New York-based online broker-dealer, TradeZero has secured the services of Orion Szathmary as the chief executive of its Canadian business.
Mr. Szathmary comes over to TradeZero from Victor Direct, a Toronto-based boutique marketing consultancy dedicated to self-directed investors and the online brokerage industry. Prior to that, he served most recently as vice president of technology and operations strategy at RBC Direct Investing, where he led several programs and helped RBC regain market share growth in its online brokerage business.
Overall, Szathmary brings more than 15 years of experience spanning senior leadership roles at Canada’s largest online brokerages, including executive positions across technology and operations strategy, product strategy and client engagement.
TradeZero’s Canadian subsidiary was admitted earlier this year as a dealer-member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada.
The approval allowed TradeZero to launch its commission-free and subscription-based software for active stock trading in Canada. The broker’s core offering also includes options trading, real-time streaming on web and desktop platforms, pre-and post-market trade, charting and scrolling news feeds.
“Orion brings to TradeZero a comprehensive breadth of experience and expertise in the sector that will make an immediate impact on our operations and growth initiatives going forward. We are excited to welcome him to the TradeZero Canada team,” said Dan Pipitone, TradeZero Holding’s CEO and Co-Founder.
TradeZero Securities Canada allows its ‘active traders’ to select the specific destination where their orders are routed for execution. Those who maintain a minimum account balance of $30,000 can take advantage of these features to increase both the speed and likelihood of order execution, while simultaneously lowering their trading costs by taking advantage of rebates.
TradeZero also offers clients easier access to hard-to-borrow shares though a locate feature built into its platforms. This patent-pending feature enables TradeZero investors to sell their shares to other traders on the platform, which resolves one of the major disadvantages of shorting stocks that appear on a hard-to-borrow list. Most brokers require traders to pay high fees or enroll in special programs to have access to such stocks, given the relatively few borrowable shares coupled with the huge demand from short sellers.
TradeZero had begun as an international company back in 2015, and investor demand led to the formation of its US arm, TradeZero America, which provides commission-free stock and options trading across all US states.
