Investors in Southeast Europe have historically had limited opportunities to participate in global markets due to complex processes and high fees. As a result, many retail investors have relied on traditional investments, such as real estate, to build their wealth. However, real estate often requires upfront capital, leaving financial growth reserved for the wealthy.
That’s the challenge TF Capital, a Montenegro fintech, aims to solve. Powered by Alpaca’s Broker API, the company now offers US stock and ETF trading and high-yield savings accounts through their mobile platform.
We recently spoke with Admir Ademovic, CEO of TF Capital, about how they brought mobile investing to the Adriatic Region through their partnership with Alpaca.
Making Global Investing More Accessible in Southeastern Europe
TF Capital began by offering brokerage solutions to professionals in Montenegro. However, Admir noticed a growing interest among Montenegrins to access global investment opportunities and the tools traditionally reserved for the wealthy.
“From a regional perspective, accessing US markets was complicated, expensive, and slow,” Admir shared. “Real estate remains the most common investment in the region, but we wanted to challenge those traditional patterns with a bold idea: expanding access to global markets for our clients.”
TF Capital’s broader vision is to build a more financially literate and forward-looking society. Admir and his team recognized that access alone wasn’t enough. People needed education, modern tools, and an investing experience that was intuitive for beginners.
“More than 60% of our clients are learning about investing for the first time,” Admir explained. “Our mission is to build a financially responsible society by giving every individual the tools to make better choices for their future prosperity. We believe constant education can substantially improve financial literacy, directly leading to smarter investment decisions in Montenegro.”
Bridging Traditional Investing with Next Generation Features
To bring their mission to life, TF Capital sought a partner that could deliver real-time US market access and future-ready investing infrastructure, without the complication of building everything in-house. In their search, they found Alpaca, a global leader in brokerage infrastructure APIs providing access to stocks, ETFs, options, fixed income, and crypto.
By partnering with Alpaca, TF Capital now offers TF Trading and TF Savings, providing:
- Access to US stocks and ETFs trading
- Fractional and notional trading
- Streamlined onboarding for its clients
- Cost-effective trading experiences
- High-yield savings accounts*
“TF Capital is the first in the region to offer US markets on mobile devices, combined with low fees and high-yield products. We’ve made wealth building easier for our clients who are excited by the possibilities of fractional and intraday trading,” says Admir. "With Alpaca, we’ve found a partner that provides the responsive, simple, and future-looking infrastructure that lets us easily build and deliver market-leading features."
“We’re proud to partner with TF Capital to lower the barriers to investing in the Adriatic region and create better conditions for smart, accessible investing in Montenegro. With this partnership, everyday investors can now easily access US stocks and ETFs through a simple, user-friendly mobile app,” says Yoshi Yokokawa, Co-Founder and CEO of Alpaca. “Together, we’re working to make financial opportunities open and accessible to those in the Adriatic Region.”
What’s Next for TF Capital
As the platform continues to grow, TF Capital aims to expand its offerings to include 24/5 trading, Fully Paid Securities Lending, margin accounts, short selling, and other order types such as stop, stop-limit, and bracket orders. Alpaca’s infrastructure will remain central to supporting this expansion.
With their platform, TF Capital aspires to achieve more than $100 million in AUM, signaling a massive step forward for retail investing in Montenegro and beyond.
Contact Alpaca
About Alpaca
Alpaca is a US-headquartered, self-clearing broker-dealer and a global leader in brokerage infrastructure APIs providing access to stocks, ETFs, options, fixed income, and crypto. Alpaca delivers embeddable finance solutions for tokenization, fully paid securities lending, high-yield cash, 24/5 trading, Shariah-compliant investing and more. Today, Alpaca powers over 7 million brokerage accounts across hundreds of fintechs and institutions in 40+ countries with over $170M in funding.
- “Advancing the capital markets union in Europe: a roadmap for harmonising securities post-trading”, European Central Bank Economic Bulletin, Issue 4/2025, April 2025
- “Housing as Investment in Greece and Southern Europe — Private Profit versus Social Value”, Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS), April 2025
- “Draft Country Profile on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management — Montenegro”, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), 2025
*High-Yield cash refers to Alpaca Securities’ cash management program pursuant to the FDIC Bank Sweep. Customer funds are treated differently and are subject to separate regulatory regimes depending on whether customer funds are held in their brokerage account or within the FDIC Bank Sweep. Specifically, Alpaca Securities is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which protects securities customers of its members up to $500,000 (including $250,000 for claims for cash). The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures up to $250,000 per deposit against the failure of an FDIC member bank. Customer funds held in brokerage accounts are SIPC insured, but are not eligible for FDIC insurance coverage. Funds maintained in the FDIC Bank Sweep are intended to be eligible for pass-through FDIC insurance coverage, but are not subject to SIPC coverage. FDIC insurance coverage does not protect against the failure of Alpaca, Alpaca Securities, or any of its or their affiliates and/or malfeasance by any Alpaca or Alpaca Securities employee. Program banks that participate in the FDIC Bank Sweep are not members of SIPC and therefore funds held in the Program are not SIPC protected. Please see alpaca.markets/disclosures for important additional disclosures regarding Alpaca Securities brokerage offering as well as FDIC Bank Sweep terms and conditions.
