VIRTU Financial

Virtu Financial made its name with a trading record almost too clean to believe: in its 2015 IPO prospectus the firm disclosed it had been profitable on all but one day over several years, a vivid demonstration of how diversified market making smooths P&L. Founded in 2008, it is now one of the most visible electronic market makers anywhere, public on Nasdaq and quoting tens of thousands of securities across dozens of countries.

Its defining acquisition came in 2017, when Virtu absorbed KCG Holdings, the old Knight Capital and GETCO businesses, bolting a large institutional execution arm onto its principal market making. The firm holds a Designated Market Maker post on the NYSE floor and packages its own data and connectivity tools as a service for outside firms.