Use these links to rapidly review the document
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Table of Contents

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 10, 2014April 6, 2015

Registration No. 333-333-194473

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549



Amendment No. 4
to

FORM S-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933



Virtu Financial, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
 6200
(Primary Standard Industrial
Classification Code Number)
 32-0420206
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)



645 Madison900 Third Avenue
New York, New York 10022-1010
(212) 418-0100
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant's principal executive offices)



Douglas A. Cifu
Chief Executive Officer
645 Madison900 Third Avenue
New York, New York 10022-1010
(212) 418-0100
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)



Copies to:

John C. Kennedy, Esq.
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
1285 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10019-6064
(212) 373-3000
 Michael Kaplan, Esq.
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
450 Lexington Avenue
New York, New York 10017
(212) 450-4000



Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public:As soon as practicable after this Registration Statement becomes effective.

           If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933 check the following box: o

           If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. o

           If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. o

           If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. o

           Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer" and "smaller reporting company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer o Accelerated filer o Non-accelerated filer ý
(Do not check if a
smaller reporting company)
 Smaller reporting company o



CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

  
 
Title of Each Class
of Securities to be Registered

 Proposed Maximum
Aggregate Offering Price(1)(2)

 Amount of
Registration Fee(3)

  Amount to be
Registered(1)(2)

 Proposed Maximum
Offering Price per
Share

 Proposed
Maximum
Aggregate
Offering
Price(1)(2)

 Amount of
Registration
Fee(3)

 

Class A common stock, par value $0.00001 per share

 $100,000,000 $12,880  19,012,112 $19.00 $361,230,128 $43,320

 

(1)
Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee in accordance with Rule 457(o)457(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
(2)
Includes 2,479,840 shares subject to the underwriters' option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock.
(3)
Calculated pursuant to Rule 457(o)$12,880 of such fee was previously paid and the Securities Actremaining amount of 1933, as amended.$30,440 is being paid herewith.



           The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.


Table of Contents

The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. These securities may not be sold until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell nor does it seek an offer to buy these securities in any state or jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

Subject to Completion. Dated March 10, 2014.April 6, 2015.

16,532,272 Shares

GRAPHIC

Virtu Financial, Inc.

Class A Common Stock



           This is an initial public offering of shares of Class A common stock of Virtu Financial, Inc. All of the 16,532,272 shares of Class A common stock being offered are being sold by the Company.

           Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for the Class A common stock. It is currently estimated that the initial public offering price per share will be between $$17.00 and $             .$19.00.

           Following this offering, Virtu Financial, Inc. will have four classes of authorized common stock. The Class A common stock offered hereby and the Class C common stock will have one vote per share. The Class B common stock and the Class D common stock will have 10 votes per share. TJMT Holdings LLC, an affiliate of Mr. Vincent Viola, our Founder and Executive Chairman, and certain trusts for the benefit of the Viola family and others will hold all of our issued and outstanding Class D common stock after this offering and will control more than a majority of the combined voting power of our common stock. As a result, TJMT Holdings LLCthe Viola family will be able to control any action requiring the general approval of our stockholders, including the election of our board of directors, the adoption of amendments to our certificate of incorporation and by-laws and the approval of any merger or sale of substantially all of our assets.

           We intend to list the Class A common stock on The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC ("NASDAQ") under the symbol "VIRT."

           We will be a "controlled company" under the corporate governance rules for NASDAQ-listed companies, and therefore we will be permitted to, and we intend to, elect not to comply with certain NASDAQ corporate governance requirements. See "Management — Controlled Company."

           We are an "emerging growth company" under the federal securities laws. Investing in our Class A common stock involves risks. See "Risk Factors" on page 2528 to read about factors you should consider before buying shares of our Class A common stock.

           Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any other regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.



 Per Share
 Total
 

Initial public offering price

 $ $ 

Underwriting discount

 $ $ 

Proceeds, before expenses, to us(1)

 $ $ 

(1)
See "Underwriting."

           The shares of Class A common stock are being offered through the underwriters on a firm commitment basis, subject to the terms and conditions of an underwriting agreement. To the extent that the underwriters sell more than 16,532,272 shares of Class A common stock, the underwriters have the option to purchase up to an additional 2,479,840 shares from us at the initial price to the public less the underwriting discount within 30 days from the date of this prospectus.

           The underwriters expect to deliver the shares against payment in New York, New York on                          , 2014.2015.



Goldman, Sachs & Co. J.P. Morgan Sandler O'Neill + Partners, L.P.

 

BarclaysBMO Capital Markets Citigroup Credit Suisse Evercore ISIUBS Investment Bank

Academy SecuritiesCIBCRosenblatt Securities



   

Prospectus dated                          , 2014.2015.


GRAPHIC


Table of Contents

          We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized anyone to provide any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus or in any free writing prospectuses we have prepared. We and the underwriters take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give to you. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the shares offered hereby, and only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. The information contained in this prospectus is current only as of the date hereof.



TABLE OF CONTENTS

 
 Page

Prospectus Summary

 1

Risk Factors

 2528

Forward-Looking Statements

 5054

Organizational Structure

 5256

Use of Proceeds

 6065

Dividend Policy

 6167

Capitalization

 6369

Dilution

 6470

Unaudited Pro Forma Financial Information

 6773

Selected Consolidated Financial Data

 7381

Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

 7582

Business

 99108

Management

 114123

Executive Compensation

 119128

Principal Stockholders

 135144

Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions

 138147

Description of Capital Stock

 148158

Shares Available for Future Sale

 154164

Material U.S. Federal Tax Considerations

 157167

Underwriting

 162172

Legal Matters

 166179

Experts

 166179

Where You Can Find More Information

 167179

Index to Consolidated Financial Statements

 F-1



          Through and including                           , 20142015 (the 25th day after the date of this prospectus), all dealers effecting transactions in these securities, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to a dealer's obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as an underwriter and with respect to an unsold allotment or subscription.


INDUSTRY AND MARKET DATA

          Industry and market data used throughout this prospectus were obtained through company research, surveys and studies conducted by third parties and industry and general publications. Certain information contained in "Business" is based on studies, analyses and surveys prepared by the Bank for International Settlements, Bloomberg, BATS Global Markets, Inc., the Futures Industry Association, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada and the World Federation of Exchanges. While we are not aware of any misstatements regarding the industry data presented herein, estimates involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors, including those discussed under the heading "Risk Factors."

i


Table of Contents


TRADEMARKS

          This prospectus contains references to our trademarks and service marks and to those belonging to other entities. Solely for convenience, trademarks and trade names referred to in this prospectus may appear without the ® or ™ symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights or the rights of the applicable licensor to these trademarks and trade names. We do not intend our use or display of other companies' trade names, trademarks or service marks to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, any other companies.

ii


Table of Contents


PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

          This summary highlights selected information about us and this offering but does not contain all of the information that you should consider before investing in our Class A common stock. Before making an investment decision, you should read this entire prospectus carefully, including the discussion under the heading "Risk Factors" and the consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto contained elsewhere in this prospectus. This prospectus includes forward looking-statements that involve risks and uncertainties. See "Forward-Looking Statements" for more information.

          Unless we state otherwise or the context otherwise requires, the terms "we," "us," "our," "Virtu" and the "Company" refer to Virtu Financial, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its consolidated subsidiaries after giving effect to the reorganization transactions described under " — Corporate History and Organizational Structure" below. Also, unless we state otherwise or the context otherwise requires, all information in this prospectus gives effect to the reorganization transactions described below. "Virtu Financial" refers to Virtu Financial LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a consolidated subsidiary of ours following the reorganization transactions.

Overview

          Virtu is a leading technology-enabled market maker and liquidity provider to the global financial markets. We stand ready, at any time, to buy or sell a broad range of securities and other financial instruments, and we generate revenue by buying and selling large volumes of securities and other financial instruments and earning small amounts of money on individual transactions based on the difference between what buyers are willing to pay and what sellers are willing to accept, which we refer to as "bid/ask spreads.spreads," across a large volume of transactions. We make markets by providing quotations to buyers and sellers in more than 10,00011,000 securities and other financial instruments on more than 210225 unique exchanges, markets and liquidity pools in 3034 countries around the world. We believe that our broad diversification, in combination with our proprietary technology platform and low-cost structure, enables us to facilitate risk transfer between global capital markets participants by supplying liquidity and competitive pricing while at the same time earning attractive margins and returns.

          We believe that market makers like us serve an important role in maintaining and improving the overall health and efficiency of the global capital markets by continuously posting bids and offers for securities and other financial instruments and thereby providing to market participants an efficient means to transfer risk. All marketMarket participants benefit from the increased liquidity, lower overall trading costs and enhanced execution certainty that we provide. While in most cases we do not have customers in a traditional sense, we make markets for global banks, brokers and other intermediaries, in addition to retail and institutional investors, including corporations, individuals, hedge funds, mutual funds, pension funds and other investors, all of whom desirecan access our liquidity on exchanges or venues in order to transfer risk in multiple securities and asset classes for their own accounts and/or on behalf of their customers. The following table illustrates our diversification and scale:

 


Table of Contents

Asset Classes
 
Selected Venues in Which We Make Markets

North, Central and South America
("Americas") Equities

 NYSE, NASDAQ, DirectEdge, NYSE Arca, NYSE MKT, (formerly NYSE Amex), BATS, IEX, TMX, ICE, CME, BM&F Bovespa, major darkprivate liquidity pools

Europe, Middle East and Africa
("EMEA") Equities

 

LSE, Deutsche Boerse, NASDAQ OMX, NYSE Euronext, Eurex, Chi-X, BME, XETRA, NYSE Liffe, Turquoise, Borsa Italiana, SIX Swiss Exchange, Johannesburg Stock Exchange

Asia and Pacific ("APAC") Equities

 

TSE, SGX, OSE, SBI Japannext, TOCOM

Global Commodities (including energy,
metals and other commodities)

 

CME, ICE, TOCOM, SGX, NYSE Liffe, EBS

Global Currencies (including futures
contracts in FX)

 

CME, ICE, Currenex, EBS, HotSpot, Reuters, FXall, LMAX

Options, Fixed Income and
Other Securities

 

CBOE, PHLX, NYSE Arca Options, eSpeed, BOX, BrokerTec

          We refer to our market making activities as being "market neutral," which means that we are not dependent on the direction of aany particular market and we do not speculate. Our market making activities are designed to minimize capital at risk at any given time by limiting the notional size of our positions. Our strategies are also designed to lock in returns through precise and nearly instantaneous hedging in the primary instrument or in one or more economically equivalent instruments, as we seek to eliminate the price risk in any positions held. See "Business — Overview" for more information regarding our strategies. Our revenue generation is driven primarily by transaction volume across a broad range of securities and other financial instruments, asset classes and geographies. We avoid the risk of long or short positions in favor of earningseeking to earn small bid/ask spreads on large trading volumes across thousands of securities and other financial instruments. The overall breadth and diversity of our market making activities, together with our real-time risk management strategy and technology, have enabled us to have only one overall losing trading day during a period of 1,485 trading days. While we seek to eliminate the price risk of long or short positions, a significant percentage of our trades are not profitable. For example, for the 252 trading days of 2014, we averaged approximately 5.3 million trades per day globally across all asset classes, and we profitably exited 49% of our overall positions.

          We do not engage in the types of principal investing and predictive, momentum and signal trading in which many other broker-dealers and trading firms engage. In fact, in order to minimize the likelihood of unintended activities by our market making strategies, if our risk management system detects a trading strategy generating revenues outside of our preset limits, it will freeze, or "lockdown," that strategy and alert risk management personnel and management. Although this approach may prevent us from maximizing potential returns in times of extreme market volatility, we believe the reduction in risk is an appropriate trade-off that is in keeping with our aim of generating consistently strong revenue from trading.

          For the years ended December 31, 20132014 and 2012,2013, our total revenues were approximately $664.5$723.1 million and $615.6$664.5 million, respectively, our trading income, net, was approximately $623.7$685.2 million and $581.5$623.7 million, respectively, our Adjusted Net Trading Income was approximately $414.5$435.0 million and $366.3$414.5 million, respectively, our net income was approximately $182.2$190.1 million and $87.6$182.2 million, respectively, and our Adjusted Net Income was approximately $215.4$226.5 million and $188.3$215.4 million, respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2013,2014, we earned approximately 27%26% of our Adjusted Net Trading Income from Americas equities 11%(of which approximately 20% was attributable to U.S. equities and approximately 6% was attributable to Canadian and Latin American equities), 12% from EMEA equities, 11%7% from APAC equities, 23%21% from global commodities, 20%25% from global currencies and 9%10% from options, fixed income and other securities. For a reconciliation of Adjusted Net Trading Income to trading income, net, and Adjusted Net Income to net income,


Table of Contents

see " — Summary Historical and Pro Forma Consolidated Financial and Other Data." Since our inception, we have sought to broadly diversify our market making across securities, asset classes and geographies, and as a result, for the year ended December 31, 2013,2014, we achieved a diverse mix of Adjusted Net Trading Income results, with no one geography or asset class constituting more than 30%26% of our total Adjusted Net Trading Income.

          The chart below illustrates our daily Adjusted Net Trading Income from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2013. As a result of our real-time risk management strategy and technology, we had only one losing trading day during the period depicted, a total of 1,238 trading days.


Table of Contents

Daily Adjusted Net Trading Income Distribution*
(in millions)

GRAPHIC

*
Includes Madison Tyler Holdings' Adjusted Net Trading Income prior to the Madison Tyler Transactions on July 8, 2011. Includes NYSE trading days and excludes holidays and half days.

          Technology and operational efficiency are at the core of our business, and our focus on market making technology is a key element of our success. We have developed a proprietary, multi-asset, multi-currency technology platform that is highly reliable, scalable and modular, and we integrate directly with exchanges and other liquidity centers. Our market data, order routing, transaction processing, risk management and market surveillance technology modules manage our market making activities in an efficient manner and enable us to scale our market making activities globally and across additional securities and other financial instruments and asset classes without significant incremental costs or third-party licensing or processing fees.

Industry and Market Overview

          A "market maker" or "liquidity provider" is commonly defined by stock exchanges, futures exchanges and regulatory authorities around the world as a person or entity who provides continuous, two-sided quotes at multiple price levels at or near the best bid or offer, taking market risk, through a variety of exchanges and markets, which are accessible broadly and continuously for immediate execution. Market makers, like us, serve a critical role in the functioning of all financial markets by providing bids and offers for securities and other financial instruments. Market makers enhance liquidity and execution certainty for all market participants, enabling buyers and sellers to efficiently transfer risk, and are compensated for this service by earning a small amount of money on the bid/ask spread.spread on individual transactions. A market maker's success depends on it posting the best availablecompetitive prices and accurately and efficiently responding to relevant market data in similar and correlated instruments.data.

          Historically, market making activities occurred on the physical floor of exchanges, where human traders would execute buy and sell orders for securities. Over the last 20 years, however, the global trading markets have been characterized by the electronification of trading, development of new asset classes, volume growth and improving technology and speed of communication. The advent of electronic trading venues has changed the traditional trading process for many types of securities in the equity, bond and currency markets. The practice of physical, "open outcry" trading has largely been replaced by electronic trading platforms. This shift, and the resulting increase in


Table of Contents

automation and speed and reduction in trading costs, has led to significant growth in electronic trading volumes, as implied by growth in the aggregate notional value and number of trades on exchanges around the world.

