Lightspeed Financial, LLC, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Integrity Trading Inc., a Direct Market Access broker/dealer that provides execution and clearing services to retail and institutional customers. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
"With nearly 1500 accounts and a trading system bar none, we believe we are well positioned to further our standing as the leader in the active trading space," said Stephen Ehrlich Chief Executive Officer, Lightspeed Financial, LLC. "The purchase of Integrity Trading is a logical, strategic next step as we continue to scale our business, while diversifying our products and services, further solidifying Lightspeed's position as the only destination for professional active traders."
Mr. Ehrlich noted that the integration of Integrity will immediately have a positive impact on Lightspeed's revenues because of the significant number of OTCBB and Pink Sheets trades executed by Integrity's existing customer base. In addition, Lightspeed's sophisticated traders will now have an opportunity to further diversify their trading strategies by incorporating the OTCBB and Pink Sheets into their existing portfolios.
Based in Kirkland, Washington, with nearly 1,000 customer accounts, Integrity Trading reported trades of over 13 billion shares in 2006 of which 97% were in the OTCBB and Pink Sheets. The firm is a registered broker-dealer and a member of FINRA, SIPC and NFA.
"We've worked tirelessly over the years to build a solid customer base and provide them with Direct Access trading, particularly to the to the OTC markets - as evidenced by our tremendous volumes last year," said Robert Luecke, Chief Executive Officer, Integrity Trading Inc. "We are confident that our valued customers are in excellent hands as we pass the ownership baton to a high caliber firm like Lightspeed. They have proven to our management team and the active trading industry that Lightspeed has the infrastructure, technology, and breadth and depth of services to ensure a seamless transition and a mutually rewarding relationship."
Ehrlich added, "You can expect Lightspeed to continue to actively bring on companies and active trading groups throughout 2008."
Regarding Lightspeed's commitment to diversify its products and services, Mr. Ehrlich noted that earlier this month the firm announced plans to launch a fully-integrated equity options trading platform as well as a partnership with the Options Industry Council to offer comprehensive educational programs and materials on the benefits and risks of trading equity options.