Alpaca and TF Capital are not affiliated and neither is responsible for the liabilities of the other.
The content of this blog is for general informational purposes only. All examples are for illustrative purposes only.
Fractional share trading allows a customer to buy and sell fractional share quantities and dollar amounts of certain securities. Fractional share trading presents unique risks and is subject to particular limitations that you should be aware of before engaging in such activity. See Alpaca Customer Agreement at https://alpaca.markets/disclosures for more details.
Orders placed outside regular trading hours (9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. ET) may experience price fluctuations, partial executions, or delays due to lower liquidity and higher volatility. Orders not designated for extended hours execution will be queued for the next trading session. Additionally, fractional trading may be limited during extended hours. For more details, please review Alpaca Extended Hours & Overnight Trading Risk Disclosure.
Please read Important Risk Disclosures With Respect To Participating In Fully Paid Securities Lending Transactions carefully before deciding whether to participate in lending Fully Paid Securities or agreeing to enter into a Master Securities Lending Agreement with Alpaca Securities LLC.
These disclosures describe important characteristics of, and risks associated with engaging in, securities-lending transactions.
The testimonials, statements, and opinions presented on the website are applicable to the specific individuals. It is important to note that individual circumstances may vary, and may not be representative of the experience of others. There are no guarantees of future performance or success. The testimonials are voluntarily provided and are not paid, nor were they provided with free products, services or any other benefit in exchange for said statements.
All investments involve risk and the past performance of a security, or financial product does not guarantee future results or returns. There is no guarantee that any investment strategy will achieve its objectives. Keep in mind that while diversification may help spread risk, it does not assure a profit, or protect against loss. There is always the potential of losing money when you invest in securities, or other financial products. Investors should consider their investment objectives and risks carefully before investing.
Options trading is not suitable for all investors due to its inherent high risk, which can potentially result in significant losses. Please read Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options before investing.
Fixed income securities can experience a greater risk of principal loss when interest rates rise. These investments are also subject to additional risks, including credit quality fluctuations, market volatility, liquidity constraints, prepayment or early redemption, corporate actions, tax implications, and other influencing factors.
Alpaca does not make any representation that its products or services are Shariah-compliant. Customers are solely responsible for determining whether any offering meets their own Shariah requirements.
Alpaca's Instant Tokenization Network is owned and developed by AlpacaDB, Inc. and Alpaca Crypto LLC.
Additional geographic restrictions may apply for tokenization services based on local regulatory requirements. Neither Alpaca Crypto LLC nor Alpaca Securities LLC are the issuer of, nor directly involved in, the tokenization of any assets. Tokenization is performed by a third party. Tokenized assets do not represent direct equity ownership in any underlying company or issuer. Instead, tokenized assets generally provide economic exposure to the equity securities of an underlying issuer. As such, holders of tokenized assets have no voting rights, dividend entitlements, or legal claims to the underlying company shares or any residual assets in the event of the underlying company’s liquidation or insolvency, unless explicitly stated otherwise. All investments involve risk. For more information, please see our Tokenization Risk Disclosure.
Cryptocurrency is highly speculative in nature, involves a high degree of risks, such as volatile market price swings, market manipulation, flash crashes, and cybersecurity risks. Cryptocurrency regulations are continuously evolving, and it is your responsibility to understand and abide by them. Cryptocurrency trading can lead to large, immediate and permanent loss of financial value. You should have appropriate knowledge and experience before engaging in cryptocurrency trading. For additional information, please click here.
Securities brokerage services are provided by Alpaca Securities LLC ("Alpaca Securities"), member FINRA/SIPC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AlpacaDB, Inc. Technology and services are offered by AlpacaDB, Inc.
Cryptocurrency services are made available by Alpaca Crypto LLC ("Alpaca Crypto"), a FinCEN registered money services business (NMLS # 2160858), and a wholly-owned subsidiary of AlpacaDB, Inc. Alpaca Crypto is not a member of SIPC or FINRA. Cryptocurrencies are not stocks and your cryptocurrency investments are not protected by either FDIC or SIPC. Please see the Disclosure Library for more information.
This is not an offer, solicitation of an offer, or advice to buy or sell securities or cryptocurrencies or open a brokerage account or cryptocurrency account in any jurisdiction where Alpaca Securities or Alpaca Crypto, respectively, are not registered or licensed, as applicable.
