IEX
IEX is a dark pool, more formally known as an alternative trading system, based in the United States. Started by Brad Katsuyama, it opened for its first day of trading on October 25, 2013. The company's offices are located at 4 World Trade Center in New York City. However, the computer equipment that handles the actual dark pool is located across the Hudson River in Weehawken, New Jersey, and the initial point of presence for the dark pool is located in a data center in Secaucus, New Jersey. IEX's main innovation is a 38-mile coil of optical fiber placed in front of its trading engine, which adds a round-trip delay of 0.0007 seconds and is believed to limit traders' ability to respond on the dark pool ahead of IEX's own pricing algorithms. The dark pool's market session runs from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm Eastern Time.
Originally the founders had planned to name the business Investors Exchange, but after typing it into a web browser, felt that this combination of letters was distasteful (as it could alternatively be read "Investor Sex Change"). Thus they opted to shorten the name to IEX. The company has since applied to the SEC to become an official exchange.