Order Processing
Order Display
To provide traders with a more transparent OTC market, ArcaEdge displays orders in both ArcaBook® and the OTC Montage. View all orders—regardless of their price level—in the ArcaBook, or simply view the best bid and offer displayed in the OTC Montage. ArcaEdge orders are anonymously represented by the Market Participant ID "ARCA" in the OTC Montage.
All ArcaEdge OTC orders are displayed and executed on capacity/price/time priority. The ArcaBook information includes:
- Priced bids and offers
- Orders aggregated by price
- Share size available at the bid or ask price
- Time of quote update
- Anonymous representation under the symbol ARCBB
Attributed quotes are optional. Market Makers may choose to have their quotes attributed on ArcaEdge, via the ArcaBook feed, using their Market Participant ID.
Order Execution
The ArcaEdge philosophy is simple: offer best-price executions based on speed and transparency within the OTC Equity Securities marketplace. All ArcaEdge market orders or marketable limit orders are executed based on best-price methodology, so your order will either instantly execute against the ArcaEdge electronic limit order file at prices equal to or better than the NBBO, or they will enter into the ArcaEdge routing process to obtain the NBBO.
When the ArcaEdge order book is at the inside, ArcaEdge will immediately fill the order. The average speed of an internally-executed order is less than one second. If a Market Maker is at the inside, the order will be routed at the displayed price.
ArcaEdge orders are routed via direct connections, OTC Link®, or phone calls to specific Market Makers from the Trade Support Desk. The execution time for orders routed outside of our system varies, depending on the routing destination. Electronic orders are routed at a multiple of the displayed quote size, based on prior execution history. Orders executed by phone are presented for the full order size. Once an order has been routed, ArcaBook immediately displays the balance.
ArcaEdge helps clients comply with FINRA's Three Quote Rule. Before executing an order, the ArcaEdge trade support staff will use reasonable diligence and exhaust all efforts to obtain required quotes on the client’s behalf. These quotes can be provided to clients upon request.
All orders received by non-subscribers of ArcaEdge, as permitted by SEC Rule 301(b)(3), are treated as Immediate-Or-Cancel (IOC) orders, and will be identified with the IOC Special Handling Code for ArcaEdge's OATS reporting purposes.