Introduction

This specification defines the protocol for sending Equity orders to DriveWealth’s trading infrastructure in the NY4 data center. The spec assumes the reader has a thorough understanding of the FIX 4.2 protocol, and as such, is not intended as a guide to constructing a FIX client. Rather, it is a reference to ensure that a partner’s FIX client, constructed according to the FIX 4.2 specifications, will be compatible with the DriveWealth FIX Gateway.

Connecting

Orders are sent to DriveWealth (DW) via one or more FIX connections.

Multiple redundant connections can be provided, and are recommended, for the sake of convenience, performance, or stability. If multiple connections are used:

• For resiliency and redundancy, it is recommended to round-robin new orders across all the provided FIX Sessions. Subsequent cancel or amend messages should be sent to the same FIX session as the original order.
• One FIX message should not be sent across multiple connections. Each connection should handle order messages separately.
• Order IDs must be unique across all sessions.

There are multiple architectural patterns available to ensure maximum resiliency. We recommend discussing these best practices with our Solutions team prior to going live.

For simplicity, the entity sending orders to DW will be referred to as the client (in a "client/server" sense) throughout the rest of this specification.

Low-latency Private Global Connection Providers

DriveWealth has pre-established connectivity with multiple telecommunications providers, including:

• TNS: https://tnsi.com/solutions/financial/
• Pico: https://www.pico.net/connectivity/
• BT: https://www.bt.com/

FIX-based order-routing networks

DriveWealth is a pre-configured target destination on multiple order-routing networks, including:

• Autex Trade Route: https://www.lseg.com/en/data-analytics/products/autex-trade-route
• EMSxNet / FixNet: https://www.bloomberg.com/professional/products/trading/trading-venues/trade-connectivity/

Hours of operation

DriveWealth supports client FIX sessions that reset on a daily or weekly basis for sequence reset purposes.

Daily FIX sessions

Connections can be established starting from 3:30 am ET and should be terminated by the initiator no later than 8:20 pm ET.

Weekly FIX sessions

Weekly sessions are recommended for 24x5 trading to ensure all messaging is delivered in real-time and to avoid a trading "blackout period."

Connections can be established starting from 7:30 pm ET Sunday and should be terminated by the initiator no later than 8:20 pm ET Friday.