          Market structure hasstructures have become increasingly complex.complex and diverse. Although in some geographies and asset classes trading continues to occur through a single exchange, many markets for many asset classes, such as U.S. and European equities, have become increasingly fragmented. While we believe this fragmentation and related competition have been beneficial to all market participants, leading to more compressed bid/ask spreads and creating deeper liquidity, they have also created greater complexity and hashave required electronic market makers to expand their infrastructure to connect with more venues, which wevenues. We believe this trend will enable larger firms with scalable infrastructure, like us, to capture more of these opportunities.

Our Competitive Strengths

          Critical Component of an Efficient Market Eco-System.    As a leading, low-cost market maker dedicated to providing improved efficiency and liquidity across multiple securities, asset classes and geographies, we aim to provide critical market functionality and robust price competition, leading to reduced trading costs and more efficient pricing in the securities and other financial instruments in which we provide liquidity. This contribution to the financial markets, and the scale and diversity of our market making activities, provides added liquidity and transparency, which


Table of Contents

we believe are necessary and valued components to the efficient functioning of market infrastructure and benefit all market participants. We support transparent and efficient, technologically advanced marketplaces and advocate for legislation and regulation that promotes fair and transparent access to markets.

          Cutting Edge, Proprietary Technology.    Technology is at the core of our business. Our team of software engineers develops all of our core software internally, and we utilize customizedoptimized infrastructure to integrate directly with the exchanges and other trading venues on which we provide liquidity. Wherever possible, we lease co-locationcommercially available rack space atthat is co-located with, or near, and utilize customized network infrastructure to connectin close proximity to, the exchanges and other venues where we provide liquidity. We do not pay any licensing or per-trade processing fees to any third parties, and the engineering cycles for enhancements or new technologies are entirely within our control. Our focus on technology and our ability to leverage our technology enables us to be one of the lowest cost providers of liquidity to the global electronic trading marketplace.

          Consistent, Diversified and Growing Revenue Base.    We makegenerate revenues by making markets and earning small bid/ask spreads in more than 10,00011,000 listed securities and other financial instruments on more than 210225 unique exchanges, markets and liquidity pools in 3034 countries around the world, and we generate revenue by earning small bid/ask spreads on large trading volumes.world. The reliability and scalability of our technology platform also allow us to capitalize on higher transaction volumes during periods of extraordinary market volatility and are the drivers of our large trading volumes, enablingenable us to constantly diversify our Adjusted Net Trading Income through asset class and geographic expansion and to deliver consistent profitability.expansion. As a result, during the year ended December 31, 2013,2014, no single asset class or geography constituted more than 30%26% of our total Adjusted Net Trading Income. Our diversification, together with our revenue generation strategy of earning small bid/ask spreads on large trading volumes across thousands of securities, enables us to deliver consistent Adjusted Net Trading Income under a wide range of market conditions.

          Low Costs and Large Economies of Scale.    Our high degree of automation, together with our ability to reduce external costs by internalizing certain trade processing functions, enables us to leverage our low market making costs over large trading volumes. Our market making costs are low due to several factors. As a self-clearing member of the Depository Trust Company ("DTC"), we avoid paying clearing fees to third parties in our U.S. equities market making business. In addition,


Table of Contents

because of our significant scale, we are able to obtain favorablecompetitive pricing for trade processing functions and other costs that we do not internalize. Our significant volumes generallyfrequently place us in the toplowest cost tiers of favorable brokerage, clearing and exchange fees for venues that provide tiered pricing structures. Our low-cost structure allows us to maintain a marginal cost per trade that we believe is favorable compared to our competitors. Our scale is further demonstrated by our headcount — as of December 31, 2013,2014, we had only 151148 employees. Our business efficiency is also reflected in our operating margins and our Adjusted EBITDA margins.

          Real-Time Risk Management.    Our trading is designed to be non-directional, non-speculative and market neutral. Our market making strategies are designed to put minimal capital at risk at any given time by limiting the notional size of our positions. Our strategies are also designed to lock in returns through precise and nearly instantaneous hedging in the primary instrument or in one or more economically equivalent instruments, as we seek to eliminate the price risk in any positions held. Our real-time risk management system is built into our trading platform and is an integral part of our order life-cycle, analyzing real-time pricing data and ensuring that our order activity is conducted within strict pre-determined trading and position limits. If our risk management system detects that a trading strategy is generating revenues outsideor losses in excess of our preset limits, it will lockdown that strategy and alert management. In addition, our risk management system continuously reconciles our internal transaction records against the records of the exchanges and other liquidity centers with which we interact. As a result of our successful real-time risk management strategy, we have had only one losing trading day since January 1, 2008.


Table of Contents

          Proven and Talented Management Team.    Our management team, with an average of more thanapproximately 20 years of industry experience, is led by individuals with diverse backgrounds and deep knowledge and experience in the development and application of technology to the electronic trading industry. Mr. Vincent Viola, our Founder and Executive Chairman, is the former Chairman of the NYMEX and has been a market maker his entire career since leaving active duty in the U.S. Army and joining the NYMEX in 1982. Mr. Viola is widely recognized as an innovator and pioneer in market making and electronic trading over his 30-plus year career. Our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Douglas A. Cifu, has been with us since our founding in 2008 and previously was a Partner with the international law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. Mr. Christopher Concannon, our President andOur Chief OperatingFinancial Officer, Joseph Molluso, has been with us since 2009. Mr. Concannon's experience includes six years as Executive Vice President of NASDAQ OMX Group, where he2013 and previously was responsible for overseeing all of NASDAQ OMX's U.S. exchanges.a Managing Director in the Investment Banking division at J.P. Morgan.

Our Key Growth Strategies

          Capitalize on secular growth in electronic trading of global listed securities markets and continue to increase market penetration.    We expect that global electronic trading volumes will continue to grow, driven by various factors, including technology, globalization, convergence of exchange and non-exchange markets and the evolving regulatory environment. According to the World Federation of Exchanges, the number of equity shares traded through an electronic order book grew at a compound annual rate of 13.7%15.8% since 2004, from approximately 3.5 billion shares in 2004 to approximately 9.815.1 billion shares in 2012.2014. In addition, according to the Futures Industry Association, trading of futures and options on exchanges has grown at a compound annual rate of 11.5%9.4% since 2004, from 8.9 billion contracts in 2004 to 21.221.9 billion contracts in 2012,2014, and we believe that a significant portion of this growth has come from the electronification of trading. Our ability to offer competitive bid and offer quotes, facilitated by our proprietary, scalable technology platform and our low-cost structure, has enabled us to grow our business and add trading volume at little incremental cost, and ascost. As a result, we expect to be well positioned to capitalize on future growth in the global electronic trading markets, particularly in certain asset classes in which we have lower Adjusted Net Trading Income or are not yet a participant.


Table of Contents

          Provide increasing liquidity across a wider range of new securities and other financial instruments.    We believe that the full implementation of the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act") in the U.S. will increase transparency, liquidity and efficiency in global trading markets and encourage the further development of trading opportunities in certain asset classes in which highly liquid electronic markets remain limited or nonexistent due to historical reliance on bilateral voice trading and other inefficient processes. The migration of these products to electronic tradingmarkets will provide us with an opportunity to deploy our technologymarket making strategies in asset classes that are not accessible to us currently including, for example, interest rate swaps, interest rate swap futures, credit default swap ("CDS") index futures and over-the-counter ("OTC") energy swaps.

          Grow geographically.    We trade on over 210225 unique exchanges, markets and liquidity pools around the world, located in 3034 countries. We look to expand into new geographies when access is available to us and the applicable regulatory scheme permits us to deploy our strategy. Given the scalability of our platform, we believe we will be able to expand into new geographies and begin generating revenues quickly with little incremental cost. We intend to continue to expand our market making business into new geographic locations, including locations in the EMEA and APAC markets, where we began making markets in 2008 and 2010, respectively. We entered the Japanese, Australian and certain other Asian markets beginning in late 2011, and we expect those markets to be growth areas for us.

          Leverage our technology to offer additional technology services to market participants.    We believe that our order management, market data, order routing, processing, risk management and market surveillance technology modules offer a key value proposition to market participants


Table of Contents

and that sharing our technological capabilities with market participants in a manner that expands electronic trading will create more opportunities for market making as trading volumes increase. Recently,For example, we adapted our existing technology to provide a customized automated trading platform for foreign exchange products to a major financial institution. We believe this platform will increase transparency, liquidity and efficiency for that financial institution and will provide us with a unique opportunity to provide liquidity and market making services directly to other financial institutions as well. In 2014, we also entered into an order routing agreement with a registered broker-dealer in order to assist it in its execution of institutional order flow.

          Expand customized liquidity solutions.    We also provide liquidity and competitive pricing in foreign currency markets directly to market participants on our own trading platform called "VFX" and through other customized liquidity arrangements. We offered more than 75 different pairs of currency products as of December 31, 2013.2014. We intend to offer this same type of customized liquidity in other asset classes globally.

          Pursue strategic partnerships and acquisitions.    We intend to selectively consider opportunities to grow through strategic partnerships or acquisitions that enhance our existing capabilities or enable us to enter new markets or provide new products and services. For example, the Madison Tyler Transactions described below created economies of scale with substantial synergy opportunities realized to date and allowed us to enhance our international presence. In addition, with our acquisition of the ETF market making assets of Nyenburgh Holding B.V. ("Nyenburgh") in the third quarter of 2012, we became an OTC market maker in ETFs and currentlyfrom time to time provide two-sided liquidity to over 70a significant number of counterparties throughout Europe.

Recent Developments

          The following table presents ranges for our expected total revenues, Adjusted Net Trading Income, Trading income, net, Adjusted EBITDA, net income and Adjusted Net Income for the three months ended March 31, 2015.

 
 Three Months Ended
March 31, 2015
 Three Months
Ended March 31,
2014
 % Change 
(In millions, except percentage)
 Low High Actual Low High 

Unaudited Financial Data

                

Total revenues

 $210 $225 $173  21% 30%

Adjusted Net Trading Income

 $140 $150 $106  32% 42%

Trading income, net

 $205 $218 $165  24% 32%

Adjusted EBITDA

 $99 $105 $71  40% 48%

Net income

 $70 $76 $49  44% 55%

Adjusted Net Income

 $81 $87 $56  45% 56%

          We expect total revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2015 to be between $210 million and $225 million, representing an increase of between 21% and 30% compared to the same period in 2014.

          We anticipate our Adjusted Net Trading Income for the three months ended March 31, 2015 to be between $140 million and $150 million, representing an increase of between 32% and 42% compared to the same period in 2014. The increase in total revenues as well as the increase in Adjusted Net Trading Income was attributable to an increase in volumes and overall volatility in the majority of the markets in which we participate. Trading income, net, is expected to be between $205 million and $218 million, representing an increase of between 24% and 32% compared to the same period in 2014.

          We expect our Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended March 31, 2015 to be between $99 million and $105 million, representing an increase of between 40% and 48% compared to the same period in 2014.


Table of Contents

          For the three months ended March 31, 2015, our net income is estimated to be between $70 million and $76 million, representing an increase of between 44% and 55% compared to the same period in 2014 and our Adjusted Net Income is estimated to be between $81 million and $87 million, representing an increase of between 45% and 56% compared to the same period in 2014.

          The preliminary financial and other data set forth above has been prepared by, and is the responsibility of, our management. The foregoing information and estimates have not been compiled or examined by our independent registered public accounting firm nor have our independent registered public accounting firm performed any procedures with respect to this information or expressed any opinion or any form of assurance on such information. In addition, the foregoing information and estimates are subject to revision as we prepare our consolidated financial statements and other disclosures as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2015, including all disclosures required by U.S. GAAP. Because we have not completed our normal quarterly closing and review procedures for the three months ended March 31, 2015, and subsequent events may occur that require material adjustments to these results, the final results and other disclosures for the three months ended March 31, 2015 may differ materially from these estimates. These estimates should not be viewed as a substitute for full financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP or as a measure of performance. In addition, these estimated results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2015 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be achieved for any future period. See "Special Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements." These estimated results of operations should be read together with "Selected Consolidated Financial Data," "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and our and Virtu Financial's audited consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.

          Adjusted Net Trading Income, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income are non-GAAP financial measures. For a description of these measures and their limitations, see footnotes 6 and 7 in "—Summary Historical and Pro Forma Consolidated Financial and Other Data."

          The following table reconciles trading income, net, to Adjusted Net Trading Income:

 
 Three Months Ended
March 31, 2015
 Three Months Ended
March 31, 2014
 % Change 
(In millions, except percentages)
 Low High Actual Low High 

Unaudited Financial Data

                

Trading income, net

 $205 $218 $165  24% 32%

Interest and dividends income

  5  6  6       

Interest and dividends expense

  (10) (11) (10)      

Brokerage, exchange, clearance fees

  (60) (63) (55)      
              

Adjusted Net Trading Income

 $140 $150 $106  32% 42%


Table of Contents

          The following table reconciles net income to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA:

 
 Three Months Ended
March 31, 2015
 Three Months Ended
March 31, 2014
 % Change 
(In millions, except percentages)
 Low High Actual Low High 

Unaudited Financial Data

                

Net income

 $70 $76 $49  45% 56%

Financing interest expense on senior secured credit facility

  8  8  8       

Depreciation and amortization

  10  10  6       

Provision for Income Taxes

  2  2  1       
              

EBITDA

 $90 $96 $64  41% 50%

Termination of office leases

  3  3         

Acquisition related retention bonus

      1       

Stock-based compensation

  6  6  6       
              

Adjusted EBITDA

 $99 $105 $71  40% 48%

          The following table reconciles net income to Adjusted Net Income:

 
 Three Months Ended
March 31, 2015
 Three Months Ended
March 31, 2014
 % Change 
(In millions, except percentages)
 Low High Actual Low High 

Unaudited Financial Data

                

Net Income

 $70 $76 $49  44% 55%

Termination of office leases

  3  3         

Equipment write-off

  2  2         

Acquisition related retention bonus

      1       

Stock-based compensation

  6  6  6       
              

Adjusted Net Income

 $81 $87 $56  45% 56%

Risks Associated with Our Business

          While we have set forth our competitive strengths and our key growth strategies above, we face numerous risks and uncertainties in operating our business, which may negatively impact our competitive strengths, prevent us from implementing our key growth strategies or have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Below is a summary of certain risk factors associated with our business that you should consider in evaluating an investment in shares of our Class A common stock.


Table of Contents


Table of Contents

          The above list is not exhaustive. See "Risk Factors" on page 2527 for a more thorough discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties we face.


Table of Contents

Corporate History and Organizational Structure

          We and our predecessors have been in the electronic trading and market making business for approximately 12 years. We currently conduct our business through Virtu Financial and its subsidiaries. On July 8, 2011, we completed our acquisition of Madison Tyler Holdings, LLC ("Madison Tyler Holdings"), which was co-founded in 2002 by Mr. Vincent Viola, our Founder and Executive Chairman. In connection with the acquisition, Virtu Financial paid approximately $536.5 million in cash and issued membership interests in Virtu Financial to the members of Madison Tyler Holdings and Virtu Financial Operating LLC ("Virtu East"). We refer to the acquisition of Madison Tyler Holdings and the related transactions as the "Madison Tyler Transactions." To finance the Madison Tyler Transactions, (i) an affiliate of Silver Lake Partners invested approximately $250.0 million in Virtu Financial, (ii) an affiliate of Mr. Viola invested approximately $19.6 million in Virtu Financial and (iii) Virtu Financial borrowed approximately $304.4 million, net of fees and expenses, under a term loan facility, as amended to date, which we refer to (as amended to date) as our "senior secured


Table of Contents

credit facility." The business that comprises Virtu Financial today is the result of the Madison Tyler Transactions, which combined Virtu East, our historical business, with Madison Tyler Holdings.

