ION has integrated its electronic trading system, FastTrade with pan-European exchange Equiduct, in a bid to encourage further retail trading across the continent.
Tiffany Sour-Esrafil
The new offering is set to provide FastTrade clients with opportunities to enhance their retail execution policy through incorporating zero-commission best execution service, Equiduct’s Apex.
ION has said that the integration will improve execution quality and address challenges presented by the competitive retail brokerage environment, as well as help brokers meet their regulatory obligations related to Mifid II best execution.
“It [this integration] marks a key step in our mission to evolve our offering continuously and support our clients as they navigate increasingly complex equity trading environments,” Giacomo Brandolini, FastTrade product owner.
The enhanced functionality will also allow FastTrade users to access the 13 European markets available through Equiduct Apex, including Paris, Amsterdam, Milan, London, Madrid, Frankfurt, Brussels and Lisbon.
Tiffany Sour-Esrafil, head of business development at Equiduct, said: “We strongly believe this partnership will bring significant value to the Italian retail trading ecosystem and beyond, enabling clients to keep pace with the ongoing shift toward dynamic best execution and adapt to the new competitive retail brokerage environment.”
Read more – Equiduct on the potential retail markets hold
The new integration also follows Equiduct’s recent expansion into the Swiss market with the launch of its Swiss equity segment.
The firm has said that the push into this market will provide Apex retail brokers with access to 138 of the most liquid Swiss-listed stocks and follows formal approval from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).
Read more – One Trading expands retail access for crypto perpetual futures venue
Retail trading has become increasingly significant in Europe, and ION and Equiduct’s integration follows developments in the sector in recent months.
In May 2025, One Trading expanded access to its new crypto-perpetual futures trading venue to retail investors in Germany, the Netherlands and Austria, following the launch of the exchange’s new regulated perpetual trading venue in April 2025.