Trading Platforms & Tools

An electronic communication network (ECN) is an automated system that executes buy and sell orders within a financial market. These computer-based systems allow major brokerages and individual traders to trade with one another without requiring a third party’s involvement.

A stock screener is a type of trading tool that enables investors to easily filter out stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that do not fit a criteria of their choosing. Stock screeners are often available as part of a broker’s online offerings, typically without any additional cost.

A blotter is a record of an individual or firm’s trading activity and history within a specific period of time. Blotters typically include the name of the traded securities, the trading time, the quantity/price, the name of the ECN market, and what types of orders were made.

A Bloomberg terminal is a proprietary electronic trading system that traders can use to access Bloomberg’s real-time market data and other services. Bloomberg terminals are typically restricted to large institutional investors, portfolio managers, and financial analysts due to the price ranging from $20,000–$24,000 per user per year.

A market identifier code (MIC) is a unique four-character code that identifies a stock market or other trading exchange. An MIC code is utilized within global trading and referencing computer systems when processing and clearing securities trades.

The over-the-counter bulletin board (OTCBB) was an electronic quotation service that provided over-the-counter (OTC) trade data for U.S. stocks. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) shut down the OTCBB on Nov. 8, 2021, as the majority of OTC stock trading was now occurring on the OTC Markets Group's platforms.

Better Alternative Trading System (BATS), later known as Bats Global Markets, was originally an alternative trading platform that eventually grew to become the second-largest U.S. equity exchange by market share. A year later, Bats Global Markets was acquired by the Cboe Options Exchange.