          On December 31, 2014, through a series of transactions, Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited, whom we refer to as "Temasek," acting through two indirect wholly owned subsidiaries, acquired (i) direct interests in Virtu Financial from affiliates of Silver Lake Partners, Virtu Financial and a member of management (other than Messrs. Viola and Cifu and their affiliates) and (ii) indirect interests in Virtu Financial by acquiring an interest in an affiliate of Silver Lake Partners. For more information, see "Organizational Structure — The Temasek Transaction."

The Reorganization Transactions

          Prior to the consummation of the reorganization transactions described below and this offering, all of Virtu Financial's outstanding equity interests, including its Class A-1 interests, Class A-2 capital interests, Class A-2 profits interests and Class B interests, are owned by the following persons, whom we refer to collectively as the "Virtu Pre-IPO Members":

          Prior to the completion of this offering, we intend to commence an internal reorganization, which we refer to as the "reorganization transactions." In connection with the reorganization transactions, the following steps will occur:


Table of ours, and in Contents


Table of Contents

Class of Common Stock
 Votes Economic Rights

Class A common stock

  1 Yes

Class B common stock

  10 Yes

Class C common stock

  1 No

Class D common stock

  10 No


Table of Contents


Table of Contents

          See "Organizational Structure" for further details.

          After the completion of this offering, based on an assumed initial public offering price of $$18.00 per share (the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus), we intend to use the net proceeds from this offering as follows:

          We estimate that the offering expenses (other than the underwriting discounts) will be approximately $10.2 million. All of such offering expenses will be paid for or otherwise borne by Virtu Financial.

          See "Use of Proceeds" and "Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Purchases from Equityholders" for further details.

 


Table of Contents

          The following diagram depicts our organizational structure following the reorganization transactions, this offering and the application of the net proceeds from this offering, including all of the transactions described above (assuming an initial public offering price of $$18.00 per share (the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus) and no exercise of the underwriters' option to purchase additional shares). This chart is provided for illustrative purposes only and does not purport to represent all legal entities within our organization:organizational structure:

GRAPHICGRAPHIC


*
ExcludesIncludes 3,150,057 unvested Virtu Financial Units and corresponding shares of Class C common stock.

**
Represents economic interest in Virtu Financial, Inc. and not Virtu Financial LLC.

          In connection with the reorganization transactions, we will be appointed as the sole managing member of Virtu Financial pursuant to Virtu Financial's limited liability company agreement. Because we will manage and operate the business and control the strategic decisions and day-to-day operations of Virtu Financial and will also have a substantial financial interest in Virtu Financial, we will consolidate the financial results of Virtu Financial, and a portion of our net income (loss) will be allocated to the non-controlling interest to reflect the entitlement of the Virtu Post-IPO Members to a portion of Virtu Financial's net income (loss). In addition, because Virtu Financial will be under the common control of Mr. Viola and his affiliates before and after the reorganization transactions, we will account for the reorganization transactions as a reorganization of entities under common control and will initially measure the interests of the Virtu Pre-IPO Members in the assets and


Table of Contents

liabilities of Virtu Financial at their carrying amounts as of the date of the completion of this reorganization transactions.

          Upon the completion of this offering and the application of the net proceeds from this offering, based on an assumed initial public offering price of $$18.00 per share (the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus) and assuming no exercise of the underwriters' option to purchase additional shares, we will hold approximately


Table of Contents

%23.4% of the outstanding Virtu Financial Units, the Virtu Post-IPO Members will hold approximately %76.6% of the outstanding Virtu Financial Units and approximately %96.3% of the combined voting power of our outstanding common stock, the Silver LakeInvestor Post-IPO StockholderStockholders will indirectly own (through us) a          % equity interest in Virtu Financial and hold approximately %1.8% of the combined voting power of our common stock and the investors in this offering will indirectly own (through us) a         % equity interest in Virtu Financial and hold approximately %1.9% of the combined voting power of our common stock. See "Organizational Structure," "Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions" and "Description of Capital Stock" for more information on the rights associated with our capital stock and the Virtu Financial Units.

          In connection with the reorganization transactions, we will acquire existing equity interests in Virtu Financial from an affiliate of Silver Lake Partners.Partners and Temasek, and the Temasek Pre-IPO Member in the Mergers described under "Organizational Structure — The Reorganization Transactions." In addition, as described above, we intend to use a portion of the net proceeds from this offering to repurchase (i) Class A common stock from the Silver Lake Post-IPO Stockholder and (ii)purchase Virtu Financial Units and corresponding shares of Class C common stock from certain Virtu Post-IPO Members, including the Silver Lake Post-IPO Members and certain members of management.employees. These acquisitions of interests in Virtu Financial will result in tax basis adjustments to the assets of Virtu Financial that will be allocated to us and our subsidiaries. In addition, future exchanges by the Virtu Post-IPO Members of Virtu Financial Units and corresponding shares of Class C common stock or Class D common stock, as the case may be, for shares of our Class A common stock or Class B common stock, respectively, are expected to produce favorable tax attributes. These tax attributes would not be available to us in the absence of those transactions. In connection with the reorganization transactions, we will enter into tax receivable agreements that will obligate us to make payments to the Virtu Post-IPO Members and the Silver LakeInvestor Post-IPO StockholderStockholders generally equal to 85% of the applicable cash savings that we actually realize as a result of these tax attributes and tax attributes resulting from payments made under the tax receivable agreement. We will retain the benefit of the remaining 15% of these tax savings. See "Organizational Structure — Holding Company Structure and Tax Receivable Agreements" and "Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Tax Receivable Agreements."

New Revolving Credit Facility

          We have obtained commitments from a syndicate of lenders, subject to customary conditions in addition to the consummation of this offering, to fundprovide us with a new $100 million revolving credit facility in the proceedsamount of which will be available$100 million for general corporate purposes. This new revolving credit facility, which we refer to as the "new revolving credit facility," will be implemented pursuant to an amendment to our senior secured credit facility, will be secured on a pari passu basis with the existing term loan under our senior secured credit facility and will be subject to the same financial covenants and negative covenants. Although we have obtained commitments for the new revolving credit facility, the commitments are subject to conditions and there can be no assurance that we will successfully enter into the new revolving credit facility. See "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources — Credit Facilities."

Our Principal Equityholders

          Following the reorganization transactions and this offering, the Founder Post-IPO Member will control approximately %93.4% of the combined voting power of our outstanding common stock (or %93.2% if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full) based on an


Table of Contents

assumed initial public offering price of $$18.00 per share (the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus). As a result, the Founder Post-IPO Member will control any action requiring the general approval of our stockholders, including the election of our board of directors, the adoption of amendments to our certificate of


Table of Contents

incorporation and by-laws and the approval of any merger or sale of substantially all of our assets. Because the Founder Post-IPO Member will hold more than 50% of the combined voting power of our outstanding common stock, we will be a "controlled company" under the corporate governance rules for NASDAQ-listed companies. Therefore we will be permitted to, and we intend to, elect not to comply with certain NASDAQ corporate governance requirements. See "Management — Controlled Company."

          In addition, we will enter into a stockholders agreement that will provide affiliates of Silver Lake Partners with the right to nominate one Class III director for election to our board of directors so long as affiliates of Silver Lake Partners continue to own at least 30% of the Class A common stock held by affiliates of Silver Lake Partners immediately prior to this offering (calculated assuming that all of their Virtu Financial Units and corresponding shares of Class C common stock are exchanged for Class A common stock). Mr. Viola and the Founder Post-IPO Member will agree to take all necessary action, including voting their respective shares of common stock, to cause the election of the nominee. See "Principal Stockholders" and "Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Stockholders Agreement" for additional information. We refer to affiliates of Silver Lake Partners that own equity interests in our Company from time to time as the "Silver Lake Equityholders."

          The Founder Post-IPO Member is controlled by family members of Mr. Viola, our Founder and Executive Chairman. Mr. Viola has successfully led our Company since our inception and is one of the nation's foremost leaders in electronic trading. He was the founder of Virtu East in 2008, a founder of Madison Tyler Holdings in 2002 and the former Chairman of the New York Mercantile Exchange ("NYMEX"). None of the Founder Pre-IPO Members, the Founder Post-IPO Member, nor Mr. Viola or any of his family members intends to sell any equity interests in the Company in connection with the reorganization transactions or this offering.

          Silver Lake is a global investment firm focused on the technology, technology-enabled and related growth industries with offices in Silicon Valley,Menlo Park, New York, London, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo. Silver Lake was founded in 1999 and has over $20$23 billion in combined assets under management and committed capital across its large-cap private equity, middle-market private equity, growth equity and credit investment strategies.

          Incorporated in 1974, Temasek is an investment company based in Singapore, with a S$223 billion (US$177 billion) portfolio as of March 31, 2014. Temasek's portfolio encompasses companies across a broad spectrum of sectors, financial services; transportation, logistics and industrials; telecommunications, media and technology; life sciences, consumer and real estate; and energy and resources. In addition to Singapore, Temasek has offices in 10 other cities around the world, including Beijing, Shanghai, Mumbai, São Paulo, Mexico City, London and New York. We refer to Temasek entities that own equity interests in our Company prior to this offering, namely Wilbur Investments LLC and Havelock Fund Investments Pte Ltd., as the "Temasek Equityholders."

Corporate Information

          We were formed as a Delaware corporation on October 16, 2013. We are a newly formed corporation, have no material assets and have not engaged in any business or other activities except in connection with the reorganization transactions described under "Organizational Structure." Our corporate headquarters are located at 645 Madison900 Third Avenue, New York, New York 10022, and our telephone number is (212) 418-0100. Our website address iswww.virtu.com. Information contained on our website does not constitute a part of this prospectus.

 


Table of Contents


The Offering

Class A common stock outstanding before this offering 18,837,464 shares.

Class A common stock offered by us

 

16,532,272 shares.

Option to purchase additional shares

 

We have granted the underwriters the right to purchase an additional 2,479,840 shares of Class A common stock from us within 30 days from the date of this prospectus.

Class A common stock to be outstanding immediately after this offering

 

31,899,012 shares (         %(51.8% of which would be owned by non-affiliates of the Company) (or 34,378,852 shares (         %(55.3% of which would be owned by non-affiliates of the Company) if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full) based on an assumed initial public offering price of $$18.00 per share (the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus). If, immediately after this offering and the application of the net proceeds from this offering, all of the Virtu Post-IPO Members elected to exchange their Virtu Financial Units and corresponding shares of Class C common stock or Class D common stock, as applicable, for shares of our Class A common stock or Class B common stock, as applicable, and any such shares of our Class B common stock were then converted into shares of Class A common stock, 136,509,084 shares of our Class A common stock would be outstanding (         %(12.1% of which would be owned by non-affiliates of the Company) (or 138,433,368 shares (         %(13.7% of which would be owned by non-affiliates of the Company) if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full).

Class B common stock to be outstanding immediately after this offering

 

None. However, we expect to issue stock options and restricted stock units with respect to an aggregate amount of              shares of Class B common stock in connection with this offering under the Virtu Financial, Inc. 2014 Management Incentive Plan (the "2014 Management Incentive Plan"). See "Executive Compensation — IPO Equity Grants."


Table of Contents


Class C common stock to be outstanding immediately after this offering

 

24,708,063 shares (or 24,152,507 shares if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full)full and giving effect to the use of the net proceeds therefrom) based on an assumed initial public offering price of $$18.00 per share (the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus). Shares of our Class C common stock have voting but no economic rights (including rights to dividends and distributions upon liquidation) and will be issued in an amount equal to the number of Virtu Financial Units held by the Virtu Post-IPO Members other than the Founder Post-IPO Member. When a Virtu Financial Unit, together with a share of our Class C common stock, is exchanged for a share of our Class A common stock, the corresponding share of our Class C common stock will be cancelled.


Table of Contents


Class D common stock to be outstanding immediately after this offering

 

79,902,009 shares based on an assumed initial public offering price of $$18.00 per share (the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus). Shares of our Class D common stock have voting but no economic rights (including rights to dividends and distributions upon liquidation) and will be issued in an amount equal to the number of Virtu Financial Units held by the Founder Post-IPO Member. When a Virtu Financial Unit, together with a share of our Class D common stock, is exchanged for a share of our Class B common stock, the corresponding share of our Class D common stock will be cancelled.

Voting rights

 

Each share of our Class A common stock entitles its holder to one vote per share, representing an aggregate of %3.7% of the combined voting power of our issued and outstanding common stock upon the completion of this offering and the application of the net proceeds from this offering (or %4.0% if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full).

 

 

Each share of our Class B common stock entitles its holder to 10 votes per share. Because no shares of Class B common stock will be issued and outstanding upon the completion of this offering and the application of the net proceeds from this offering, our Class B common stock will initially represent none of the combined voting power of our issued and outstanding common stock.

 

 

Each share of our Class C common stock entitles its holder to one vote per share, representing an aggregate of %2.9% of the combined voting power of our issued and outstanding common stock upon the completion of this offering and the application of the net proceeds from this offering (or %2.8% if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full)full and giving effect to the use of the net proceeds therefrom).


Table of Contents




Each share of our Class D common stock entitles its holder to 10 votes per share, representing an aggregate of %93.4% of the combined voting power of our issued and outstanding common stock upon the completion of this offering and the application of the net proceeds from this offering (or %93.2% if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full)full and giving effect to the use of the net proceeds therefrom).

 

 

All classes of our common stock generally vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of our stockholders. Upon the completion of this offering, our Class D common stock will be held exclusively by the Founder Post-IPO Member and our Class C common stock will be held by the Virtu Post-IPO Members other than the Founder Post-IPO Member. See "Description of Capital Stock."


Table of Contents


Exchange/conversion
 

Virtu Financial Units held by the Founder Post-IPO Member, together with a corresponding number of shares of our Class D common stock, may be exchanged for shares of our Class B common stock on a one-for-one basis.

 

 

Virtu Financial Units held by the Virtu Post-IPO Members other than the Founder Post-IPO Member, together with a corresponding number of shares of our Class C common stock, may be exchanged for shares of our Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis.

 

 

Each share of our Class B common stock and Class D common stock is convertible at any time, at the option of the holder, into one share of Class A common stock or Class C common stock, respectively.

 

 

Each share of our Class B common stock will automatically convert into one share of Class A common stock and each share of our Class D common stock will automatically convert into one share of our Class C common stock (a) immediately prior to any sale or other transfer of such share by thea Founder Post-IPO Member or any of its affiliates or permitted transferees, subject to certain limited exceptions, such as transfers to permitted transferees, or (b) if the Founder Post-IPO Member or any of its affiliates or permitted transferees own less than 25% of our issued and outstanding common stock. See "Description of Capital Stock."

