What is FIX?

The Financial Information eXchange ("FIX") Protocol is a technical specification for electronic communication of trade-related messages. More precisely, the FIX Protocol is a series of messaging specifications developed through the collaboration of banks, broker-dealers, exchanges, industry utilities and associations, institutional investors, and information technology providers from around the world. These market participants share a vision of a common, global language for automated trading of securities, derivative, and other financial instruments.

Background

Since its inception in 1992 as a bilateral communications framework for equity trading between Fidelity Investments and Salomon Brothers, FIX has become the standard electronic protocol for pre-trade communications and trade execution. Today, the membership of FIX Protocol Limited ("FPL") is extending FIX into block-trade allocation and other phases of the trading process, in every market, for virtually every asset class.

Organization

The FIX Protocol specification is developed through the voluntary efforts of technical and business professionals at member firms, who collaborate in the management of the specification. They coordinate their activities and organize their work through a series of committees, subcommittees, and working groups, all overseen by a Global Steering Committee that works to ensure consistency of protocol application as it is extended into new markets, asset classes, and trade phases. In addition to rigorous engineering and technical efforts undertaken to ensure the ongoing applicability of the protocol to financial-markets systems, the FIX Protocol benefits from an energetic educational and marketing effort that seeks to keep the specification viable, relevant, and responsive to the needs of market participants.

Usage

No one knows with certainty how many people use FIX or how much of the global volume of securities transactions is effected via the FIX Protocol. What is certain is that virtually every major stock exchange and investment bank uses FIX for electronic trading, as do the world's largest mutual funds and money managers and thousands of smaller investment firms. Leading futures exchanges offer FIX connections and major bond dealers either have or are implementing them.

Both "adopters" - users of the FIX Protocol - and vendors of FIX-related technologies use the FPL website to inform the marketplace of their FIX capabilities and capacities. If you want to know whether your counterparties offer FIX communications capabilities, just ask them. If you want to learn more about FIX or how to implement FIX connectivity for your business, send a message to a member of FPL's Global Education & Marketing Committee, or to the FPL Program Office.