Pragma: Polaris EMS

Overview

Polaris is a high-performance EMS provided to the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and customized for the unique requirements of the Floor Brokers and their clients. Clients must connect to Polaris to route orders to the Floor Brokers. Please see the FAQ for more information on Client Connectivity.

Polaris supports the traditional workflow of routing orders to the floor brokers to work your orders ("HighTouch") and a more direct option (“OneTouch”).

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Frequently asked questions

What do Clients need to do to trade with NYSE Floor Brokers?

Please discuss with your Floor Broker what steps you need to take to onboard with Polaris for order entry.

What is the benefit of OneTouch?

Clients can direct Closing dOrders to NYSE via a Floor Broker in an automated manner. The Floor Broker retains control over the order, including risk. For more information, please contact your Floor Broker.

What Client connectivity testing is available?

Pragma currently provides a FIX certification and a separate UAT environment. The UAT environment is connected to NYSE UAT for end-to-end testing.

How can a network connection be established to Polaris?

Clients can set up a connection through various extranet providers, including IGN, or establish cross-connects directly with Pragma. For more information on extranet providers, email PolarisSubscriber@pragmatrading.com. For Pragma cross-connects, complete the Cross Connect Order Form and email to PolarisSubscriber@pragmatrading.com.

What fees are associated with connectivity to the Polaris infrastructure?

Pragma charges $550/month per FIX session. Firms using a Service Bureau / OMS Provider may not need to purchase sessions if their vendor does on their behalf.

I use a Service Bureau / OMS provider to connect to my Floor Broker relationships. Will my OMS connect for me?

OMS providers are able to connect to Polaris on behalf of their Clients. The process is similar to that of a client connecting directly to Polaris.

Can both buy-side and sell-side Clients connect to the Polaris directly?

Yes — both buy- and sell-side Clients can connect to Polaris directly or via a broker OMS. Please discuss the connection with your Floor Broker to determine their connectivity preference.

Will Clients be able to use existing Pillar Gateways to send orders to Polaris?

No, Pillar Gateways cannot be used to route order to Polaris. You will need to establish connectivity to the Polaris infrastructure via the Polaris FIX specification.

What do Clients need to do to trade with NYSE Floor Brokers?

Please discuss with your Floor Broker what steps you need to take to onboard with Polaris for order entry.

What is the benefit of OneTouch?

Clients can direct Closing dOrders to NYSE via a Floor Broker in an automated manner. The Floor Broker retains control over the order, including risk. For more information, please contact your Floor Broker.

What redundancy is in place for Pragma?

Pragma has a primary site (Equinix NY5) with redundant hardware and applications. Pragma has a secondary site (Equinix CH4) for Disaster Recovery. Floor Broker Firms are connected to both; and clients may choose to connect to both as well.

How do I connect to the Polaris secondary site?

Polaris provides both a primary and a secondary site. Clients may choose to connect to the secondary site for a session; there is no additional session cost, however Clients will need a connection to the secondary site.

How do I connect to the FIX Test environment and the Client Certification environment?

The FIX Test environment is accessed via the internet. The Client Certification environment is accessed via NYSE IGN.

Must I continue to send MPID and Sub-MPID (previously Mnemonic)? Can I continue to send Badge# or Agency?

Polaris requires MPID and SubID (Mnemonic) on the New Order – Single message and passes this on to NYSE. Polaris supports Agency as an option. Badge# is not supported. Please see the Polaris FIX Specification for details.

How will I identify myself on an order?

As defined in the Polaris FIX Specification, you will put your Client identifier into FIX tag 115 for New Order – Single messages. This must be the same client identifier used for CAT reporting. Please see the Polaris FIX Specification for details.

What is the capacity of Polaris?

Polaris supports up to 500 trading messages per 100 millisecond per FIX session. Please contact Pragma for more detail on capacity, including system constraints, daily constraints, and the definition of trading messages.

How is disaster recovery managed for Polaris?

Our documented process is available here.

Onboarding


Step 1 – Order form and agreement

Please fill out the contact form to access the Client Connectivity Agreement and Client Connectivity Order Form on DocuSign. Contact polarissubscriber@pragmatrading.com with any DocuSign issues.


Step 2 – Testing

Once Pragma receives your signed Agreement and Order Form, we will send you information to commence testing in the automated FIX Test environment. Please see the current Polaris FIX Specification.


Step 3 – Network

Firms must have a network connection to Polaris. Polaris supports the NYSE IGN extranet, the Pico extranet or a direct connection to Pragma via cross-connects in Equinix NY5 and (optionally) DR in CH4.


Step 4 – Certification

Once you have completed testing, contact Polaris FIX Support at PolarisFIXSupport@pragmatrading.com to schedule certification in the FIX Conformance environment.


Step 5 – Production

Upon completion of UAT certification, Pragma will work with your firm to provision production networking and schedule Polaris FIX session deployment.

Need support?

For questions on agreements, contact polarissubscriber@pragmatrading.com

All other inquiries, reach out to polarissupport@pragmatrading.com

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