Use of proceeds

 

We estimate that our net proceeds from this offering will be approximately $$276.8 million (or approximately $$318.3 million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full), after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses of approximately $$20.8 million, based on an assumed initial offering price of $$18.00 per share (the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus). We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering as follows:

we intend to contribute $23.3 million of the net proceeds from this offering to Virtu Financial (or $55.5 million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full) in exchange for a number of Virtu Financial Units equal to the contribution amount divided by the price paid by the underwriters for shares of our Class A common stock in this offering (1,388,889 Virtu Financial Units at the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus or, if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full, 3,313,174 Virtu Financial Units), and such contribution amount will be used by Virtu Financial for working capital and general corporate purposes, which may include financing growth; and

 


Table of Contents

 

we intend to contribute $use the remaining approximately $253.5 million of the net proceeds from this offering to Virtu Financial in exchange for a number of Virtu Financial Units equal to such contribution amount divided by the price paid by(or $262.8 million if the underwriters forexercise their option to purchase additional shares of our Class A common stock in this offering, and such contribution amount will be used by Virtu Financial for working capital and general corporate purposes, which may include financing growth; and

we intend to use the remaining approximately $              million of the net proceeds from this offeringfull) to repurchase 3,470,724 shares of Class A common stock from the Silver Lake Post-IPO Stockholder and 11,672,659 Virtu Financial Units and corresponding shares of Class C common stock from certain of the Virtu Post-IPO Members, including certain members of management (or $              million of the net proceeds from this offering,              shares of Class A common stock and4,862,609 Virtu Financial Units and corresponding shares of Class C common stock iffrom the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additionalSilver Lake Post-IPO Members and 6,810,050 Virtu Financial Units and corresponding shares in full), in each caseof Class C common stock from certain employees (or 3,470,724 shares of Class A common stock from the Silver Lake Post-IPO Stockholder and 12,228,215 Virtu Financial Units and corresponding shares of Class C common stock from certain of the Virtu Post-IPO Members, including 4,862,609 Virtu Financial Units and corresponding shares of Class C common stock the Silver Lake Post-IPO Members and 7,365,606 Virtu Financial Units from certain employees) at a net price equal to the price paid by the underwriters for shares of our Class A common stock in this offering. None of the Founder Pre-IPO Members, the Founder Post-IPO Member, nor Mr. Viola, Mr. Cifu or any of histheir family members intends to sell any equity interests in the Company in connection with the reorganization transactions or this offering. If the underwriters' option to purchase additional shares is exercised, no additional shares of Class A common stock or Virtu Financial Units and corresponding shares of Class C common stock will be purchased from our existing 5% equityholders, directors or executive officers.




Virtu Financial will contribute such net proceeds to its subsidiaries. We have broad discretion as to the application of such net proceeds to be used for working capital and general corporate purposes. We may use such net proceeds to finance growth through the acquisition of, or investment in, businesses, products, services or technologies that are complementary to our current business, through mergers, acquisitions or other strategic transactions.



We estimate that the offering expenses (other than the underwriting discounts) will be approximately $10.2 million. All of such offering expenses will be paid for or otherwise borne by Virtu Financial.

 

 

See "Use of Proceeds" and "Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Purchases from Equityholders" for further details.


Table of Contents


Dividend policy
 

Commencing with the fiscal quarter ending ,September 30, 2015, we intend to pay a quarterly dividend of $$0.24 per share to holders of our Class A common stock. Subject to the sole discretion of our board of directors and the considerations discussed below, we intend to pay dividends that will annually equal, in the aggregate, between 70% and 100% of our net income. The payment of dividends will be subject to general economic and business conditions, including our financial condition and results of operations, capital requirements, contractual restrictions, including restrictions contained in the credit agreement governing our senior secured credit facility, which we refer to as our "credit agreement," business prospects and other factors that our board of directors considers relevant.

 

 

Because we will be a holding company and our principal asset after the consummation of this offering will be our direct and indirect equity interests in Virtu Financial, we will fund dividends by causing Virtu Financial to make distributions to its equityholders, including the Founder Post-IPO Member, the Silver Lake Post-IPO Members, the Management Vehicles,Virtu Employee Holdco, the Management Members and us.


Table of Contents

  Following the consummation of this offering, before any other distributions are made to us and the Virtu Post-IPO Members by Virtu Financial, Virtu Financial will distribute to certain Virtu Pre-IPO Members as of immediatelya record date prior to the commencement of the reorganization transactions, pro rata in accordance with their respective interests in classes of equity entitled to participate in operating cash flow (as defined under "Dividend Policy") distributions, operating cash flow of Virtu Financial and its subsidiaries for the fiscal period beginning on January 1, 2015 and ending on the date of the consummation of the reorganization transactions, less any reserves established during this period and less any operating cash flow for this period previously distributed to such Virtu Pre-IPO Members. We expect this distribution to be for an aggregate amount of approximately $             and towill be funded from cash on hand.

 

 

See "Dividend Policy."

Proposed NASDAQ symbol

 

"VIRT."

Risk factors

 

You should read the "Risk Factors" section of this prospectus for a discussion of factors that you should consider carefully before deciding to invest in shares of our Class A common stock.

          Unless we indicate otherwise throughout this prospectus, the number of shares of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock outstanding after this offering excludes:

    shares issuable pursuant to stock options and restricted stock units with respect to an aggregate amount of 9,223,000 shares of Class A common stock and shares issuable pursuant to stock options and restricted stock units with respect to an aggregate amount of               shares of Class B common stock, in each case that we expect to issue in connection with this offering under the 2014Virtu Financial, Inc. 2015 Management Incentive Plan.Plan (the "2015 Management Incentive Plan"). See "Executive Compensation — IPO Equity Grants";

    additional shares issuable pursuant to stock options, and restricted stock units or other equity-based awards with respect to an aggregate amount of 2,777,000 shares of Class A common stock, and additional shares issuable pursuant to stock options and restricted stock units with respect to an aggregate amount of                                        shares of Class B common stock, in each case that we expect to remain available for issuance under the 20142015 Management


Table of Contents

      Incentive Plan following the completion of this offering. See "Executive Compensation—2014Compensation — 2015 Management Incentive Plan";

    24,708,063 shares of Class A common stock reserved for issuance upon the exchange of Virtu Financial Units (together with the corresponding shares of our Class C common stock), and 79,902,009 shares of Class B common stock reserved for issuance upon the exchange of Virtu Financial Units (together with the corresponding shares of our Class D common stock); and

    79,902,009 shares of our Class A common stock reserved for issuance upon the conversion of our Class B common stock into Class A common stock.

          Unless we indicate otherwise, all information in this prospectus assumes (i) that the underwriters do not exercise their option to purchase up to 2,479,840 additional shares from us and (ii) an initial public offering price of $$18.00 per share (the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus).

 


Table of Contents


Summary Historical and Pro Forma Consolidated Financial and Other Data

          The following tables set forth summary historical consolidated financial and other data of Virtu Financial for the periods presented. We were formed as a Delaware corporation on October 16, 2013 and have not, to date, conducted any activities other than those incident to our formation and the preparation of this prospectus and the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.

          The consolidated statements of comprehensive income data for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 2012 and 20112012 and statements of financial condition data as of December 31, 20132014 and 20122013 have been derived from Virtu Financial's audited financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus.

          The pro forma consolidated statements of comprehensive income for the year ended December 31, 20132014 give effect to (i) the reorganization transactions described under "Organizational Structure" and (ii) the creation or acquisition of certain tax assets in connection with this offering and the reorganization transactions and the creation of related liabilities in connection with entering into the tax receivable agreements with the Virtu Post-IPO Members and the Silver LakeInvestor Post-IPO Stockholder,Stockholders, as if each had occurred on January 1, 2012.2014. The pro forma consolidated statement of financial condition data as of December 31, 20132014 give effect to (i) the reorganization transactions described under "Organizational Structure," (ii) the creation or acquisition of certain tax assets in connection with this offering and the reorganization transactions and the creation of related liabilities in connection with entering into the tax receivable agreements with the Virtu Post-IPO Members and the Silver LakeInvestor Post-IPO Stockholder,Stockholders, (iii) this offering and the application of the net proceeds from this offering and (iv) a one-time distributioncash distributions by Virtu Financial to occurthe Virtu Pre-IPO Members in an aggregate amount of $50.0 million in January 2015, $20.0 million in February 2015 and $10.0 million in March 2015 and anticipated cash distributions by Virtu Financial to the Virtu Pre-IPO Members in an aggregate amount of $50.0 million prior to the consummation of this offering and $50.0 million following the consummation of this offering, described under "Dividend Policy," as if each had occurred on December 31, 2013.2014. We expect that the anticipated cash distributions to the pre-IPO equityholders following the consummation of this offering will be funded from cash on hand and excess cash held at clearing deposits from broker-dealers and clearing organizations. See "Unaudited Pro Forma Financial Information."

          The summary historical and pro forma consolidated financial and other data presented below do not purport to be indicative of the results that can be expected for any future period and should be read together with "Capitalization," "Unaudited Pro Forma Financial Information," "Selected Consolidated Financial Data," "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and

 


Table of Contents

Results of Operations" and our and Virtu Financial's audited consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus.


  
 Years Ended
Dec. 31,
   
 Years Ended
Dec. 31,
 

 Pro Forma
Year Ended
Dec. 31,
2013
  Pro Forma
Year Ended
Dec. 31,
2014
 
(In thousands)
 2013 2012 2011  2014 2013 2012 

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income Data(1):

 

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income Data:

 

Revenues

  

Trading income, net

 $  $623,733 $581,476 $449,360  $685,150 $685,150 $623,733 $581,476 

Interest and dividends income

   31,090 34,152 11,851  27,923 27,923 31,090 34,152 

Technology services

   9,682    9,980 9,980 9,682  
                  

Total revenues

   664,505 615,628 461,211  723,053 723,053 664,505 615,628 

Operating Expenses

  

Brokerage, exchange and clearance fees, net

   195,146 200,587 148,020  230,965 230,965 195,146 200,587 

Communication and data processing

   64,689 55,384 46,109  68,847 68,847 64,689 55,384 

Employee compensation and payroll taxes(1)

   78,353 63,836 46,344  103,036 84,531 78,353 63,836 

Interest and dividends expense

   45,196 48,735 24,093  47,083 47,083 45,196 48,735 

Operations and administrative

   27,215 27,826 7,986  21,923 21,923 27,215 27,826 

Depreciation and amortization

   23,922 17,975 12,074  30,441 30,441 23,922 17,975 

Amortization of purchased intangibles and acquired capitalized software

   1,011 71,654 37,820  211 211 1,011 71,654 

Acquisition cost

    69 18,843     69 

Acquisition related retention bonus

   6,705 6,151 4,325  2,639 2,639 6,705 6,151 

Impairment of intangible assets

    1,489      1,489 

Lease abandonment

    6,134      6,134 

Debt issue cost related to debt refinancing(2)

   10,022      10,022  

Initial public offering fees and expenses(3)

 8,961 8,961   

Transaction advisory fees and expenses(4)

 3,000 3,000   

Financing interest expense on senior secured credit facility

   24,646 26,460 14,608  28,322 30,894 24,646 26,460 
                  

Total operating expenses

   476,905 526,300 360,222  545,428 529,495 476,905 526,300 
                  

Income before income taxes

   187,600 89,328 100,989  177,625 193,558 187,600 89,328 

Provision for income taxes

   (5,397) (1,768) (11,697) 18,256 3,501 5,397 1,768 
                  

Net income

 $  $182,203 $87,560 $89,292  $159,369 $190,057 $182,203 $87,560 

Net income attributable to non-controlling interest

       (133,379)    
                  

Net income attributable to Virtu Financial, Inc.

       25,990    
                  

Basic and diluted earnings per share to Class A common stockholders:

  

Basic

       $0.81    

Diluted

       $0.81    

Weighted average number of shares used in computing earnings per share:

  

Basic

       31,899,012    

Diluted

       31,899,012    

Other Comprehensive Income, net of taxes

 

Foreign exchange translation adjustment

   1,382 548 (488)
         

Comprehensive income

 $  $183,585 $88,108 $88,804 
         

 


 Pro Forma
as of
Dec. 31,
2013
 As of Dec. 31,  Pro Forma
as of
Dec. 31,
2014
 As of Dec. 31, 
(In thousands)
 2013 2012  2014 2013 

Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition Data:

  

Cash and cash equivalents

 $  $66,010 $39,978  $29,114 $75,864 $66,010 

Total assets

   3,963,570 3,208,947  3,309,887 3,324,561 3,963,570 

Senior secured credit facility

   507,725 256,309  500,827 500,827 507,725 

Total liabilities

   3,510,282 2,518,712  2,993,531 2,817,863 3,510,282 

Class A-1 redeemable membership interest(3)

  250,000 250,000 

Class A-1 redeemable interest(4)

  294,433 250,000 

Total members'/stockholders' equity

   203,288 440,235  55,975 212,265 203,288 

 


Table of Contents

 


  
 Years Ended
Dec. 31,
   
 Years Ended
Dec. 31,
 

 Pro Forma
Year Ended
Dec. 31,
2013
  Pro Forma
Year Ended
Dec. 31,
2014
 
(In thousands)
 2013 2012 2011  2014 2013 2012 

Unaudited Financial Data:

  

Adjusted Net Income(4)(5)

 $  $215,372 $188,305 $157,700  $214,353 $226,536 $215,372 $188,305 

EBITDA(4)(5)

   247,201 205,417 165,491  236,599 255,104 247,201 205,417 

Adjusted EBITDA(4)(5)

   269,337 234,508 196,079  291,372 291,372 269,337 234,508 

Adjusted Net Trading Income(5)(6)

   414,481 366,306 289,098  435,025 435,025 414,481 366,306 

Operating margin(6)(7)

   52% 51% 55% 49% 52% 52% 51%

Adjusted EBITDA margin(6)(7)

   65% 64% 68% 67% 67% 65% 64%

(1)
The Madison Tyler Transactions occurred on July 8, 2011, and as a result the consolidated statementPrimarily reflects approximately $12.3 million of comprehensive income data for the year ended December 31, 2011 are not necessarily comparable to the consolidated statement of comprehensive income data for eachcompensation expense in respect of the other historical periods presented. See "Management's Discussion and Analysistime-based vesting of pre-IPO Class B interests in Virtu Financial Condition and Resultsvesting upon the consummation of Operations — Components of Our Operating Results — Acquisition and Purchase Accounting — Madison Tyler Transactions.this offering.

(2)
In connection with the Madison Tyler Transactions, we borrowedVirtu Financial entered into a $320.0 million under our original senior secured credit facility, which was subsequently refinanced. A portion of certain financing costs incurred in connection with the original credit facility that were scheduled to be amortized over the five-year term of the loan, including original issue discount and underwriting and legal fees, were accelerated and recognized at the closing of the refinancing.

(3)
Initial public offering fees and expenses reflect costs directly attributable to the Company's initial public offering process, which was postponed in April 2014. The Company accounted for such costs in accordance with ASC 340-10,Other Assets and Deferred Costs. ASC 340 states that costs directly attributable to a successfully completed offering of equity securities may be deferred and charged against the gross proceeds of the offering as a reduction of additional paid-in capital, but for an offering postponed for a period greater than 90 days, the offering costs must be charged as an expense in the period the offering process was postponed.

(4)
Transaction advisory fees reflect professional fees incurred by the Company in connection with the Temasek Transaction (as defined below), which was consummated on December 31, 2014.

(5)
The Class A-1 interests of Virtu Financial are convertible by the holders at any time into an equivalent number of Class A-2 capital interests of Virtu Financial and, in a sale or other specified capital transaction, holders are entitled to receive distributions up to specified preference amounts before holders of Class A-2 capital interests are entitled to receive distributions. In connection with the reorganization transactions, all of the existing equity interests in Virtu Financial will be reclassified into Virtu Financial Units. See "Organizational Structure — The Reorganization Transactions."

