Overview
Since its inception, IEX Exchange has differentiated itself by advocating for all investors and taking a public stance on market structure topics that impact everyone invested in the financial markets – including retail investors. Because of this, we understand that you may have questions about how your orders are sent to IEX Exchange and how you, as an investor, can trade here.
We hope to use this space to answer common questions. Please reach out to marcomms@iextrading.com with further questions and we will do our best to answer them.
How can I trade on IEX Exchange?
Because IEX Exchange is a national securities exchange, only U.S. registered broker-dealers can directly trade here.
If you invest in mutual funds or a 401(k), your asset manager may use a broker to trade on IEX Exchange. It’s also possible that your retail broker sends your order directly to IEX Exchange, or that the order ends up here via a wholesaler, which is an intermediary that in many cases handles trading execution on behalf of retail brokers. Here is a list of all our Members, including retail brokers and wholesalers who, as Members, can send orders to IEX Exchange.
Since 2019, IEX has offered a Retail Program, which is designed to enable brokers to execute retail orders on IEX Exchange at the midpoint – the price exactly between the bid and the offer price for a security (e.g., a stock or ETF) – or better.
If you want to send orders directly to IEX Exchange, you must do so via a broker that offers direct routing to IEX Exchange.
Which brokers will allow me to route my orders to IEX?
The following retail-focused brokers allow their customers to direct orders to IEX Exchange. There may be other brokers with this functionality, but the below firms have publicly stated that they provide the option to direct orders to IEX Exchange.In some cases, brokers only allow this for certain customers who subscribe to, or use, one or another of their services. For instructions on how to route your individual orders to IEX Exchange, you'll need to reach out to your broker directly.
- National Financial Services (a subsidiary of Fidelity Global Brokerage Group, Inc.)
- E*Trade
- Interactive Brokers
- TradeStation
Why wasn’t my order sent to IEX Exchange executed the way I expected?
Because each broker’s routing practices are unique, it is best to contact them directly with questions about their order routing practices and to confirm whether and how your orders were routed to us.
In addition, only your broker can provide information about specific orders and trades. Our view is limited to the lifecycle of an order once it reaches IEX Exchange, and we are unable to share information about specific orders or trade outcomes with anyone except the broker-dealer Member sending the order due to confidentiality agreements with each of our Members.
How can I follow IEX on social media?
You can follow IEX Exchange on Twitter @iexexchange and IEX (our parent company) at @IEX. You can also follow our latest thoughts on trading and market structure on the Boxes and Lines blog and podcast.
Are you hiring?
We’re always looking for gritty, passionate people! Check out our open roles and learn more about working at IEX here.
How can I support IEX?
We are so grateful for all of the support that we’ve received from people all over the world who want to build a financial system that is built on performance, fairness, and transparency. The best way to support us is to continue to stay educated and informed about the financial markets.
IEX is not an investment advisor and does not recommend or endorse any particular investment strategy, broker or investment manager. While IEX endeavors to provide information it believes to be accurate, IEX does not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy or completeness of this information and does not undertake any obligation to update it. Please review our terms of use for other important information.