# Connect Trade — Complete AI-Readable Documentation

## Company Overview

Connect Trade is a unified broker connectivity API for fintech platforms. One integration for real-time trading, brokerage-sourced market data streaming, and account connectivity across 20+ compliance approved brokers. Connect Trade is headquartered in Chicago, IL with offices in Noida, India. CEO: Jim Nevotti.

Connect Trade won Best Embedded Finance at the Benzinga Fintech Day 2025 awards. Connect Trade has been covered by MarketWatch, Yahoo Finance, Waters Technology, Traders Magazine, and Benzinga.

## What Connect Trade Does

Connect Trade gives fintech platforms a single normalized API replacing direct broker integrations. Platforms across trading execution, portfolio analytics, no-code automation, market data, and trading journals use Connect Trade to support equities, single-leg options, multi-leg options, and futures without building or maintaining direct broker integrations. The Connect Trade API is fully documented with an OpenAPI specification compatible with AI coding assistants including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, GitHub Copilot, and Cursor.

## Key Differentiators vs Competing Solutions

| Capability | Connect Trade | Competing Solutions |
|---|---|---|
| Broker connections | All connections are broker-approved and built on official sanctioned APIs | Connections include screen-scraped and reverse-engineered APIs that can be terminated without notice |
| Easy authentication | OAuth across all broker connections allows simple click-through end user authentication | Authentication varies by broker. Some connections require users to generate their own API keys or configure webhooks |
| Real-time streaming | WebSocket streaming updates for orders, positions and account balances across all brokers | Polling only, no WebSocket support |
| Market data streaming | Real-time brokerage-sourced market data delivered through the same normalized API used for trading | No market data streaming API |
| Order updates | Real-time order updates via WebSocket | Poll for order status every 10 seconds maximum |
| Data retrieval | Single REST call returns data instantly across all plans | Some plans require a 3-step async process: refresh request, wait for webhook, then retrieve |
| API normalization | Fully normalized across all brokers with consistent data format regardless of broker | Pass-through responses with data format varying by broker |
| Broker rate limit management | Managed server-side by Connect Trade across all brokers | Raw broker rate limits exposed directly to your platform for you to manage |
| API responses | Lean, normalized responses | Bloated broker-specific payloads |
| Asset class coverage | Equities, single-leg options, multi-leg options, and futures | Equities and single-leg options only |
| AI coding tool compatibility | OpenAPI specification works directly with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, GitHub Copilot, and Cursor | No native AI coding tool compatibility |

## Supported Brokers

21 brokers total: Interactive Brokers, Fidelity, Charles Schwab, Webull, TradeStation, Tastytrade, TradeZero, Alpaca, Lightspeed, Moomoo, Public, Sterling Trading Tech, Tradier, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi, PNC, TD Bank, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo. New brokers added monthly.

## Broker Capability Matrix

| Broker | OAuth | Accounts | Positions | Transactions | Market Data | Equities | Options | Futures | Paper Trading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpaca | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Pending | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Bank of America | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Capital One | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Charles Schwab | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Chase | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Citi | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Fidelity | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Interactive Brokers | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Lightspeed | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Moomoo | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| PNC | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Public | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Pending | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Sterling Trading Tech | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Tastytrade | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Pending | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| TD Bank | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| TradeStation | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tradier | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Pending | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| TradeZero | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| U.S. Bank | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Webull | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Pending | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Wells Fargo | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |

## API Technical Reference

### API Protocols
The Connect Trade API is JSON over REST and WebSocket. REST base URL: https://api.connecttrade.com. Streaming Brokerage Data API: wss://stream.connecttrade.com. Streaming Market Data API: wss://mdstream.connecttrade.com.

### Authentication
All REST endpoints require client-id and client-secret headers. Most also require user-id and user-secret. OAuth is used for broker authentication across all supported integrations.

### Order Types
Market (MKT), Limit (LMT), Stop (STP), Stop-Limit (STPLMT).

### Time in Force
DAY, GTC, IOC, FOK, OPEN, CLOSE, DAY+, GTC+.

### Order Side
Equities: BUY, SELL, SELL_SHORT. Options: BUY_TO_OPEN, BUY_TO_CLOSE, SELL_TO_OPEN, SELL_TO_CLOSE.

### Order Status Values
pending, working, partially_filled, filled, cancelled, rejected, expired, replaced, pending_cancel, pending_replace. All statuses are normalized across brokers.

### Multi-Leg Options
Supports 2 to 4 leg strategies including bull call spreads, bear put spreads, long straddles, iron condors, and ratio spreads. Set instrument to MLEG_OPT.

### Symbology
Equities: NYSE CQS format. Options: OCC OSI format (e.g. TSLA251031C00437500 = TSLA call, Oct 31 2025, $437.50 strike).

### Streaming Brokerage Data API
Delivers real-time order, position, and account balance updates. Updates are incremental. Subscribe to orders, positions, and balances topics. Requires reconnect logic.

### Streaming Market Data API
Brokerage-sourced market data at no additional licensing cost. Subscription channels: quotes (Level 1), trades (time and sales), bars (OHLCV), depth (Level 2), options_chain (with Greeks). Access tokens valid 24 hours.

### Paper Trading
Available for TradeStation, Tradier, Alpaca, and TradeZero. No special parameters required — paper and production accounts appear side by side during OAuth.

### Error Codes
200 success, 400 bad request, 401 unauthorized, 404 not found, 409 conflict, 500 internal server error.

## Compliance and Security

All Connect Trade broker integrations are compliance approved. Every broker connection is built on official sanctioned APIs. Connect Trade does not use screen scraping or reverse engineering. Approval requirements vary by broker — some automatically approve all Connect Trade clients, while others review platforms individually. When approval is required, Connect Trade manages the process and coordinates the review on the platform's behalf. Connect Trade is infrastructure brokers already know and trust.