(4)(6)
"Adjusted Net Income" measures our operating performance by adjusting net income to exclude amortization of purchased intangibles and acquired capitalized software, debt issue cost related to debt refinancing, impairment of intangible assets, lease abandonment, acquisition cost, terminated transaction fees and expenses, initial public offering fees and expenses, transaction advisory fees and expenses, expenses associated with termination of London leases, severance, acquisition related retention bonus and stock-based compensation expense. "EBITDA" measures our operating performance by adjusting net income to exclude financing interest expense on senior secured credit facility, debt issue cost related to debt refinancing, depreciation and amortization, amortization of purchased intangibles and acquired capitalized software and income tax expense, and "Adjusted EBITDA" measures our operating performance by further adjusting EBITDA to exclude impairment of intangible assets, lease abandonment, terminated transaction fees and expenses, initial public offering fees and expenses, transaction advisory fees and expenses, expenses associated with termination of London leases, severance, acquisition related retention bonus and stock-based compensation expense. Adjusted Net Income, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP financial measures used by management in evaluating operating performance and in making strategic decisions. In addition, Adjusted Net Income, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA or similar non-GAAP measures are used by research analysts, investment bankers and lenders to assess our operating performance. Management believes that the presentation of Adjusted Net Income, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors regarding our results of operations because it assists both investors and management in analyzing and benchmarking the performance and value of our business. Adjusted Net Income, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA provide indicators of general economic performance that are not affected by fluctuations in certain costs or other items. Accordingly, management believes that these measurements are useful for comparing general operating performance from period to period. Furthermore, our credit agreement contains covenants and other tests based on metrics similar to Adjusted EBITDA. Other companies may define Adjusted Net Income or Adjusted EBITDA differently, and as a result our measures of Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EBITDA may not be directly comparable to those of other companies. Although we use Adjusted Net Income, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA as financial measures to assess the performance of our business, such use is limited because they do not include certain material costs necessary to operate our business. Adjusted Net Income, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for,


Table of Contents


Table of Contents


Because of these limitations, Adjusted Net Income, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not intended as alternatives to net income (loss) as indicators of our operating performance and should not be considered as measures of discretionary cash available to us to invest in the growth of our business or as measures of cash that will be available to us to meet our obligations. We compensate for these limitations by using Adjusted Net Income, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA along with other comparative tools, together with U.S. GAAP measurements, to assist in the evaluation of operating performance. These U.S. GAAP measurements include operating income (loss), net income (loss), cash flows from operations and cash flow data. Our U.S. GAAP-based measures can be found in our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.

          The following table reconciles net income to Adjusted Net Income:


  
 Years Ended
Dec. 31,
   
 Years Ended
Dec. 31,
 

 Pro Forma
Year Ended
Dec. 31,
2013
  Pro Forma
Year Ended
Dec. 31,
2014
 
(In thousands)
 2013 2012 2011  2014 2013 2012 

Net income

 $  $182,203 $87,560 $89,292  $159,369 $190,057 $182,203 $87,560 

Amortization of purchased intangibles and acquired capitalized software

   1,011 71,654 37,820  211 211 1,011 71,654 

Debt issue cost related to debt refinancing

   10,022      10,022  

Impairment of intangible assets

    1,489      1,489 

Lease abandonment

    6,134      6,134 

Acquisition cost

    69 18,843     69 

Terminated transaction fees and expenses(a)

    4,727      4,727 

Severance(b)

   1,990 2,123  

Initial public offering fees and expenses

 8,961 8,961   

Transaction advisory fees and expenses

 3,000 3,000   

Expenses associated with termination of London leases(b)

 849 849   

Severance(c)

 4,786 4,786 1,990 2,123 

Acquisition related retention bonus

   6,705 6,151 4,325  2,639 2,639 6,705 6,151 

Stock-based compensation

   13,441 8,398 7,420  34,538 16,033 13,441 8,398 
                  

Adjusted Net Income

 $  $215,372 $188,305 $157,700  $214,353 $226,536 $215,372 $188,305 
                  

 


Table of Contents


The following table reconciles net income to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA:


  
 Years Ended
Dec. 31,
   
 Years Ended
Dec. 31,
 

 Pro Forma
Year Ended
Dec. 31,
2013
  Pro Forma
Year Ended
Dec. 31,
2014
 
(In thousands)
 2013 2012 2011  2014 2013 2012 

Net income

 $  $182,203 $87,560 $89,292  $159,369 $190,057 $182,203 $87,560 

Financing interest expense on senior secured credit facility

   24,646 26,460 14,608  28,322 30,894 24,646 26,460 

Debt issue cost related to debt refinancing

   10,022      10,022  

Depreciation and amortization

   23,922 17,975 12,074  30,441 30,441 23,922 17,975 

Amortization of purchased intangibles and acquired capitalized software

   1,011 71,654 37,820  211 211 1,011 71,654 

Income tax expense

   5,397 1,768 11,697  18,256 3,501 5,397 1,768 
                  

EBITDA

 $  $247,201 $205,417 $165,491  $236,599 $255,104 $247,201 $205,417 
                  

Impairment of intangible assets

    1,489      1,489 

Lease abandonment

    6,134      6,134 

Acquisition cost

    69 18,843     69 

Terminated transaction fees and expenses(a)

    4,727      4,727 

Severance(b)

   1,990 2,123  

Initial public offering fees and expenses

 8,961 8,961   

Transaction advisory fees and expenses

 3,000 3,000   

Expenses associated with termination of London leases(b)

 849 849   

Severance(c)

 4,786 4,786 1,990 2,123 

Acquisition related retention bonus

   6,705 6,151 4,325  2,639 2,639 6,705 6,151 

Stock-based compensation

   13,441 8,398 7,420  34,538 16,033 13,441 8,398 
                  

Adjusted EBITDA

 $  $269,337 $234,508 $196,079  $291,372 $291,372 $269,337 $234,508 
 ��                
(5)(7)
"Adjusted Net Trading Income" is the amount of revenue we generate from our market making activities, or trading income, net, plus interest and dividends income and expense, net, less direct costs associated with those revenues, including brokerage, exchange and clearance fees, net. Rather than analyzing these components of our operating results individually, we generally view them on an aggregate basis in the context of Adjusted Net Trading Income. Adjusted Net Trading Income is a non-GAAP financial measure. Our total Adjusted Net Trading Income is the primary metric used by management in evaluating performance, making strategic decisions and allocating resources, and the primary factor influencing Adjusted Net Trading Income is volume levels. Management believes that the presentation of Adjusted Net Trading Income provides useful information to investors regarding our results of operations because it assists both investors and management in analyzing and benchmarking the performance and value of our business. Adjusted Net Trading Income provides an indicator of the performance of our market making activities that is not affected by revenues or expenses that are not directly associated with such activities. Accordingly, management believes that this measurement is useful for comparing general operating performance from period to period. Although we use Adjusted Net Trading Income as a financial measure to assess the performance of our business, the use of Adjusted Net Trading Income is limited because it does not include certain material costs that are necessary to operate our business. Adjusted Net Trading Income should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, trading income, net, in accordance with U.S. GAAP as a measure of performance. Our presentation of Adjusted Net Trading Income should not be construed as an indication that our future results will be unaffected by revenues or expenses that are not directly associated with our market making activities. Adjusted Net Trading Income is limited as an analytical tool, and you should not consider it in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under U.S. GAAP. Our U.S. GAAP-based measures can be found in our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 


Table of Contents

          The following table reconciles trading income, net, to Adjusted Net Trading Income:


 Years Ended Dec. 31,  Pro Forma
Year Ended
Dec. 31,
2014
 Years Ended Dec. 31, 
(In thousands)
 2013 2012 2011  2014 2013 2012 

Trading income, net

 $623,733 $581,476 $449,360  $685,150 $685,150 $623,733 $581,476 

Interest and dividends income and expense, net

 (14,106) (14,583) (12,242) (19,160) (19,160) (14,106) (14,583)

Brokerage, exchange and clearance fees, net

 (195,146) (200,587) (148,020) (230,965) (230,965) (195,146) (200,587)
                

Adjusted Net Trading Income

 $414,481 $366,306 $289,098  $435,025 $435,025 $414,481 $366,306 
                

          The following table shows our Adjusted Net Trading Income, average daily Adjusted Net Trading Income and percentage of Adjusted Net Trading Income by asset class for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 2012 and 2011.2012.


 Years Ended Dec. 31,  Years Ended Dec. 31, 

 2013 2012 2011  2014 2013 2012 
(In thousands, except percentages)
 Total Average
Daily(7)
 % Total Average
Daily(7)
 % Total Average
Daily(7)
 %  Total Average
Daily(a)
 % Total Average
Daily(a)
 % Total Average
Daily(a)
 % 

Adjusted Net Trading Income:

  

Asset Class

  

Americas Equities(b)

 $$111,098 $441 27%$108,845 435 30%$104,343 $414 35% $113,402 $450 26%$111,098 $441 27%$108,845 435 30%

EMEA Equities

 44,435 176 11% 45,799 183 13% 37,205 148 13% 51,604 205 12% 44,435 176 11% 45,799 183 13%

APAC Equities

 45,566 181 11% 41,924 168 11% 17,520 70 6% 29,965 119 7% 45,566 181 11% 41,924 168 11%

Global Commodities

 94,934 377 23% 96,602 386 26% 68,059 270 24% 93,083 369 21% 94,934 377 23% 96,602 386 26%

Global Currencies

 81,014 321 20% 50,766 203 14% 48,719 193 17% 109,693 435 25% 81,014 321 20% 50,766 203 14%

Options, Fixed Income and Other Securities

 38,499 153 9% 26,628 106 7% 16,293 65 6% 42,321 168 10% 38,499 153 9% 26,628 106 7%

Unallocated(8)(c)

 (1,065) (4) -1% (4,258) (17) (1)% (3,041) (12) (1)% (5,043) (20) (1)% (1,065) (4) (1)% (4,258) (17) (1)%
                                      

Total Adjusted Net Trading Income

 $414,481 $1,645 100%$366,306 $1,464 100%$289,098 $1,148 100% $435,025 $1,726 100%$414,481 $1,645 100%$366,306 $1,464 100%
                                      
(8)
We calculate "operating margin" by dividing Adjusted Net Income by Adjusted Net Trading Income. We calculate "Adjusted EBITDA margin" by dividing Adjusted EBITDA by Adjusted Net Trading Income. Operating margin and Adjusted EBITDA margin are non-GAAP financial measures used by management in evaluating operating performance and in making strategic decisions. Other companies may define operating margin and Adjusted EBITDA margin differently, and as a result our measures may not be directly comparable to those of other companies. These measures should be considered in addition to, rather than as a substitute for, the comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures as measures of our operating performance.

 


Table of Contents


RISK FACTORS

          Investing in our Class A common stock involves substantial risks. In addition to the other information in this prospectus, you should carefully consider the following factors before investing in our Class A common stock. Any of the risk factors we describe below could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. The market price of our Class A common stock could decline if one or more of these risks or uncertainties develop into actual events, causing you to lose all or part of your investment. While we believe these risks and uncertainties are especially important for you to consider, we may face other risks and uncertainties that could have a material adverse effect on our business. Certain statements contained in the risk factors described below are forward-looking statements. See "Forward-Looking Statements" for more information.

Risks Related to Our Business

Because our revenues and profitability depend on trading volume and volatility in the markets in which we operate, they are subject to factors beyond our control, are prone to significant fluctuations and are difficult to predict.

          Our revenues and profitability depend in part on the level of trading activity of securities, derivatives and other financial products on exchanges and in other trading venues in the U.S. and abroad, which are directly affected by factors beyond our control, including economic and political conditions, broad trends in business and finance and changes in the markets in which such transactions occur. Weaknesses in the markets in which we operate, including economic slowdowns in recent years, have historically resulted in reduced trading volumes for us. Declines in trading volumes generally result in lower revenues from market making and transaction execution activities. Lower levels of volatility generally have the same directional impact. Declines in market values of securities or other financial instruments can also result in illiquid markets, which can also result in lower revenues and profitability from market making and transaction execution activities. Lower price levels of securities and other financial instruments, as well as compressed bid/ask spreads, which often follow lower pricing, can further result in reduced revenues and profitability. These factors can also increase the potential for losses on securities or other financial instruments held in inventory and failures of buyers and sellers to fulfill their obligations and settle their trades, as well as claims and litigation. Any of the foregoing factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In the past, our revenues and operating results have varied significantly from period to period due primarily to movements and trends in the underlying markets and to fluctuations in trading volumes and volatility levels. As a result, period to period comparisons of our revenues and operating results may not be meaningful, and future revenues and profitability may be subject to significant fluctuations or declines.

We are dependent upon our trading counterparties and clearing houses to perform their obligations to us.

          Our business consists of providing consistent two-sided liquidity to market participants across numerous geographies and asset classes. In the event of a systemic market event, resulting from large price movements or otherwise, certain market participants may not be able to meet their obligations to their trading counterparties, who, in turn, may not be able to meet their obligations to their other trading counterparties, which could lead to major defaults by one or more market participants. Following the implementation of certain mandates under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act") in the U.S. and similar legislation worldwide, many trades in the securities and futures markets, and an increasing number of trades in the over-the-counter derivatives markets, are cleared through central counterparties. These central counterparties assume, and specialize in managing, counterparty performance risk relating


Table of Contents

to such trades. However, even when trades are cleared in this manner, there can be no assurance that a clearing house's risk management methodology will be adequate to manage one or more defaults. Given the concentration of counterparty performance risk that is concentrated in central clearing parties, any failure by a clearing house to properly manage a


Table of Contents

default could lead to a systemic market failure. If our trading counterparties do not meet their obligations to us, or if any central clearing parties fail to properly manage defaults by market participants, we could suffer a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may incur losses in our market making activities in the event of failures of our customized trading platform.

          The success of our market making business is substantially dependent on the accuracy and performance of our customized trading platform, which evaluates and monitors the risks inherent in our market making strategies, assimilates market data and reevaluates our outstanding quotes continuously throughout the trading day. Our strategies are designed to automatically rebalance our positions throughout the trading day to manage risk exposures on our positions. Flaws in our strategies, latencies or inaccuracies in the market data that we use to generate our quotes, or human error in managing risk parameters or other strategy inputs, may lead to unexpected and unprofitable trades, which may result in material trading losses and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may incur material trading losses from our market making activities.

          A significant portion of our revenues and operating profits are derived from our trading as principal in our role as a formal or registered market maker and liquidity provider on various exchanges and markets, including as a designated market maker ("DMM") on the New York Stock Exchange. We may incur trading losses relating to these activities since each primarily involves the purchase, sale or short sale of securities, futures and other financial instruments for our own account. In any period, we may incur significant trading losses for a variety of reasons, including price changes, lack of liquidity in instruments in which we have positions and the required performance of our market making obligations. Furthermore, we may from time to time develop large position concentrations in securities or other financial instruments of a single issuer or issuers engaged in a specific industry, or alternatively a single future or other financial instrument, which would result in the risk of higher trading losses than if our concentration were lower.

          These risks may limit or restrict, for example, our ability to either resell securities we have purchased or to repurchase securities we have sold. In addition, we may experience difficulty borrowing securities to make delivery to purchasers to whom we have sold securities short or lenders from whom we have borrowed securities.

