Definition
FIX Protocol
FIX (Financial Information eXchange) is a standardised electronic messaging protocol used globally for the real-time exchange of securities order, execution and market-data messages between trading parties.
Indian institutional trading, Direct Market Access and exchange connectivity rely heavily on FIX to communicate orders, fills, cancellations and allocations in a common format. Using a standard protocol means brokers, buy-side firms and vendors can integrate without bespoke message formats for every counterparty.
FIX underpins execution algos, order-management systems and connectivity to NSE and BSE gateways. Its standardisation reduces errors and integration cost, while extensions and conformance testing ensure that order types, tags and session management behave consistently across the ecosystem.
Related terms
- Algorithmic TradingAlgorithmic trading is the use of computer programs that follow pre-defined rules on price, timing, quantity and other variables to place and manage orders automatically, with little or no human intervention per order.
- Direct Market Access (DMA)Direct Market Access lets institutional clients route orders straight to the exchange order book using a broker's infrastructure and exchange membership, without manual broker intervention on each order.
- API TradingAPI trading is the placement and management of orders programmatically through a broker's application programming interface, enabling automated and algorithmic strategies without manual screen-based input.
Plain-English explainer from The Dispatch Investors Encyclopedia. General information, not financial advice.