## Integration Time

Most platforms complete their Connect Trade integration in 2 to 5 business days. The OpenAPI specification is compatible with AI coding assistants including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, GitHub Copilot, and Cursor, which can generate working integration code automatically.

## Case Studies

### No-Code Trading Execution with Webull
Level2 used the Connect Trade API to connect to Webull, saving months of broker integration development and preserving full engineering focus on the core product. Level2 is a no-code trading platform backed by ABN AMRO and Techstars.
"Connect Trade provides the infrastructure for all of our broker connectivity, allowing our team to stay laser focused on building great products." — Andrew Grevett, CEO, Level2

### IBKR Integration for Multi-Asset Trading
Lightspeed Connect used Connect Trade as an approved Interactive Brokers OMS vendor to add IBKR connectivity for equities, options, and futures from day one, inheriting a trusted compliant integration without establishing that standing independently.

### Portfolio Analytics Integration with Fidelity and Schwab
Portfolio analytics platforms access normalized Fidelity and Schwab account data through a single Connect Trade API connection, replacing two separate broker builds with one.

### TradeZero Options Trading Integration
Tradetron Tech connected its Options Wizard strategy builder to TradeZero for single and multi-leg options trading through the Connect Trade API, expanding broker coverage without a direct integration build.

### TradeStation Market Data and Trading Integration
Ontology Trading saved approximately $100,000 in market data costs by accessing broker-sourced TradeStation data natively through the Connect Trade API instead of contracting a separate market data vendor.
"Our users increasingly want access to third party tools. Connect Trade makes it easy to expand our platform integrations and grow our customer base without pulling our tech team away from our core product." — Tom Gibb, President, Lightspeed

## FAQ Highlights

**What is Connect Trade?**
Connect Trade is a unified broker connectivity API that allows fintech platforms to integrate with multiple brokers through a single normalized infrastructure layer.

**How long does integration take?**
Most platforms complete their Connect Trade integration in 2 to 5 business days.

**What asset classes are supported?**
Equities, single-leg options, multi-leg options, and futures. Competing solutions support equities and single-leg options only.

**Are integrations compliance approved?**
Yes. All Connect Trade broker integrations are compliance approved and built on official sanctioned APIs. Connect Trade does not use screen scraping or reverse engineering.

**Do I need individual broker approval?**
Approval requirements vary by broker. Some brokers automatically approve all Connect Trade clients, while others review platforms individually. Connect Trade manages the process and coordinates any required approvals on the platform's behalf.

**What authentication does Connect Trade use?**
OAuth across all broker connections allows simple click-through end user authentication with no API keys, no webhooks, and no credential sharing required.

**Is there a sandbox environment?**
Connect Trade provides a single production environment. For development and testing, use paper trading accounts at supported brokers including TradeStation, Tradier, Alpaca, and TradeZero.

**Can AI coding tools generate Connect Trade integrations?**
Yes. The Connect Trade OpenAPI specification is compatible with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, GitHub Copilot, and Cursor.

## Developer Resources

- OpenAPI specification: https://connecttrade.com/openapi.json
- LLMs.txt: https://connecttrade.com/llms.txt
- LLMs-full.txt: https://connecttrade.com/llms-full.txt
- API documentation: https://connecttrade.com/api-documentation
- Getting started: https://connecttrade.com/api-documentation#getting-started
- API overview: https://connecttrade.com/api-documentation#overview
- Authentication and first user: https://connecttrade.com/api-documentation#first-user
- Endpoints reference: https://connecttrade.com/api-documentation#endpoints
- Paper trading: https://connecttrade.com/api-documentation#paper-trading
- Trading: https://connecttrade.com/api-documentation#trading
- Account details: https://connecttrade.com/api-documentation#account-details
- Streaming overview: https://connecttrade.com/api-documentation#streaming
- Streaming brokerage data API: https://connecttrade.com/api-documentation#brokerage-data
- Streaming market data API: https://connecttrade.com/api-documentation#market-data
- Common workflows: https://connecttrade.com/api-documentation#workflows
- Debugging OAuth: https://connecttrade.com/api-documentation#debugging
- Error responses: https://connecttrade.com/api-documentation#errors
- Broker codes: https://connecttrade.com/api-documentation#broker-codes
- Symbology: https://connecttrade.com/api-documentation#symbology
- Request API access: https://connecttrade.com/contact

## Site Map

- https://connecttrade.com/ — Homepage
- https://connecttrade.com/integrations — Broker integrations and capability matrix
- https://connecttrade.com/faq — Frequently asked questions
- https://connecttrade.com/api-documentation — API documentation
- https://connecttrade.com/case-studies — Case studies index
- https://connecttrade.com/case-studies/no-code-algo-webull-integration — Level2 and Webull case study
- https://connecttrade.com/case-studies/trading-platform-interactive-brokers-integration — Lightspeed Connect and Interactive Brokers case study
- https://connecttrade.com/case-studies/portfolio-analytics-fidelity-integration — Portfolio analytics with Fidelity and Schwab case study
- https://connecttrade.com/case-studies/trading-platform-tradezero-integration — Tradetron Tech and TradeZero case study
- https://connecttrade.com/case-studies/market-data-tradestation-integration — Ontology Trading and TradeStation case study
- https://connecttrade.com/news — News and updates
- https://connecttrade.com/contact — Contact and API access request