Instinet Review
Instinet is an institutional agency broker now owned by Nomura. It began in 1969, was later split up by Nasdaq, and does not offer retail trading accounts.
Min Deposit
N/A
Spreads From
Not published, Instinet charges institutional commissions, not retail spreads
Max Leverage
Not applicable, Instinet is an agency broker, not a leveraged CFD provider
Platforms
5
Pros
- Genuine multi decade history, running as an electronic broker since 1969
- Backed by Nomura, a large, exchange listed Japanese financial group
- Real regulated units across the US, UK, Hong Kong, Australia, and Singapore
- SIPC and Canadian Investor Protection Fund coverage on relevant accounts
Cons
- Fined 1.05 million pounds by the FSA in 2010 for wrong trade reporting
- Institutional agency broker only, individuals cannot open a retail account
- No public minimum deposit, spread, or leverage figures exist to compare
- Ownership has changed twice, from independent to Nasdaq to Nomura
Instinet began in 1969 as one of the first electronic systems for trading shares directly between big institutions. Nasdaq bought the company in 2005 and kept the INET matching engine, then sold the agency brokerage business to Silver Lake Partners. Nomura bought that business from Silver Lake in February 2007 for about $1.2 billion, and still owns it today.
The main US unit, Instinet LLC, is an SEC and FINRA regulated broker dealer and a CFTC introducing broker, owned through Instinet Holdings and Nomura Holding America. Related units cover other regions: Instinet Europe under the FCA, Instinet Pacific under the Hong Kong SFC, Instinet Australia under ASIC, and Instinet Singapore Services under the MAS.
Britain's FSA, the FCA's predecessor, fined Instinet Europe 1.05 million pounds in 2010 for years of wrong trade reporting. Instinet only works with institutions such as asset managers, hedge funds, and banks, it has no retail account, minimum deposit, or public spread numbers.
Max Leverage
Not applicable, Instinet is an agency broker, not a leveraged CFD provider
Spreads From
Not published, Instinet charges institutional commissions, not retail spreads
Platforms
Regulators
Platforms
- SEC (USA)
- FINRA
- FCA (UK)
- MAS (Singapore)
