PROFESSIONAL TRADING GROUPS
Your Advocate
in the Clearing Ecosystem
We help professional trading groups navigate the complexities of clearing relationships by connecting them with the right partners, negotiating customized arrangements, and providing the industry expertise needed to support sophisticated trading strategies.
How We Help
Based in Chicago with deep roots in the proprietary trading community, RCM Alternatives has built its business at the intersection of sophisticated trading strategies and institutional-grade clearing infrastructure. We understand what professional trading groups need to thrive: capital efficiency that maximizes returns on deployed capital, risk management frameworks designed for professional traders, and uninterrupted market access across global trading sessions.
Our long-standing C-suite relationships with multiple clearing firms enable us to negotiate bespoke arrangements and margin structures that individual firms rarely access on their own. We’ve cultivated a specialized FCM network specifically for prop trading business models, delivering the executive-level access and scalable infrastructure that maximize your trading capital while minimizing operational overhead.
Strategic Clearing Relationships & Capital Efficiency
The value we bring isn’t in executing trades or holding positions—it’s in securing clearing arrangements that treat your operation as the sophisticated business it is. Through our clearing firm relationships, we negotiate custom margin structures and capital-efficient configurations tailored to your strategy’s actual risk profile rather than standardized retail-focused policies.
Technology Infrastructure Built for Professional Trading
Our vendor-neutral approach means we facilitate integration with Trading Technologies, CQG, Bloomberg EMSX, Stellar, or proprietary API solutions. We work with clearing firms to ensure your chosen technology stack connects seamlessly to their infrastructure without forcing platform changes that would disrupt your operations. For firms requiring direct connectivity, we coordinate Sponsored Access arrangements with clearing firms for CME and ICE matching engines.
Proactive Risk Management
Our dedicated risk team works directly with clients to optimize positions and exposure management before issues ever reach FCM risk desks. We understand options Greeks, volatility strategies, and complex spread relationships, serving as an intermediary between your operation and clearing firm risk departments to ensure your positions are evaluated through appropriate risk lenses rather than simplistic notional limits that don’t reflect professional trading strategies.
Global Operations Support
Our operations team works across global time zones to coordinate with clearing firms and ensure consistent service quality. Whether issues arise during Asian, European, or US sessions, you have access to professionals who can liaise with clearing firms on your behalf.
Professional Trading Groups Choose RCM Alternatives
The clearing relationships we’ve cultivated and the executive-level access we maintain at multiple FCMs enable us to secure arrangements that individual firms struggle to negotiate on their own. Our team includes professionals with backgrounds in proprietary trading and risk management at tier-one clearing firms, we speak your language and understand your needs because we’ve worked in your world.
We don’t clear trades, we don’t compete with your business model, and we don’t force standardized solutions on customized problems. What we do is leverage our relationships and industry expertise to secure the clearing arrangements, margin structures, and operational infrastructure that professional trading operations require but often can’t access independently.
If your trading operation has outgrown basic clearing relationships, if you’re frustrated by risk departments that don’t understand professional strategies, or if you’re looking for capital efficiency through optimized clearing arrangements, let’s talk.
Let’s Discuss Your Clearing Needs
Our team understands the unique challenges facing professional trading groups because we’ve worked on both sides of the industry. We’ll take the time to understand your business, assess your current setup, and explore potential solutions tailored to your objectives.
FAQ
We work with a wide range of professional trading operations, including proprietary trading groups, market-making firms, quantitative trading teams, family offices, and other active traders seeking institutional-grade clearing and infrastructure solutions.
RCM is not a clearing firm. We act as an independent advocate and strategic partner, leveraging our relationships with multiple FCMs and clearing providers to help secure customized clearing arrangements, margin structures, and operational support that align with your business.
Absolutely. Many PTGs come to us after outgrowing their existing setup. We can evaluate current arrangements, identify potential efficiencies, and introduce alternative clearing solutions that may better support your growth and trading objectives.