Equiduct, Europe’s leading pan-European retail-focused exchange and a market segment of Börse Berlin, has announced the launch of a dedicated US stocks trading segment effective June 1, 2026, marking the first time a European exchange has offered on-exchange trading of US securities in US dollars with extended hours covering both European and US market sessions. SIX x-clear and Cboe Clear Europe have been appointed as interoperable clearing counterparties for the new segment, with DTCC T+1 settlement, subject to regulatory approvals.
The new segment, operating under exchange MIC code XEQU, will enable European retail brokers to trade leading US equities in US dollars through a fully on-exchange, centrally cleared solution, eliminating the costly off-exchange intermediary arrangements that have historically defined European retail access to US stocks. At launch, the segment will cover approximately 700 instruments comprising all S&P 500 constituents and 200 of the most actively traded US names outside the index, with plans to expand to Russell 2000 and Russell 3000 constituents in subsequent phases. The segment will operate on a continuous trading schedule from 10:00 CET to 22:00 CET, with order entry and management available from 07:00 CET.
Trading on the US segment is commission-free for retail client orders, consistent with Equiduct’s existing European equities offering, with no access fees, per-trade charges, or minimum volume requirements. US segment market data will be included within existing Equiduct market data packages at no additional cost for active trading members. Settlement instructions are submitted to DTCC at 23:00 CET on the trade date, with T+1 settlement.
The economic case for the new segment is significant. European retail brokers currently access US equities through uncleared intermediary arrangements, incurring combined trading and settlement costs of up to €1.17 per trade. Equiduct’s model replaces this with commission-free execution and CCP clearing starting at €0.005 per trade, bringing total post-trade cost as low as €0.12 for a large broker executing 8,000 trades per day, representing potential annual savings in excess of €1.7 million. In 2025, Equiduct reported 36 active retail brokers, 18.6 million trades executed, and turnover of €108.3 billion across 13 European markets.
KEY QUOTES:
“European retail brokers have been paying a significant premium to access US equities through fragmented, uncleared off-exchange arrangements for too long. With this launch, Equiduct brings the same on-exchange discipline, cost efficiency, and transparency we have delivered for European equities to the world’s largest equity market. Commission-free execution, central clearing, and DTCC settlement at a fraction of the current cost is not an incremental improvement; it is a structural reset of the economics of US equity access for European retail brokers.”
Wail Azizi, Chief Strategy Officer, Equiduct
“This initiative further demonstrates SIX x-clear’s capacity as a neutral and interoperable European CCP, enabling efficient cross-border access to US equities while upholding robust risk management and operational resilience standards. It reflects our commitment from SIX to supporting evolving trading models through scalable clearing solutions that meet the needs of global market participants.”
José Manuel Ortiz-Repiso, Head of Clearing, SIX
“This initiative demonstrates our focus on delivering innovative services that enable greater participation by European retail investors and effective risk management. It also underscores our belief in the principle of open access and clearing interoperability, which unlocks proven benefits including increased post-trade efficiencies and broader participation through lower costs.”
Vikesh Patel, Global Head of Clearing and President, Cboe Clear Europe
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