TradePortal Vision Yields Direct Market Access Trading Platform that Crosses All Market Segments

Software Engineering Centered on One Code Base for Extensible DMA Applications

IRVINE, Calif., June 1, 2005 – Not more than ten years ago, first generation direct market access software platforms were developed with the tools of the day; tightly coupled models based on legacy systems. These models were LAN based, which limited traders to equities and required on-site trading, and were developed with the expressed needs of the retail trader in mind. And why not? Retail traders were the main audience for direct access tools and did not require the backend management capabilities, scalability and interoperability inherently required by institutions.

As these first generation tools were being put to task, Irvine, Calif.-based TradePortal was stealthily crafting a software platform that extends direct market access across the board. Determined to develop a platform that brings the value of direct market access technology to all segments of the securities industry, the company’s chairman and CEO, David Smithey, enlisted his development team to bridge the technology gap between the retail and institutional sectors.

The rallying cry through the halls of TradePortal became, “ACMA!” This mantra is what drove the development process for TradePortal’s enterprise application MatriXsuite which consists of a series of products customized to serve the needs of various market segments: TradeMatriX for the retail market, ProMatriX for hedge funds and MarketMatriX for the institutions.

But what is ACMA? According to Smithey, “ACMA is our vision – we strove to develop an application that scales three distinct segments with vastly different needs and it was imperative that we offer these products through an architecture that has one code base to manage, independent of the market you’re serving. In a nutshell, ACMA stands for our Architecture, built on one Code base that serves Multiple instruments across All markets.”

Driven by the goal to offer direct market access for the global economy, and undaunted by the lack of enabling technologies available at the time, Smithey and team took a big risk and became an early adopter of the then unproven Microsoft platform. They developed a WAN based application and engineered the software using standards like XML and COM for a loosely coupled, highly scalable system that could incorporate equities, options, futures and other new requirements that came down the road.

“At the time, the retail market was having their awakening and we had the benefit of being able to see where the market was headed. We believed wholeheartedly that direct market access would one day be adopted by the institutions and strove to develop a platform that could take us into the future. We were able to leverage Internet technology (like TCP/IP) and protocols that would eventually allow us to adopt .NET and web services which is where we are today,” added Smithey.

First in line was TradePortal’s flagship product TradeMatriX which services the retail market and was developed to meet the needs of the demanding retail space. TradePortal found that providing software which services this group of sophisticated traders was instrumental to understanding how to develop other functionality, that in the future that would cross over into the institutional space, and offer features that would benefit the institutions.

While TradePortal’s customers embraced its retail software offering, the company continued to innovate by developing ProMatriX, its hedge fund application and is approaching the final mile with MarketMatriX, it’s offering for market makers. The company’s passion for technology promises to pay off as its solutions continue to be adopted and its technology foundation is put to task.

“The foundation you begin with is something that you have to deal with down the road,” added Smithey. “First generation DMA developers are finding that in order to extend to new market segments they must consider forklift upgrades that could take months and may or may not get them there.”

TradePortal’s MatriXsuite server-centric architecture offers a flexible, adaptable, modular application that can be upgraded with new features quickly. Key differentiators for the company include its ability to license its software or offer it as an ASP model. In addition, the company’s modular approach enables broker/dealer firms to enter new markets. As an example, a broker may want to change its course and compete in the hedge fund space. This is made possible through MatriXsuite’s modules and is as easy as providing a new user ID and login that enables the features and functionality necessary for hedge fund traders. This is made possible by ACMA which calls for one architecture with one code base.

Another key benefit to TradePortal’s innovative architecture is in its back office capabilities. Critical to the needs of each market segment are robust, comprehensive back office features. TradePortal’s BackOffice component provides the interface to markets, data feeds, data distribution and order execution services and maintains users and their accounts. All of the MatriXsuite products connect to the BackOffice using industry standard protocols to execute their tasks.

Where is this all headed? According to Smithey, TradePortal is driving technology far beyond what would be used for a retail broker and the company sees itself as a change agent. “This is a foundation which built upon the premise that one day this application would be used by the global economy. We had to innovate not only with the U.S. exchanges in mind but also from a global perspective. Having this design from the start has allowed us to easily meet the needs of where this technology is going.”

The release of MarketMatriX is slated for next month and will mark a software development milestone for the company. According to Smithey, “The best is yet to come.”

About TradePortal

Since 1998, TradePortal has been providing Direct Market Access (DMA) software to the financial services industry. MatriXsuite, its flagship offering, provides traders on both the buy-side and sell-side with fully integrated trading applications, real-time compliance and back office administrative tools for easy management.

TradePortal’s enterprise applications suite is distinguished by its single code based architecture. This unique approach enables the MatriXsuite to service multiple markets, including hedge funds, market makers, and active traders. TradePortal is the only company that offers an entire solution suite across two industry sectors (retail and institutional) and ten industry segments.

Headquartered in Irvine, California, TradePortal is an equity partner of Thomson Financial, an operating unit of The Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC, TSX: TOC), and Tibco Software (Nasdaq: TIBX). TradePortal licenses its software to leading financial institutions including Merrill Lynch, National Financial/Fidelity, Computer Clearing Services, Pacific Growth Equities, and the Takada Trading Group, Inc.

For more information, visit the company’s web site at www.tradeportal.com.