Linear

The Linear Broker Overview is an overview of Linear's prime brokerage services for professionals and institutional clients.

Linear is a UK trading broker and finance company that specializes in providing professional and institutional clients with prime brokerage solutions from its headquarters in London. Linear's business model does not include retail trading features; rather, Linear will focus on providing access to markets and the service of different types of trade execution. The amount of public information regarding Linear is limited and will provide a clear picture of the place Linear occupies in the world of institutional trading.

Linear provides a summary of several different categories, providing information on areas of history and background, regulatory standing and trading conditions, fee structure and overall reputation in the industry from the perspective of verifiable sources of information.

History and Background of Linear

Linear was established in 2010 in England and Wales, under registration 07330725. Linear has offices in London, Hamburg and Dubai, which provide services to clients in the UK, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Linear is both a prime broker and a hedge fund incubator for new fund managers, family offices, proprietary trading groups and broker-dealers. In addition to providing a long-standing presence in London, Linear provides access to institutional capital and institutional liquidity from across the globe.

Linear provides all of the following prime brokerage services:

Trade Execution

Custody Services

Securities Lending

Margin Financing

Capital Introduction

By providing flexibility with trade execution and the absence of a minimum deposit, Linear can appeal to both new and emergingLinearly Supported Asset Classes

- Equities

- ETFs

- Fixed Income Instruments

- Futures

- Options

- FX

Linear is set up like a traditional broker with electronic Direct Market Access (DMA) straight through processing of trades to wholesale brokers for maximum execution efficiency.

Target Clientele

- Emerging Fund Managers

- Family Offices

- Proprietary Trading Groups

- Broker dealers

Regulatory Compliance and Licensing.

Linear's operations are subject to regulation by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and demonstrates regulatory compliance with all FCA standards.

Regulatory Authorisation licence number Status

FCA 0537 389 Authorised - report on past compliance notices

In addition, a further decision notice was issued by the FCA in 2018 regarding deficiencies in respect of brokerage systems and post-trade surveillance, though there have been no further public actions issued since then demonstrating that due diligence is an important factor when working with any brokerage.

Trading Conditions and Platform Technology

Linear does not support retail trading platforms such as MT4, MT5, or cTrader, and it does not provide mobile apps or any other form of online/mobile applications to trade. The only trading method for Linear clients to trade is an execution method that relies on wholesale brokers to customer directly through a DMA(A).

Description of Trading Feature Detail

Execution Model: StP via (DMA)

Platform: No proprietary platform

Instruments supported: Equities, ETFs, Fixed Income, Futures, Options, FX.

Leverage: Not disclosed

Minimum Deposit: Not specified.

Commission and spread info: Not disclosed.

Fee Structure:

Linear does not have a publicly available pricing model. Fee schedules are generally negotiated on an individual basis, which is customary when using a prime brokerage arrangement.

Description of Fee Type Detail

Deposit Fees: Not disclosed

Withdrawal Fees: Not disclosed

Commission: Not disclosed

Inactivity Fees: Not disclosed

Potential clients will need to contact Linear to obtain detailed fee information.

User Experience and Market Reputation.

Because of the focus of Linear on institutional clients, there are limited public reviews available. Some 3rd party platforms, such as WikiFX, provide ratings of high-risk or Danger labels to Linear for the following reasons:

- A lack of transparency pertaining to swap fee structure

- A risk management index (0.00)

- At least one documented negative review about Linear

Based on this, it is suggested that Linear is not suitable for retail traders and that a thorough evaluation should be performed by prospective retail investors prior to considering trading with Linears'.

Recent Developments

No developments have been published for 2024 through 2025. The last publicised event regarding Linear is the FCA Decision Notice in 2018. Clients are recommended to reference regulatory agency's websites for future updates.

Summary Statement

Linear is an institutional prime brokerage and based in London and serves professional and/or institutional clients via the utilisation of DMA execution for a variety of asset classes. Linear has been in operation since 2010 and has been regulated by FCA since inception.

However, due to the limited information that is publicly available regarding fees and regulatory history, Linear should be viewed as a prime brokerage provider to experienced market participants who will be able to perform due diligence. In summary, Linear is viewed as a niche specialised provider to the institutional/investor market due to its professional focus and business infrastructure.