Quantis Markets Research
Trading Firm Footprint LedgerNo. 15 · October 2026
Trading Firm Footprint Ledger · 50 league table firmsData to 30 September 2026
Four firms open Singapore entities in a single month
September brought 73 footprint events across the firms we track, the most in our series. Asia Pacific accounted for 23 of them, led by new Singapore entities and exchange memberships
1Events by type
Every event type rose from August. New legal entities were the largest increase, from 17 to 23, and most were trading or holding companies set up outside the United States. We resolved each entity to its parent firm before counting it.1
| Event | Sep 2026 | Aug 2026 | Sep 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New legal entities | 23 | 17 | 14 |
| Broker dealer or adviser registrations | 6 | 4 | 5 |
| Exchange memberships | 9 | 7 | 6 |
| Office openings | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| Senior trading hires | 31 | 26 | 22 |
| All events | 73 | 56 | 50 |
Source: state and national company registries, SEC Form ADV and 13F filings, FINRA registrations, exchange membership notices, Quantis Markets Research estimates
Source: state and national company registries, SEC Form ADV and 13F filings, FINRA registrations, exchange membership notices, Quantis Markets Research estimates
2The most active firms
Five firms produced 51 of the 73 events. The Chicago options market maker incorporated in Singapore and Ireland and joined two derivatives exchanges. The Texas crypto trading firm registered a broker dealer subsidiary, its first regulated entity in the United States.
| Firm | Entities | Memberships | Hires | All events |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago options market maker | 5 | 2 | 6 | 14 |
| New York multi strategy fund | 4 | 0 | 7 | 12 |
| Amsterdam market maker | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| Texas crypto trading firm | 4 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
| London systematic fund | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 |
| All tracked firms | 23 | 9 | 31 | 73 |
Source: state and national company registries, SEC Form ADV and 13F filings, FINRA registrations, exchange membership notices, Quantis Markets Research estimates
Source: state and national company registries, SEC Form ADV and 13F filings, FINRA registrations, exchange membership notices, Quantis Markets Research estimates
3Where the hires went
We count a senior trading hire when a firm announces it or a FINRA registration shows a portfolio manager, head of desk or partner level trader moving between tracked firms. Of September's 31 hires, 9 joined options desks and 5 joined crypto desks, and 11 moved between two firms we track.2
4Against our League Table
5What to watch in October
Third quarter 13F filings are due by 14 November, and we will reconcile them against the adviser registrations recorded this year. We also expect two of the new Singapore entities to apply for exchange membership once their licensing is complete.
How this ledger is built
- The ledger covers the 50 firms in the current League Table, and every entity, registration and hire is resolved to its parent firm
- An event is dated to the filing, notice or announcement, and links we cannot confirm are listed for review but not counted
- Every event traces to a registry record, filing, membership notice or announcement held on file for subscribers who ask
Approved for subscribersDaniel OkaforHead of Market Structure Research · 8 October 2026
1 Four September filings with unclear parentage are held for review and not counted in this edition.
2 Hires are counted at the firm the person joins. Moves within a firm are not counted.