What Is a Feed Handler? Trading Infrastructure Guide (2026)

What Is a Feed Handler

A feed handler is a specialized software component that receives, processes, and normalizes raw market data from exchanges and other data providers into standardized formats for consumption by trading systems. Feed handlers act as the critical bridge between exchanges that produce market data and the trading applications that consume it, ensuring traders receive accurate, timely … Read more

What Is an Alternative Trading System (2026)

What Is an Alternative Trading System

Key Takeaways An alternative trading system (ATS) is an SEC-regulated electronic venue that matches buy and sell orders outside traditional public exchanges. ATSs differ from exchanges because they lack self-regulatory organization (SRO) status and do not set listing standards or display orders publicly. Institutional investors primarily use ATSs to execute large block trades with minimal … Read more