Previously, Tony Weeresinghe was a developer of major equity trading systems—such as the London Stock Exchange Group’s existing trading system.
Now, Weeresinghe is on a mission “to bring Wall Street to Main Street”—and he’s doing it with a Newton, Mass.-based stock trading website, Ustocktrade. The organization has developed what it’s describing as “the world's first consumer-friendly stock trading network.” The site launched Thursday.
“Ustocktrade is the first retail stock trading network that eliminates unnecessary stock broker involvement so trading can be seamless and happen directly between members of our community,” Weeresinghe said in a news release.
The ultimate goal is to help disadvantaged individuals to have more of a level playing field in the stock market, he said.
“Our goal is to help society increase their wealth by making it easier for people with little or no experience in investing to learn and execute trades,” said Weeresinghe, formerly head of global development at the London Stock Exchange Group.
"Our goal is to help society increase their wealth by making it easier for people to learn and execute trades."
The network uses an Alternative Trading System (ATS), and has met the regulatory and capital requirements to receive an ATS license, a spokesperson said.
The system lets Ustocktrade match orders internally between its users. Ustocktrade aims to be easy to use and offer professional-level trading tools, along with a training simulator for building trading skills—as a way to “remove the traditional barriers of entry to stock trading,” the company said. Trades on the site are charged a fee of $1 a piece and membership to the site is $1 per month.
All profits from the network will support The Cainan Foundation, which aims to build self-sustaining boarding schools and provide education to vulnerable and disadvantaged children around the globe.
Ustocktrade employs 25 and is funded entirely by the Weeresinghe family, a spokesperson said.
