Daily Processes and Reconciliations #

Daily Processes #

There are a few daily timings you want to keep in mind when you think about the operation.

Process	Timing	Notes
Beginning-of-day Sync (BOD)	02:15AM-02:30AM EST	Trading accounts are updated with the previous day end-of-day values. Trade confirms are also synchronized around this time.
Incoming wire processing	08:00AM-08:30AM EST	The incoming wires with FFC instructions are booked
Outgoing wire cutoff	04:00PM EST	The outgoing wire requests before the cutoff will be processed for the day.
ACH cutoff	07:30PM EST	The credit/debit of ACH requests before the cutoff will be processed for the day.
Trade reporting	06:30PM-07:30PM EST	The day’s trades are finalized and reported.
End-of-day calculation (EOD)	11:00PM-11:30PM EST	Close the day’s book, mark to market positions, cost basis calculation, margin requirements calculation etc.

Mandatory Corporate Actions #

Currently the corporate actions are processed a semi-automated way, and you will see such records in Activity API as they happen. We are working to provide upfront information separately in the future.

Dividends #

Dividends are the most common corporate actions. The cash is paid (credited) to the customer accounts after the pay date, as we receive the cash from DTC. Please note that the actual credit transactions may be after the pay date if we don’t receive the cash from DTC. When such payout is transacted, you will see the account activity in Activity API as the DIV entry type.

Dividends are income gain. If your end customers are non-US residents, 30% withholding is applied by default. In case you claim to apply different rates for the tax treaty, please contact us.

Dividends are processed without waiting for DTC in the sandbox environment. This may not reflect the live side operation.

Forward Splits and Reverse Splits #

Share splits are processed as they happen and the beginning-of-day process will update the positions of the customer accounts. Both appear as a SPLIT entry type in the activity. In the case of reverse splits, there might be the cash in lieu for non-divisible shares which will not be processed immediately until we receive the cash from DTC.

Symbol/CUSIP Change and Listing/Delisting #

The symbol or CUSIP can change one day for a particular asset. The asset master data is refreshed on a daily basis and we do recommend you retrieve the asset endpoint every morning before the market open (or after the beginning-of-day timing). While Alpaca does not currently participate in the initial public offering, such stock on the IPO day will become tradable on the day it is listed, and start filling orders once the secondary market opens.

Other Events #

Mergers, acquisitions, and other type events are processed manually in our back office as they are rare and each case is often unique. Please contact Alpaca’s broker-dealer operation team if you have any questions.

ACATS #

Alpaca processes both sending and receiving ACATS requests. As of today, you can request our operation team for the receiving request, but we plan to provide this service as an API in the future.

Disclosures

Brokerage services are provided by Alpaca Securities, member FINRA/SIPC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AlpacaDB, Inc.

Technology and services are offered by AlpacaDB, Inc.

Brokerage services are provided to customers who can write automated investment code and self-direct their own investments. Alpaca brokerage services are only provided to customers who agree to electronically sign agreements and agree to receive messages, confirmations, and statements electronically. Is Alpaca right for me?

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.

The Paper Trading API is offered by AlpacaDB, Inc. and does not require real money or permit a user to transact in real securities in the market. Providing use of the Paper Trading API is not an offer or solicitation to buy or sell securities, securities derivative or futures products of any kind, or any type of trading or investment advice, recommendation or strategy, given or in any manner endorsed by AlpacaDB, Inc. or any AlpacaDB, Inc. affiliate and the information made available through the Paper Trading API is not an offer or solicitation of any kind in any jurisdiction where AlpacaDB, Inc. or any AlpacaDB, Inc. affiliate (collectively, "Alpaca") is not authorized to do business.

You should know that the use or granting of any third party access to your account information or place transactions in your account at your direction is solely at your risk. Alpaca does not warrant against loss of use or any direct, indirect or consequential damages or losses to you caused by your assent, expressed or implied, to a third party accessing your account or information, including access provided through any other third party apps, systems, or sites.

Market prices, data and other information available through Alpaca are not warranted as to completeness or accuracy and are subject to change without notice. System response and account access times may vary due to a variety of factors, including trading volumes, market conditions, system performance, and other factors. A more complete description of the impact these factors may have can be found in our risks of automated trading systems section.

All investments involve risk and the past performance of a security, or financial product does not guarantee future results or returns. Keep in mind that while diversification may help spread risk it does not assure a profit, or protect against loss, in a down market. 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.

There are risks unique to automated trading algorithms that you should know about and plan for. You should setup a method or system of continuous monitoring or alerting to let you know if there is a mechanical failure, such as connectivity issues, power loss, a computer crash, or system quirk. You should also monitor for instances where your automated trading system experiences anomalies that could result in errant, missing, or duplicated orders. A more complete description of these and other risks can be found in our FAQ section.

Conditional orders may have increased risk as a result of their reliance on trigger processing, market data, and other internal and external systems. Such orders are not sent to the market until specified conditions are met. During that time, issues such as system outages with downstream technologies or third parties may occur. Conditional orders triggering near the market close may fail to execute that day. Furthermore, our executing partner may impose controls on conditional orders to limit erroneous trades triggering downstream orders. Alpaca Securities may not always be made aware of such changes to external controls immediately, which may lead to some conditional orders not being executed. As such, it is important to monitor conditional orders for reasonability. Conditional orders are “Not Held” orders whose execution instructions are on a best efforts basis upon being triggered. Furthermore, conditional orders may be subject to the increased risks of stop orders and market orders outlined above. Given the increased potential risk of using conditional orders, the client agrees that Alpaca Securities cannot be held responsible for losses, damages, or missed opportunity costs associated with market data problems, systems issues, and user error, among other factors. By using conditional orders the client understands and accepts the risks outlined above. Alpaca Securities encourages leveraging the use of Paper accounts to become more comfortable with the intricacies associated with these orders.

ETFs can entail risks similar to direct stock ownership, including market, sector, or industry risks. Some ETFs may involve international risk, currency risk, commodity risk, and interest rate risk. Trading prices may not reflect the net asset value of the underlying securities.

All accounts are opened as limited purpose margin accounts. You should know that margin trading involves interest charges and risks, including the potential to lose more than deposited or the need to deposit additional collateral in a falling market. Before using margin, customers must determine whether this type of trading strategy is right for them given their specific investment objectives, experience, risk tolerance, and financial situation. For more information please see Alpaca's Margin Disclosure Statement and Margin Agreement. These disclosures contain information on Alpaca Securities's lending policies, interest charges, and the risks associated with margin accounts.

Commission-Free trading means that there are no commission charges for Alpaca Securities self-directed individual brokerage accounts that trade U.S. listed securities through an API. Relevant regulatory fees may apply.

Commission free trading is available for Alpaca's retail customers. Alpaca reserves the right to charge additional fees if it is determined that orders flow is non-retail in nature.

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 is not regulated or is lightly regulated in most countries. 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.

Cryptocurrency services are made available by 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.