Tower Research Capital
| File:Tower Research Capital Logo.png | |
| Company type | Limited liability company (LLC) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | February 1998 |
| Founders |
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| Headquarters | , |
Number of locations | 11 |
Key people |
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| Services | High-frequency trading services |
Number of employees | c. 1,000 (2020) |
| Subsidiaries | Latour Trading |
| Website | tower-research |
Tower Research Capital—also referred to as Tower Research—is a U.S.-based quantitative trading firm headquartered in New York City, with additional offices located in Chicago, South Charleston, Montreal, London, Amsterdam, Gurgaon, GIFT City, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.
History
Established in February 1998 by Mark Gorton alongside Alistair Brown, Tower Research Capital ranks among the earliest firms specializing in automated trading.[1][2]
While its trading teams function autonomously, they utilize shared technological infrastructure encompassing hardware, software platforms, network connectivity, as well as centralized support areas such as legal counsel, compliance oversight, and risk management. The firm maintains connections to more than 150 trading venues worldwide.[3]
The principal engineering division is responsible for creating and fine-tuning the proprietary trading platform. This includes developing tools for market data acquisition, trend analytics, simulation environments, order execution management, live trade monitoring, risk controls, and post-trade operations.
In addition to its core quantitative trading activities, Tower operates a venture capital branch named Tower Research Ventures that invests in early-stage enterprises.[4]
Operations
Tower Research Capital designs advanced technology and implements a variety of automated quantitative strategies across numerous asset classes on global exchanges continuously.
Its team exceeds 1,100 professionals (as of 2025), comprising specialists in fields such as mathematics, computer science, physics, legal studies, economics, engineering, and finance. Albert An has held the position of CEO since 2019.
In 2023, the company merged its two New York City locations into a single facility measuring 121,903 square feet at 120 Broadway within the Equitable Building.
Legal issues
In 2014, Latour Trading—a subsidiary handling up to 9% of U.S. equity transactions—was penalized $16 million for breaching net capital requirements by underestimating risk exposure and operating without adequate capital reserves.
Tower agreed to pay $67.4 million in 2019 following allegations of market manipulation through spoofing E-mini futures contracts by placing numerous orders without intent to execute them. Criminal charges were filed against three traders involved; two subsequently entered guilty pleas. Additionally, Tower settled a related class-action lawsuit for $15 million.
A 2021 court decision favored Tower in a spoofing-related case brought by Korean investors by ruling that activities on the Korean exchange are not governed by the U.S. Commodity Exchange Act.