Prop Firm Tech Stack: Broker/PSP Considerations
Been giving some thought lately to the underlying tech infrastructure most of these prop firms are running. Specifically, I'm curious about the actual brokers they're routing trades through, and by extension, the payment service providers (PSPs) handling the payouts.
From a trader's perspective, the spreads and commissions are obviously critical, but I'm looking beyond the advertised numbers. What kind of latency are we actually dealing with? Are these firms all leveraging the same handful of institutional brokers, or is there a wider variance in the quality of execution depending on the prop firm you choose? More importantly, when it comes to withdrawals, the reliability and speed of the PSP is a massive factor. We've all heard stories about delays, obscure fees, or outright issues. It makes you wonder if some firms are choosing cheaper, less robust options on the backend to save a few basis points, which ultimately impacts the trader. Has anyone done a deeper dive into this, or perhaps noticed significant differences in execution quality or payout processing between various firms they've worked with?
It's a fascinating rabbit hole, isn't it? One would hope for institutional-grade plumbing, but I've always suspected a good number of them are running on something cobbled together with duct tape and a dream, much like my own trading setup after a long week.