          In our role as a market maker, we attempt to derive a profit from bid/ask spreads. However, competitive forces often require us to match or improve upon the quotes that other market makers display, thereby narrowing bid/ask spreads, and to hold long or short positions in securities, futures or other financial instruments. We cannot assure you that we will be able to manage these risks successfully or that we will not experience significant losses from such activities, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

          Our risk management activities utilize a four-pronged approach, consisting of strategy lockdowns, centralized strategy monitoring, aggregate exposure monitoring and operational controls. In particular, messages that leave our trading environment first must pass through a series of preset risk controls or "lockdowns" that are intended to minimize the likelihood of unintended activities. In certain cases this layer of risk management, which adds a layer of latency to our process, may limit our ability to profit from acute volatility in the markets. This would be the case,


Table of Contents

for example, where a particular strategy being utilized by one of our traders is temporarily locked down for generating revenue in excess of the preset risk limit. Even if we are able to quickly and correctly identify the reasons for a lockdown and quickly resume the trading strategy, we may limit our potential upside as a result of our risk management policies.


Table of Contents

The valuation of the securities we hold at any particular time may result in large and occasionally anomalous swings in the value of our positions and in our earnings in any period.

          The market prices of our long and short positions are reflected on our books at closing prices, which are typically the last trade prices before the official close of the primary exchange on which each such security trades. Given that we manage a globally integrated portfolio, we may have large and substantially offsetting positions in securities that trade on different exchanges that close at different times of the trading day and may be denominated in different currencies. Further, there may be large and occasionally anomalous swings in the value of our positions on any particular day and in our earnings in any period. Such swings may be especially pronounced on the last business day of each calendar quarter, as the discrepancy in official closing prices resulting from the asynchronous closing times may cause us to recognize a gain or loss in one quarter which would be substantially offset by a corresponding loss or gain in the following quarter.

We are exposed to losses due to lack of perfect information.

          As a market maker, we provide liquidity by consistently buying securities from sellers and selling securities to buyers. We may at times trade with others who have information that is more accurate or complete than the information we have, and as a result we may accumulate unfavorable positions preceding large price movements in a given instrument. Should the frequency or magnitude of these events increase, our losses would likely increase correspondingly, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We face competition in our market making activities.

          Revenues from our market making activities depend on our ability to offer to buy and sell financial instruments at prices that are attractive and represent the best bid and/or offer in a given instrument at a given time. To attract order flow, we compete with other firms not only on our ability to provide liquidity at competitive prices, but also on other factors such as order execution speed and technology. Our competitors include other registered market makers as well as unregulated or lesser-regulated trading firms that also compete to provide liquidity. Our competitors range from sole proprietors with very limited resources to highly sophisticated groups, hedge funds, well-capitalized broker-dealers and proprietary trading firms or other market makers that have substantially greater financial and other resources than we do. These larger and better capitalized competitors may be better able to respond to changes in the market making industry, to compete for skilled professionals, to finance acquisitions, to fund internal growth, to manage costs and expenses and to compete for market share generally. Trading firms that are not registered as broker-dealers or broker-dealers not registered as market makers may in some instances have certain advantages over more regulated firms, including our subsidiaries, that may allow them to bypass regulatory restrictions and trade more cheaply than more regulated participants on some markets or exchanges. In addition, we may in the future face enhanced competition from new market participants that may also have substantially greater financial and other resources than we do, which may result in compressed bid/ask spreads in the marketplace that may negatively impact our financial performance. Moreover, current and potential competitors may establish cooperative relationships among themselves or with third parties or may consolidate to enhance their services and products. The trend toward increased competition in our business is expected to continue, and it is possible that our competitors may acquire increased market share. Increased competition or


Table of Contents

consolidation in the marketplace could reduce the bid/ask spreads on which our business and profitability depend. As a result, there can be no assurance that we will be able to compete effectively with current or future competitors, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to liquidity risk in our operations.

          We require liquidity to fund various ongoing obligations, including operating expenses, capital expenditures, debt service and dividend payments. Our main sources of liquidity are cash flow from


Table of Contents

the operations of our subsidiaries, our broker-dealer revolving credit facility (described under "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources — Credit Facilities"), margin financing provided by our prime brokers and cash on hand. Our liquidity could be materially impaired by a number of factors, including reduced business activity due to a market downturn, adverse regulatory action or a downgrade of our credit rating. If our business activities decrease or we are unable to borrow additional funds in the future on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all, we could suffer a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Self-clearing and other elements of our trade processing operations expose us to significant operational, financial and liquidity risks.

          We currently self-clear substantially all of our domestic equity trades and may expand our self-clearing operations internationally and across product offerings and asset classes in the future. Self-clearing exposes our business to operational risks, including business disruption, operational inefficiencies, liquidity, financing risks, counterparty performance risk and potentially increased expenses and lost revenue opportunities. While our clearing platform, operational processes, risk methodologies, enhanced infrastructure and current and future financing arrangements have been carefully designed, we may nevertheless encounter difficulties that may lead to operating inefficiencies, including delays in implementation, disruption in the infrastructure that supports the business, inadequate liquidity and financial loss. Any such delay, disruption or failure could negatively impact our ability to effect transactions and manage our exposure to risk and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Rules governing designated market makers may require us to make unprofitable trades or prevent us from making profitable trades from time to time.

          DMMs are granted certain rights and have certain obligations to "make a market" in a particular security. They agree to specific obligations that are designed to maintain a fair and orderly market. In acting as a DMM, we are subject to a high degree of risk by having to support an orderly market. In this role, we may at times be required to make trades that negatively impact our profitability. In addition, we may at times be unable to trade for our own account in circumstances in which it may be to our advantage to trade, and we may be obligated to act as a principal when buying and selling interest is unbalanced. In those instances, we may take a position counter to the market, buying or selling securities to support an orderly market. Additionally, the rules of the markets that govern our activities as a DMM and the interpretations of such rules are subject to change. If these rules or interpretations impose new or more stringent obligations on us, our trading revenues and profits as a DMM could be negatively impacted and we could suffer a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Regulatory and legal uncertainties could harm our business.

          Securities and derivatives businesses are heavily regulated. Firms in the financial services industry have been subject to an increasingly regulated environment over recent years, and


Table of Contents

penalties and fines sought by regulatory authorities have increased considerably. ThisIn addition, following recent news media attention to electronic trading and market structure, this regulatory and enforcement environment has created uncertainty with respect to various types of transactions that historically had been entered into by financial services firms and that were generally believed to be permissible and appropriate. "High frequency" and other forms of low latency or electronic trading strategies continue to be the focus of extensive regulatory scrutiny by federal, state and foreign regulators and self-regulatory organizations ("SROs"), and such scrutiny is likely to continue. While we do not engage in the type of principal investing or predictive, momentum or signal trading that are often associated with high frequency trading, our market making and trading activities are characterized by substantial volumes, an emphasis on technology and certain other characteristics that are also commonly associated with high frequency trading. Specifically, both the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") have issued general concept releases on


Table of Contents

market structure requesting comment from market participants on topics including, among others, high frequency trading, co-location, dark liquidity pre- and post-trade risk controls and system safeguards. The SEC has adopted rules that, among other results, have significantly limited the use of sponsored access by market participants to the U.S. equities exchanges, imposed large trader reporting requirements, restricted short sales in listed securities under certain conditions and required the planning and creation of a new comprehensive consolidated audit trail. The SEC has also approved by order a proposal adopted by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. ("FINRA") establishing a "Limit Up-Limit Down" mechanism to address market volatility.

          In addition, certain market participants, SROs, government officials and regulators have requested that the U.S. Congress and the SEC propose and adopt additional laws and rules, including rules relating to restrictions on co-location, order-to-execution ratios, minimum quote life for orders, incremental messaging fees to be imposed by exchanges for "excessive" order placements and/or cancellations, further transaction taxes, tick sizes and other market structure proposals. TheFor example, the SEC recently proposedadopted Regulation SCI, which could impose significant compliance and other costs on market centers that may have to pass such costs on to their users, including us, and could impact our future business plans of establishing a market center to avoid or reduce market center costs for certain of our transactions. Similarly, the consolidated audit trail, which the SEC is requiringhas required the SROs to propose a plan for and will require them to implement, is expected to entail significant costs both on market centers, which may pass these costs along to their users, and broker-dealers directly. In February 2015, the NYSE proposed a new rule to conduct a daily single-priced auction at a specified time in lower volume securities ("Midday Auction"). Beginning at a specified time, the NYSE would pause trading in the Midday Auction, suspend automatic executions and publish a zero quote on both the public and proprietary data feeds. If adopted, the new rule could result in reduced opportunities for liquidity providers to provide liquidity in such lower-volume securities outside the Midday Auction while reducing spreads during the Midday Auction. The SEC also required that the SROs propose a pilot program to increase the minimum trading increment, or "tick size," for certain securities. The proposed pilot program would include a "trade at" component, requiring that certain of these transactions occur only on an exchange. If adopted as proposed and not accompanied by a reduction in the fees paid to access liquidity on exchanges, the trade at requirement may increase the costs for certain of our transactions. Finally, the SEC has recently proposed amendments to regulations that would require our registered broker dealer to become a member of FINRA, which, if adopted as proposed, would require fees per trade that could adversely affect our profits given that we seek to make small profits on individual trades.

          Any or all of these proposals or additional proposals may be adopted by the SEC, CFTC or other U.S. or foreign legislative or regulatory bodies.bodies, and recent news media attention to electronic trading and market structure could increase the likelihood of adoption. These potential market structure and regulatory changes could cause a change in the manner in which we make markets, impose additional costs and expenses on our business or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

          In addition, the financial services industry is heavily regulated in many foreign countries, is heavily regulated, much like in the U.S. The varying compliance requirements of these different regulatory jurisdictions and other factors may limit our ability to conduct business or expand internationally. For example, the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive ("MiFID"), which was implemented in November 2007, continues to be under reviewis in the process of being replaced by the European Parliament. In October 2012, the European Parliament adopted, with amendments, MiFID II/Markets in Financial Investments Regulation ("MiFIR"). MiFID II/MiFIR will not be finalized until the completion of trialogues among, which was adopted by the European Commission, European Parliament on April 15, 2014 and by the Council of the European Union, which began in the third quarter of 2013.on May 13, 2014, and entered into force on July 2, 2014. The MiFID II/MiFIR proposals include many changes likely to affect our business. For example, the current proposal would require firms like us to conduct all trading on European markets through authorized investment firms. MiFID II/MiFIR will also require certain types of firms, including us, to post firm quotes at competitive prices and will supplement current requirements with regard to investment firms' risk controls related to the safe operation of electronic systems. MiFID II/MiFIR may also impose additional requirements on our trading platforms, such as a


Table of Contents

minimum order resting time, cancellation fees, circuit breakerswill also impose additional requirements on market structure, such as the introduction of a harmonized tick size regime, the introduction of new trading Organized Trading Facilities, new open access provisions, market making requirements and limits on the ratio of unexecuted orders to trades.various other pre- and post-trade risk management requirements. Each of these proposals and othersother proposals may impose technological and compliance costs on us. Any of these laws, rules or regulations, if adopted, as well as any regulatory or legal actions or proceedings, changes in legislation or regulation and changes in market customs and practices could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. These risks may be enhanced by recent scrutiny of electronic trading and market structure from regulators, lawmakers and the financial news media.

          In addition, we maintain borrowing facilities with banks, prime brokers and Futures Commission Merchants ("FCMs"), and obtain uncommitted margin financing from our prime brokers and FCMs, which are in many cases affiliated with banks. In response to the financial crisis, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision issued a new, more stringent capital and liquidity framework known as Basel III, which national banking regulators are in the process of implementing in the various jurisdictions in which our lenders may be incorporated. As these rules are implemented and impose more stringent capital and liquidity requirements, certain of our lenders may revise the terms of our borrowing facilities or margin financing arrangements, reduce the amount of financing they provide, or cease providing us financing, each of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Non-compliance with applicable laws or regulatory requirements could negatively impact our reputation, prospects, revenues and earnings.

          Our subsidiaries are subject to regulations in the U.S., and our foreign subsidiaries are subject to regulations abroad, in each case covering all aspects of their business. Regulatory bodies that exercise or may exercise authority over us include, without limitation, in the U.S., the SEC, FINRA, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the "Federal Reserve"), the Chicago Stock Exchange, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the CFTC, the National Futures Association ("NFA") and the various state securities regulators; in Ireland, the Central Bank of Ireland; in Switzerland, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority; in France, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers ("AMF"); in the United Kingdom, the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA"); in Hong Kong, the Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC"); in Australia, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission; in Canada, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada and various Canadian provincial securities commissions; in Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Singapore Exchange; and in Japan, the Financial Services Agency and the Japan Securities Dealers Association. Our mode of operation and profitability may be directly affected by additional legislation and changes in rules promulgated by various domestic and foreign government agencies and SROs that oversee our businesses, in addition to changes in the interpretation or enforcement of existing laws and rules, including the potential imposition of additional capital and margin requirements and/or transaction taxes. While we endeavor to timely deliver required annual filings in all jurisdictions, we cannot guarantee that we will meet every applicable filing deadline globally. Certain of our subsidiaries have yet to complete statutorily required filings for the year ended December 31, 2012.2013. Noncompliance with applicable laws or regulations could result in sanctions being levied against us, including fines, penalties, disgorgement and censures, suspension or expulsion from a certain jurisdiction, SRO or market or the revocation or limitation of licenses. Noncompliance with applicable laws or regulations could also negatively impact our reputation, prospects, revenues and earnings. In addition, changes in current laws or regulations or in governmental policies could negatively impact our operations, revenues and earnings.

          Domestic and foreign stock exchanges, other SROs and state and foreign securities commissions can censure, fine and issue cease-and-desist orders to suspend or expel a broker-dealer or other market participant or any of its officers or employees. Our ability to comply with all


Table of Contents

applicable laws and rules is largely dependent on our internal systems to ensure compliance, as well as our ability to attract and retain qualified compliance personnel. We could be subject to disciplinary or other actions in the future due to claimed noncompliance, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. At any given time, weWe have been, are currently, and may in the future be, the subject of one or more regulatory or SRO enforcement actions, including but not limited to targeted and routine regulatory inquiries and investigations involving Regulation NMS, Regulation SHO, capital requirements and other domestic and foreign securities rules and regulations. We and other broker-dealers and trading firms have also been the subject of requests for information and documents from the SEC and the State of New York Office of the Attorney General ("NYAG"). We have been cooperating and complying with the SEC's and NYAG's requests for information and documents. Our business or reputation could be negatively impacted if it were determined that disciplinary or other enforcement actions were required. For example, the CFTC is looking intohas requested certain information from us relating to our trading during the period from July 2011 to November 2013 and specifically our participation in certain incentive programs offered by exchanges or venues during that time period.February 2014. We do not believe that our trading activity during this activitytime period violated any statute or CFTC regulatory provision, but we cannot predict the outcome of this inquiry. In addition, the AMF is examining the trading activities of a subsidiary of


Table of Contents

Madison Tyler Holdings in certain French listed equity securities in or around 2009. The AMF board, upon the report of its investigation division, has decided to refer the matter to the AMF enforcement committee who could decide to impose administrative sanctions or monetary penalties for market manipulation or breach of professional obligations applicable to us. While we maintain that the trading activity under review was conducted appropriately and in compliance with applicable law and regulation, a determination that disciplinary or other enforcement actions are required could negatively impact our reputation and business. To continue to operate and to expand our services internationally, we will have to comply with the regulatory controls of each country in which we conduct or intend to conduct business, the requirements of which may not be clearly defined. The varying compliance requirements of these different regulatory jurisdictions, which are often unclear, may limit our ability to continue existing international operations and further expand internationally.

Failure to comply with applicable regulatory capital requirements could subject us to sanctions imposed by the SEC, FINRA and other SROs or regulatory bodies.

