Giveups & Clearing
Execute with us. Clear wherever you need to.
BTR holds multiple clearing agreements and arranges give-ups at the FCM your business requires. If an allocator, a prime broker or an existing relationship dictates where the trade has to land, that is a setup detail rather than a reason to change brokers.
The mechanics
What a give-up actually is
The term gets used loosely. Here is the version that matters when you are deciding who executes your business.
Execution and clearing split apart
In a give-up, one firm executes the trade and a different firm clears and carries it. The order is worked by the desk you chose; the position lands at the FCM you chose.
Why managers need it
Allocators mandate clearing firms. Prime brokers have preferences. Existing relationships carry balances. A give-up lets all of that stay true without changing who executes for you.
What it does not change
Your customer agreement, your margin and your statements stay with the carrying FCM. The give-up governs where the trade goes, not who your money sits with.
Where it applies
Listed futures and options across the major domestic and international venues, wherever your carrying firm holds the relationships to accept them.
Setting one up
Four steps, mostly paperwork
-
Tell us where it clears
Name the carrying FCM and the accounts involved. If you are not sure what an allocator will require, we have usually seen the arrangement before.
-
We paper the agreement
Give-up agreements are executed between the executing broker, the carrying firm and you. Depending on complexity, a new arrangement can be in place in as little as a day.
-
Routing is configured
Accounts, allocation codes and give-up instructions are set up so the trade lands correctly from the first fill rather than by manual correction afterwards.
-
Trades land where they should
Executed by BTR, cleared and carried where you need. Breaks and mismatches get chased by us, not by your operations person.
Questions
What managers ask about clearing
How many clearing relationships do you have?
Multiple, and the number moves as agreements are added and retired — which is exactly why we do not publish a count that would go stale. The practical answer is that we have not often had to tell a manager we could not clear where they needed.
Can I keep my existing FCM?
Usually. That is the entire point of a give-up. Tell us who carries your business today and we will tell you honestly whether an arrangement is already in place or needs to be papered.
Does a give-up cost extra?
Give-up fees are set by the carrying firm and the exchange rather than invented by us. They are quoted alongside your commission structure so you can see the all-in number before you commit.
Can you handle block execution and allocation?
Yes. Block execution with post-trade allocation across managed accounts is a routine setup, and it pairs with give-ups where different clients clear at different firms.
What if an allocator changes the requirement mid-relationship?
Then we paper a new arrangement. Managers change clearing requirements more often than they expect to, which is a reasonable argument for not being tied to a broker who only clears one way.
BTR Trading Group is an Independent Introducing Broker and a member of the National Futures Association and National Introducing Brokers Association. All customer accounts are carried by, and all funds are held at, the clearing Futures Commission Merchant. BTR Trading Group does not accept or hold customer funds.
Talk to someone who knows.
A quick phone call will tell you more than an hour on any website. Tell us what you are trying to do and we will tell you whether we are the right fit for it.