About the FIX Trading Community

FIX Trading Community is a non-profit, industry-driven standards body pivotal to global trading. It remains independent and neutral, focusing on standardization to address real business and regulatory issues affecting multi-asset trading across global markets. Their work centers on the continuous development of the FIX family of standards, particularly the FIX Protocol messaging language, which has revolutionized trading by becoming the de facto method of electronic communication in the financial services industry.

The Community was initially known as FIX Protocol Ltd. but rebranded to FIX Trading Community in August 2013 to reflect its broader role beyond just promoting the FIX Protocol. The organization has been active since its inception in 1998 and boasts over 270 member companies from various continents, contributing to its initiatives via a network of committees and working groups. Its members come from various sectors such as buy-side and sell-side firms, trading venues, regulators, and vendors, each bringing a wealth of knowledge and diverse perspectives.

Committees and working groups are the backbone of the Community, where members collaborate beyond commercial interests to address industry challenges. The organization benefits the industry by promoting the FIX Protocol which enhances operational efficiency, transparency, and reduces costs and risks for market participants. It addresses technical and business challenges, supports multi-asset trading throughout the trade lifecycle, and works with regulators to adopt open standards for regulatory reporting.

The FIX Protocol itself has evolved with the introduction of Extension Packs, enhancing the protocol incrementally since FIX 4.4. As of 2023, the FIX Global Technical Committee announced the transition from FIX 5.0 SP2 to FIX Latest, which is a cumulative version updated with each approved Extension Pack. FIX Latest, representing the most recent version of the FIX application layer, will continue to be enhanced with future Extension Packs, and there are no plans to issue any other version beyond it.

https://www.fixtrading.org/transition-from-fix-5-0-sp2-to-fix-latest-completed/

These developments indicate that FIX Trading Community and the FIX Protocol continue to adapt to the changing landscape of financial trading, ensuring that the standards remain relevant and beneficial to all market participants.