          Certain of our subsidiaries are subject to regulatory capital rules of the SEC, FINRA, other SROs and foreign regulators. These rules, which specify minimum capital requirements for our regulated subsidiaries, are designed to measure the general financial integrity and liquidity of a broker-dealer and require that at least a minimum part of its assets be kept in relatively liquid form. In general, net capital is defined as net worth (assets minus liabilities), plus qualifying subordinated borrowings, less certain mandatory deductions that result from, among other things, excluding assets that are not readily convertible into cash and from valuing conservatively certain other assets. Among these deductions are adjustments, commonly called haircuts, which reflect the possibility of a decline in the market value of an asset before disposition, and non-allowable assets.

          Failure to maintain the required minimum capital may subject our regulated subsidiaries to a requirement to cease conducting business, suspension, revocation of registration or expulsion by the applicable regulatory authorities, and ultimately could require the relevant entity's liquidation. Events relating to capital adequacy could give rise to regulatory actions that could limit business expansion or require business reduction. SEC and SRO net capital rules prohibit payments of dividends, redemptions of stock, prepayments of subordinated indebtedness and the making of any unsecured advances or loans to a stockholder, employee or affiliate, in certain circumstances, including if such payment would reduce the firm's net capital below required levels. Similar issues and risks arise in connection with the capital adequacy requirements of foreign regulators.

          A change in the net capital rules, the imposition of new rules or any unusually large charges against net capital could limit our operations that require the intensive use of capital and also could


Table of Contents

restrict our ability to withdraw capital from our broker-dealer subsidiaries. A significant operating loss or any unusually large charge against net capital could negatively impact our ability to expand or even maintain our present levels of business. Similar issues and risks arise in connection with the capital adequacy requirements of foreign regulators. Any of these results could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to risks relating to litigation and potential securities law liability.

          We are exposed to substantial risks of liability under federal and state securities laws and other federal and state laws and court decisions, as well as rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC, the CFTC, the Federal Reserve, state securities regulators, SROs and foreign regulatory agencies. These risks may be enhanced by recent scrutiny electronic trading and market structure from regulators, lawmakers and the financial news media. We are also subject to the risk of litigation and claims that may be without merit. From time to time, we, our officers, directors and employees may be named in legal actions, regulatory investigations and proceedings, arbitrations and administrative claims and be subject to claims alleging the violations of laws, rules and regulations, some of which may ultimately result in the payment of fines, awards, judgments and settlements. We could incur significant legal expenses in


Table of Contents

defending ourselves against and resolving lawsuits or claims even if we believe them to be meritless. An adverse resolution of any future lawsuits or claims against us could result in a negative perception of our Company and cause the market price of our common stock to decline or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.operations and cash flows.

Proposed legislation in the European Union, the U.S. and other jurisdictions that would impose taxes on certain financial transactions could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results.

          The Council ofOn February 14, 2013, the European Commission tabled a proposal for a Council Directive to implement an enhanced cooperation procedure among 11 European Union adopted a decision in February 2013 authorizing 11 member statesMember States (Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia and Slovakia) to proceed withfor the introductionpurposes of a financial transaction tax.tax among those Member States. Diplomats from the 11 EU member states had initially aimed to come to an agreement on the future European tax on financial transactions by the end of 2014; however, consensus on the final terms is not likely to be reached until the middle of 2015, with the proposal being implemented not earlier than 2016. The exact terms of the process by which such a financial transaction tax would be implemented are under consideration by the European Commission, but the envisioned tax would broadly apply to transactions in financial instruments, including equities, bonds,certain derivatives and foreign currency, to which apotentially some other financial institution (which would include banks, insurance companies, leasing companies, mutual funds and pension funds) is a party if one or more of the parties is established in a participating member state.instruments. In September 2013, the European Legal Service issued an opinion questioning the legal validity of the European Commission's proposal, creating uncertainty as to the status of the proposal's implementation. Similarly, in 2013, U.S. Representative Peter DeFazio and former Senator Thomas Harkin introduced H.R. 880 and S. 410 last year,proposed legislation, a bill entitled the "Wall Street Trading and Speculators Tax Act," which would have, subject to certain exceptions, imposeimposed an excise tax on the purchase of a security, including equities, bonds, debentures, other debt and interests in derivative financial instruments, if the purchase occursoccured or iswas cleared on a trading facility in the U.S. and the purchaser or seller is a U.S. person. More recently, U.S. Representative Chris Van Hollen presented an "action plan" that included a financial transaction fee. These proposed transaction taxes would apply to certain aspects of our business and transactions in which we are involved. Any such tax would increase our cost of doing business to the extent that (i) the tax is regularly applicable to transactions in the markets in which we operate, (ii) the tax does not include exceptions for market makers or market making activities that is broad enough to cover our activities or (iii) we are unable to widen our bid/ask spreads in the markets in which such a tax would be applicable to compensate for its imposition. Furthermore, the proposed taxes may reduce or negatively impact trading volume and transactions on which we are dependent for revenues.


Table of Contents

While it is difficult to assess the impact the proposed taxes could have on us, if either transaction tax is implemented or any similar tax is implemented in any other jurisdiction in which we operate, our business, financial condition, results of operations and financial resultscash flows could suffer a material adverse effect, and could be impacted to a greater degree than other market participants.

Failure to comply with laws and regulations applicable to our international operations may increase costs, reduce profits, limit growth or subject us to broader liability.

          Our business operations in countries outside the U.S. are subject to a number of laws and regulations, including restrictions imposed by the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the "FCPA") and trade sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (the "OFAC"). The FCPA is intended to prohibit bribery of foreign officials and requires companies whose securities are listed in the U.S. to keep books and records that accurately and fairly reflect those companies' transactions and to devise and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls. The OFAC administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on U.S. foreign policy and national security goals against designated foreign states, organizations and individuals. We have policies in place reasonably designed to comply with applicable OFAC sanctions, rules and regulations. In addition, some of our operations may be subject to laws and regulations of non-U.S. jurisdictions containing prohibitions on bribery and other corrupt business activities. If we fail to comply with


Table of Contents

these laws and regulations, we could be exposed to claims for damages, financial penalties, reputational harm, and incarceration of employees orand restrictions on our operations.operations and cash flows.

We depend on our technology, and our future results may be negatively impacted if we cannot remain technologically competitive.

          We believe that our success in the past has largely been attributable to our technology, which has taken many years to develop. If technology equivalent to ours becomes more widely available for any reason, our operating results may be negatively impacted. Additionally, adoption or development of similar or more advanced technologies by our competitors may require that we devote substantial resources to the development of more advanced technology to remain competitive. Regulators and exchanges may also introduce risk control and other technological requirements on our business that could result in increased costs of compliance and divert our technological resources away from their primary strategy development and maintenance duties. The markets in which we compete are characterized by rapidly changing technology, evolving industry standards and changing trading systems, practices and techniques. The widespread adoption of new internet, networking or telecommunications technologies or other technological changes could require us to incur substantial expenditures to modify or adapt our services or infrastructure. We may not be able to anticipate or respond adequately or in a cost-efficient and competitive manner to technological advancements (including advancements related to low-latency technologies, execution and messaging speeds) or changing industry standards. If any of these risks materialize, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operation.operations and cash flows.

Our reliance on our computer systems and software could expose us to great financial harm if any of our computer systems or software were subject to any material disruption or corruption.

          We rely significantly on our computer systems and software to receive and properly process internal and external data and utilize such data to generate orders and other messages. A disruption or corruption of the proper functioning of our computer systems or software could cause us to make erroneous trades, which could result in material losses. We cannot guarantee that our efforts to maintain competitive computer systems and software will be successful. Our computer systems and software may fail or be subject to bugs or other errors, resulting in service interruptions or other unintended consequences. If any of these risks materialize, they could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.operations and cash flows.


Table of Contents

Our failure to protect our systems and network against cybersecurity breaches, or otherwise protect confidential and proprietary information, could damage our reputation and negatively impact our business.

          Our cybersecurity measures may not detect or prevent all attempts to compromise our systems, including denial-of-service attacks, viruses, malicious software, break-ins, phishing attacks, social engineering, security breaches or other attacks and similar disruptions that may jeopardize the security of information stored in and transmitted by our systems or that we otherwise maintain. Breaches of our cybersecurity measures could result in any of the following: unauthorized access to our systems; unauthorized access to and misappropriation of information or data, including confidential or proprietary information about ourselves, third parties with whom we do business or our proprietary systems; viruses, worms, spyware or other malware being placed in our systems; deletion or modification of client information; or a denial-of-service or other interruptions to our business operations. Because techniques used to obtain unauthorized access to or sabotage systems change frequently and may not be known until launched against us or our third-party service providers, we may be unable to anticipate these attacks or to implement adequate


Table of Contents

preventative measures. While we have not suffered any material breach of our cybersecurity, any actual or perceived breach of our cybersecurity could damage our reputation, expose us to a risk of loss or litigation and possible liability, require us to expend significant capital and other resources to alleviate problems caused by such breaches and otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Capacity constraints, systems failures, malfunctions and delays could harm our business.

          Our business activities are heavily dependent on the integrity and performance of the computer and communications systems supporting them. Our systems and operations are vulnerable to damage or interruption from human error, software bugs and errors, electronic and physical security breaches, natural disasters, power loss, utility or internet outages, computer viruses, intentional acts of vandalism, terrorism and other similar events. Extraordinary trading volumes or other events could cause our computer systems to operate in ways that we did not intend, at an unacceptably low speed or even fail. While we have invested significant amounts of capital to upgrade the capacity, reliability and scalability of our systems, there can be no assurance that our systems will always operate properly or be sufficient to handle such extraordinary trading volumes. Any disruption for any reason in the proper functioning or any corruption of our software or erroneous or corrupted data may cause us to make erroneous trades or suspend our services and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.operations and cash flows.

          Although our systems and infrastructure are generally designed to accommodate additional growth without redesign or replacement; we may need to make significant investments in additional hardware and software to accommodate growth. Failure to make necessary expansions and upgrades to our systems and infrastructure could not only limit our growth and business prospects but could also cause substantial losses and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.operations and cash flows.

          Since the timing and impact of disasters and disruptions are unpredictable, we may not be able to respond to actual events as they occur. Business disruptions can vary in their scope and significance and can affect one or more of our facilities. Further, the severity of the disruption can also vary from minimal to severe. Although we have employed significant effort to develop, implement and maintain reasonable disaster recovery and business continuity plans, we cannot guarantee that our systems will fully recover after a significant business disruption in a timely fashion or at all. If we are prevented from using any of our current trading operations, or if our business continuity operations do not work effectively, we may not have complete business


Table of Contents

continuity, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Failure or poor performance of third-party software, infrastructure or systems on which we rely could adversely affect our business.

          We depend on third parties to provide and maintain certain infrastructure that is critical to our business. For example, we rely on third parties to provide software, data center services and dedicated fiber optic, microwave, wireline and wireless communication infrastructure. This infrastructure may malfunction or fail due to events outside of our control, which could disrupt our operations and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Any failure to maintain and renew our relationships with these third parties on commercially favorable terms, or to enter into similar relationships in the future, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.


Table of Contentsoperations and cash flows.

          We also rely on certain third-party software, third-party computer systems and third-party service providers, including clearing systems, exchange systems, alternate trading systems, order routing systems, internet service providers, communications facilities and other facilities. Any interruption in these third-party services or software, deterioration in their performance, or other improper operation could interfere with our trading activities, cause losses due to erroneous or delayed responses, or otherwise be disruptive to our business. If our arrangements with any third party are terminated, we may not be able to find an alternative source of software or systems support on a timely basis or on commercially reasonable terms. This could also have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.operations and cash flows.

The use of open source software may expose us to additional risks.

          We use software development tools covered by open source licenses and may incorporate such open source software into our proprietary software from time to time. "Open source software" refers to any code, shareware or other software that is made generally available to the public without requiring payment of fees or royalties and/or that may require disclosure or licensing of any software that incorporates such source code, shareware or other software. Given the nature of open source software, third parties might assert contractual or copyright and other intellectual property-related claims against us based on our use of such tools and software programs or might seek to compel the disclosure of the source code of our software or other proprietary information. If any such claims materialize, we could be required to (i) seek licenses from third parties in order to continue to use such tools and software or to continue to operate certain elements of our technology, (ii) release certain proprietary software code comprising our modifications to such open source software, (iii) make our software available under the terms of an open source license or (iv) re-engineer all, or a portion of, that software, any of which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. While we monitor the use of all open source software in our solutions, processes and technology and try to ensure that no open source software is used (i) in such a way as to require us to disclose the source code to the related solution when we do not wish to do so nor (ii) in connection with critical or fundamental elements of our software or technology, such use may have inadvertently occurred in deploying our proprietary solutions. If a third-party software provider has incorporated certain types of open source software into software we license from such third party for our products and solutions, we could, under certain circumstances, be required to disclose the source code to our solutions. In addition to risks related to license requirements, usage of open software can lead to greater risks than use of third-party commercial software because open source licensors generally do not provide warranties or controls on the origin of the software. Many of the risks associated with usage


Table of Contents

of open source software cannot be eliminated and could potentially have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.operations and cash flows.

We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights or may be prevented from using intellectual property necessary for our business.

          We rely primarily on trade secret, trademark, domain name, copyright and contract law to protect our intellectual property and proprietary technology. It is possible that third parties may copy or otherwise obtain and use our intellectual property or proprietary technology without authorization or otherwise infringe on our rights. For example, while we have a policy of entering into confidentiality, intellectual property invention assignment and/or non-competition and non-solicitation agreements or restrictions with our employees, independent contractors and business partners, such agreements may not provide adequate protection or may be breached, or our proprietary technology may otherwise become available to or be independently developed by our competitors. Third parties have alleged and may in the future allege that we are infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating their intellectual property rights. Third parties may initiate


Table of Contents

litigation against us without warning, or may send us letters or other communications that make allegations without initiating litigation. We may elect not to respond to these letters or other communications if we believe they are without merit, or we may attempt to resolve these disputes out of court by negotiating a license, but in either case it is possible that such disputes will ultimately result in litigation. Any such claims could interfere with our ability to use technology or intellectual property that is material to the operation of our business. Such claims may be made by competitors seeking to obtain a competitive advantage or by other parties, such as entities that purchase intellectual property assets for the purpose of bringing infringement claims. We also periodically employ individuals who were previously employed by our competitors or potential competitors, and we may therefore be subject to claims that such employees have used or disclosed the alleged trade secrets or other proprietary information of their former employers.

          In the future, we may have to rely on litigation to enforce our intellectual property rights, protect our trade secrets, determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others or defend against claims of infringement or invalidity. Any such litigation, whether successful or unsuccessful, could result in substantial costs and the diversion of resources and the attention of management. If unsuccessful, such litigation could result in the loss of important intellectual property rights, require us to pay substantial damages, subject us to injunctions that prevent us from using certain intellectual property, require us to make admissions that affect our reputation in the marketplace and require us to enter into license agreements that may not be available on favorable terms or at all. Finally, even if we prevail in any litigation, the remedy may not be commercially meaningful or fully compensate us for the harm we suffer or the costs we incur. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.operations and cash flows.

We are exposed to risks associated with our international operations and expansion.

          We are exposed to risks and uncertainties inherent in doing business in international markets, particularly in the heavily regulated broker-dealer industry. Such risks and uncertainties include political, economic and financial instability, unexpected changes in regulatory requirements, tariffs and other trade barriers, exchange rate fluctuations, applicable currency controls, the imposition of restrictions on currency conversion or the transfer of funds, limitations on our ability to repatriate non-U.S. earnings in a tax efficient manner and difficulties in staffing and managing foreign operations, including reliance on local experts.

