move money in and out of brokerage accounts securely, instantly, and 24/7/365 through U.S. Bank's RTP Network. The solution enables immediate funding and disbursement from brokerage accounts, reducing ACH return risks.
• ZogominorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 April 2022Strategic alliance providing Apex clients with Zogo's 450+ financial education modules for Gen Z investors. The partnership delivers bite-sized learning content with rewards, integrated into Apex-supported platforms like Fintron and UNest.
• State StreetcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership to improve global digital wealth custody. The partnership addresses the growing global wealth market opportunity by combining State Street's custody expertise with Apex's technology platform.
• Google CloudcoreTechnology or IntegrationApex partnered with Google Cloud to bring capital markets technology into the modern era. The partnership involves cloud infrastructure transformation leveraging Google Cloud's capabilities for Apex's technology platform, including a published case study on the collaboration.
• PEAK6minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership providing dedicated footprint for Apex offices in Manila and Belfast, indicating operational collaboration.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Plaid: Plaid provides data connectivity and account-funding infrastructure for fintech apps. It is adjacent to Apex's account-opening and real-time funding workflows (e.g., the U.S. Bank RTP integration), an enabling layer rather than a direct competitor.

Emerging players

• Bakkt: Bakkt operates regulated digital-asset trading, custody, and clearing infrastructure, including for securities-class crypto products. It overlaps with Apex's Apex Digital Markets / Apex Crypto subsidiary and Gemini-equities custody work.
• Marqeta: Marqeta provides fintech infrastructure (card issuance and embedded finance APIs) that is adjacent to Apex's developer-first model. While it does not directly compete in clearing, it is comparable as a platform-of-platforms for fintech builders.
• Tradier: Tradier is a brokerage-as-a-service platform offering API-based trading, clearing, and custody infrastructure. It overlaps with Apex as both a competing BaaS provider and (notably) also a customer in the data.

Broad incumbents

• Interactive Brokers (IBKR): Interactive Brokers operates as a self-clearing, globally licensed broker-dealer offering prime-broker and custody services. It overlaps with Apex in equities clearing and custody but serves more sophisticated/active traders.
• Fidelity Investments (Fidelity Clearing): Fidelity operates one of the largest U.S. broker-dealer and clearing operations, serving its own retail and advisory channels. It is an incumbent alternative for full-service broker-dealers, broadly overlapping with Apex's custody and clearing footprint.
• Charles Schwab (Schwab Clearing): Schwab runs a major broker-dealer and clearing franchise serving retail and registered investment advisors. As a large incumbent, it overlaps with Apex for custody, clearing, and brokerage-as-a-service competition.

Direct peers

• BNY Mellon Pershing: Pershing is the largest U.S. clearing firm servicing broker-dealers, RIAs, and wealth managers, offering custody, clearing, and trade execution. It is Apex's most direct head-to-head competitor for introducing-broker and wealth-tech clients.
• Alpaca: Alpaca offers an API-first brokerage and custody platform for developers and fintechs building investing experiences. Its self-serve, developer-portal-first model is directly comparable to Apex's AscendOS Developer Portal approach.
• DriveWealth: DriveWealth provides broker-dealer, clearing, and execution-as-a-service infrastructure targeted at fintechs and neobrokers globally. It competes directly with Apex for embedded-investing and brokerage-as-a-service mandates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/apexfintech
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/apex-fintech-solutions
• Facebookfacebook.com/apexclearing

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 APEX Clearing Corporation