          In addition, the varying compliance requirements of these different regulatory jurisdictions and other factors may limit our ability to successfully conduct or expand our business internationally


Table of Contents

and may increase our costs of investment. Expansion into international locations involves substantial operational and execution risk. We may not be able to manage these costs or risks effectively.

Fluctuations in currency exchange rates could negatively impact our earnings.

          A significant portion of our international business is conducted in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, and changes in foreign exchange rates relative to the U.S. dollar can therefore affect the value of our non-U.S. dollar net assets, revenues and expenses. Although we closely monitor potential exposures as a result of these fluctuations in currencies, and where cost-justified we adopt strategies that are designed to reduce the impact of these fluctuations on our financial performance, including the financing of non-U.S. dollar assets with borrowings in the same currency and the use of various hedging transactions related to net assets, revenues, expenses or cash flows, there can be no assurance that we will be successful in managing our foreign exchange risk. Our exposure to currency exchange rate fluctuations will grow if the relative contribution of our operations outside


Table of Contents

the U.S. increases. Any material fluctuations in currencies could have a material effect on our financial condition, and results of operations.operations and cash flows.

We may experience risks associated with future growth or expansion of our operations or acquisitions or dispositions of businesses, and we may never realize the anticipated benefits of such activities.

          As a part of our business strategy, we may make acquisitions or significant investments in and/or disposals of businesses. Any such future acquisitions, investments and/or dispositions would be accompanied by risks such as difficulties in assimilating the operations and personnel of acquired companies or businesses, diversion of our management's attention from ongoing business concerns, our potential inability to maximize our financial and strategic position through the successful incorporation or disposition of operations, maintenance of uniform standards, controls, procedures and policies and the impairment of existing relationships with employees, contractors, suppliers and customers as a result of the integration of new management personnel and cost-saving initiatives.

          We cannot guarantee that we will be able to successfully integrate any company or business that we might acquire in the future, and our failure to do so could harm our current business.

          In addition, we may not realize the anticipated benefits of any such transactions, and there may be other unanticipated or unidentified effects. While we would seek protection, for example, through warranties and indemnities in the case of acquisitions, significant liabilities may not be identified in due diligence or come to light after the expiration of warranty or indemnity periods. Additionally, while we would seek to limit our ongoing exposure, for example, through liability caps and period limits on warranties and indemnities in the case of disposals, some warranties and indemnities may give rise to unexpected and significant liabilities. If we fail to realize any such anticipated benefits, or if we experience any such unanticipated or unidentified effects in connection with any future acquisitions, investments or dispositions, we could suffer a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.operations and cash flows.

Our future efforts to sell shares of our common stock or raise additional capital may be delayed or prohibited by regulations.

          As certain of our subsidiaries are members of FINRA and other SROs, we are subject to certain regulations regarding changes in ownership or control and material changes in operations. For example, FINRA's NASD Rule 1017 generally provides that FINRA approval must be obtained in connection with certain change of ownership or control transactions, such as a transaction that


Table of Contents

results in a single entity or person owning 25% or more our equity. Similarly, Virtu Financial Ireland Limited, one of our Irish subsidiaries, is subject to change in control regulations promulgated by the Central Bank of Ireland. As a result of these regulations, our future efforts to sell shares of our common stock or raise additional capital may be delayed or prohibited. We may be subject to similar restrictions in other jurisdictions in which we operate.

We are dependent on the continued service of certain key executives, the loss or diminished performance of whom could have a material adverse effect on our business.

          Our performance is substantially dependent on the performance of our senior management, including Mr. Viola, our Founder and Executive Chairman, Mr. Cifu, our Chief Executive Officer and Mr. Concannon,Molluso, our President and Chief OperatingFinancial Officer. In connection with this offering, we intend to enter into employment and/or severance protection agreements with certain members of our senior management team that will restrict their ability to compete with us should they decide to leave our Company. Even if we have entered into these agreements, we cannot be sure that any


Table of Contents

member of our senior management will remain with us or that they will not compete with us in the future. The loss of any member of our senior management team could impair our ability to execute our business plan and growth strategy and have a negative impact on our revenues, in addition to potentially causing employee morale problems and/or the loss of key employees. In particular, Messrs. Viola and Cifu invest in other businesses and spend time on such matters, which could divert their attention from us. We contemplate that our employment agreement with Mr. Cifu will specifically permit his participation in and attention to certain other business activities, including but not necessarily limited to his role as the Vice Chairman and Alternate Governor of the Florida Panthers, a National Hockey League franchise, and his role as a director of the Independent Bank Group, Inc., a regional bank holding company. We cannot guarantee that these or other permitted outside activities will not impact his performance as Chief Executive Officer.

Our success depends, in part, on our ability to identify, recruit and retain skilled management and technical personnel. If we fail to recruit and retain suitable candidates or if our relationship with our employees changes or deteriorates, it could have a material adverse effect on our business.

          Our future success depends, in part, upon our continued ability to identify, attract, hire and retain highly qualified personnel, including skilled technical, management, product and technology, trading, sales and marketing personnel, all of whom are in high demand and are often subject to competing offers. Competition for qualified personnel in the financial services industry is intense and we cannot assure you that we will be able to hire or retain a sufficient number of qualified personnel to meet our requirements, or that we will be able to do so at salary, benefit and other compensation costs that are acceptable to us or that would allow us to achieve operating results consistent with our historical results. A loss of qualified employees, or an inability to attract, retain and motivate additional highly skilled employees in the future, could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We could lose significant sources of revenues if we were to lose access to an important exchange or other trading venue.

          Changes in applicable laws, regulations or rules promulgated by exchanges could conceivably prevent us from providing liquidity to an exchange or other trading venue where we provide liquidity today. Though our revenues are diversified across exchanges and other trading venues, asset classes and geographies, the loss of access to one or more significant exchanges and other trading venues for any reason could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.


Table of Contents

Risks Related to Our Organization and Structure

We are a holding company and our principal asset after completion of this offering will be our 23.4% equity interestsinterest in Virtu Financial, and we are accordingly dependent upon distributions from Virtu Financial to pay dividends, if any, taxes and other expenses.

          We are a holding company and, upon completion of the reorganization transactions and this offering, our principal asset will be our direct and indirect ownership of 23.4% of the outstanding Virtu Financial Units. See "Organizational Structure." We have no independent means of generating revenue. As the sole managing member of Virtu Financial, we intend to cause Virtu Financial to make distributions to its equityholders, including the Founder Post-IPO Member, the Silver Lake Post-IPO Members, the Management Vehicles,Virtu Employee Holdco, the Management Members and us, in amounts sufficient to fund dividends to our stockholders in accordance with our dividend policy and, as further described below, to cover all applicable taxes payable by us and any payments we are obligated to make under the tax receivable agreements we intend to enter into as part of the reorganization transactions, but we are limited in our ability to cause Virtu Financial to make these and other distributions to us (including


Table of Contents

for purposes of paying corporate and other overhead expenses and dividends) under our credit agreement. In addition, certain laws and regulations may result in restrictions on Virtu Financial's ability to make distributions to its equityholders (including us), or the ability of its subsidiaries to make distributions to it. These include:

          To the extent that we need funds and Virtu Financial is restricted from making such distributions to us, under applicable law or regulation, as a result of covenants in our credit agreement or otherwise, we may not be able to obtain such funds on terms acceptable to us or at all and as a result could suffer a material adverse effect on our liquidity and financial condition.

          Following the consummation of this offering, before any other distributions are made to us and the Virtu Post-IPO Members by Virtu Financial, Virtu Financial will distribute to certain Virtu Pre-IPO Members as of immediatelya record date prior to the commencement of the reorganization transactions, pro rata in accordance with their respective interests in classes of equity entitled to participate in operating cash flow distributions, operating cash flow of Virtu Financial and its subsidiaries for the fiscal period beginning on January 1, 2015 and ending on the date of the consummation of the reorganization transactions, less any reserves established during this period and less any operating cash flow for this period previously distributed to such Virtu Pre-IPO Members. We expect this distribution to be for an aggregate amount of approximately $             and towill be funded from cash on hand. See "Dividend Policy."

          Under the SecondThird Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of Virtu Financial (the "Amended and Restated Virtu Financial LLC Agreement"), we expect Virtu Financial from time to time to make pro rata distributions in cash to its equityholders, including the Founder Post-IPO Member, the Silver Lake Post-IPO Members, the Management Vehicles, the Management MembersVirtu Employee Holdco and us, in amounts sufficient to cover the taxes on their allocable share of the taxable income of Virtu Financial. As a result of (i) potential differences in the amount of net taxable income allocable to us and to Virtu Financial's other equityholders, (ii) the lower tax rate applicable to corporations than individuals and (iii) the favorable tax benefits that we anticipate from (a) the exchange of Virtu Financial Units and corresponding shares of Class C common stock or Class D


Table of Contents

common stock, (b) payments under the tax receivable agreements and (c) future deductions attributable to the prior acquisition of interests in Virtu Financial by an affiliate of Silver Lake Partners and Temasek, and the Temasek Pre-IPO Member, we expect that these tax distributions will be in amounts that exceed our tax liabilities. Our board of directors will determine the appropriate uses for any excess cash so accumulated, which may include, among other uses, the payment of obligations under the tax receivable agreements and the payment of other expenses. We will have no obligation to distribute such cash (or other available cash) to our shareholders. No adjustments to the exchange ratio for Virtu Financial Units and corresponding shares of common stock will be made as a result of any cash distribution by us or any retention of cash by us, and in any event the ratio will remain one-to-one.

We are controlled by the Founder Post-IPO Member, whose interests in our business may be different than yours, and certain statutory provisions afforded to stockholders are not applicable to us.

          Based on an assumed initial public offering price of $$18.00 per share (the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus), the Founder


Table of Contents

Post-IPO Member will control approximately %93.4% of the combined voting power of our common stock (or %93.2% if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full) after the completion of this offering and the application of the net proceeds from this offering as a result of its ownership of our Class D common stock, each share of which is entitled to 10 votes on all matters submitted to a vote of our stockholders.

          The Founder Post-IPO Member will have the ability to substantially control our Company, including the ability to control any action requiring the general approval of our stockholders, including the election of our board of directors, the adoption of amendments to our certificate of incorporation and by-laws and the approval of any merger or sale of substantially all of our assets. This concentration of ownership and voting power may also delay, defer or even prevent an acquisition by a third party or other change of control of our Company and may make some transactions more difficult or impossible without the support of the Founder Post-IPO Member, even if such events are in the best interests of minority stockholders. This concentration of voting power with the Founder Post-IPO Member may have a negative impact on the price of our Class A common stock. In addition, because shares of our Class B common stock and Class D common stock each have 10 votes per share on matters submitted to a vote of our stockholders, the Founder Post-IPO Member will be able to control our Company as long as it owns at least 25% of our issued and outstanding common stock.

          The Founder Post-IPO Member's interests may not be fully aligned with yours, which could lead to actions that are not in your best interest. Because the Founder Post-IPO Member holds part of its economic interest in our business through Virtu Financial, rather than through the public company, it may have conflicting interests with holders of shares of our Class A common stock. For example, the Founder Post-IPO Member may have a different tax positionsposition from us, which could influence its decisions regarding whether and when we should dispose of assets or incur new or refinance existing indebtedness, especially in light of the existence of the tax receivable agreements that we will enter into in connection with this offering, and whether and when we should undergo certain changes of control within the meaning of the tax receivable agreements or terminate the tax receivable agreements. In addition, the structuring of future transactions may take into consideration these tax or other considerations even where no similar benefit would accrue to us. See "Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Tax Receivable Agreements." In addition, pursuant to the Exchange Agreement described under "Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Exchange Agreement," the holders of Virtu Financial Units and shares of our Class C common stock or Class D common stock will not be required to participate in a proposed


Table of Contents

sale of our Company that is tax-free for our stockholders unless the transaction is also tax-free for such holders of Virtu Financial Units and shares of our Class C common stock or Class D common stock. This requirement could limit structural alternatives available to us in any such proposed transaction and could have the effect of discouraging transactions that might benefit you as a holder of shares of our Class A common stock. See "Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Exchange Agreement." In addition, the Founder Post-IPO Member's significant ownership in us and resulting ability to effectively control us may discourage someone from making a significant equity investment in us, or could discourage transactions involving a change in control, including transactions in which you as a holder of shares of our Class A common stock might otherwise receive a premium for your shares over the then-current market price.

          We have opted out of Section 203 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the "Delaware General Corporation Law"), which prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a business combination transaction with an interested stockholder for a period of three years after the interested stockholder became such unless the transaction fits within an applicable exemption, such as board approval of the business combination or the transaction which resulted in such stockholder becoming an interested stockholder. Therefore, after the 180 day180-day lock-up period expires, the Founder Post-IPO Member will be able to transfer control of us to a third party by transferring its shares of our common stock (subject to certain restrictions and limitations), which would not require the approval of our board of directors or our other stockholders.

          Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the doctrine of "corporate opportunity" will not apply against the Founder Post-IPO Member, Mr. Viola, the Silver Lake Equityholders, the Temasek Post-IPO Stockholder, any of our non-employee directors or any of their respective affiliates in a manner that would prohibit them from investing in competing businesses or doing business with our clients or customers. In addition, subject to the restrictions on competitive activities described below, Mr. Cifu will be permitted to become engaged in, or


Table of Contents

provide services to, any other business or activity in which Mr. Viola is currently engaged or permitted to become engaged, to the extent that Mr. Cifu's level of participation in such businesses or activities is consistent with his current participation in such businesses and activities. The Amended and Restated Virtu Financial LLC Agreement will provide that Mr. Viola, in addition to our other executive officers and our employees that are Virtu Post-IPO Members, including Messrs.Mr. Cifu, and Concannon, may not directly or indirectly engage in certain competitive activities until the third anniversary of the date on which such person ceases to be employed by us.an officer, director or employee of ours. The Silver Lake Equityholders, the Temasek Post-IPO Stockholder and our non-employee directors are not subject to any such restriction. See "Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Amended and Restated Virtu Financial Limited Liability Company Agreement." To the extent that the Founder Post-IPO Member, Mr. Viola, the Silver Lake Equityholders, the Temasek Post-IPO Stockholder, our non-employee directors or any of their respective affiliates invests in other businesses, they may have differing interests than our other stockholders. Messrs. Viola and Cifu have business relationships outside of our business. See "Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Other Transactions."

          For additional information regarding the share ownership of, and our relationship with, the Founder Post-IPO Member, and the Silver Lake Equityholders and the Temasek Post-IPO Stockholder, you should read the information under the headings "Principal Stockholders" and "Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions."

We have a substantial amount of indebtedness, which could negatively impact our business and financial condition.

          As of February 28,December 31, 2014, we had an aggregate of $510$502.7 million outstanding indebtedness under our senior secured credit facility. If we cannot generate sufficient cash flow from operations to service our debt, we may need to refinance our debt, dispose of assets or issue equity to obtain


Table of Contents

necessary funds. We do not know whether we will be able to take any of such actions on a timely basis, on terms satisfactory to us or at all.

          Our substantial amount of indebtedness could limit our ability to obtain necessary additional financing for working capital, capital expenditures or other purposes in the future, plan for or react to changes in our business and the industries in which we operate, make future acquisitions or pursue other business opportunities and react in an extended economic downturn.

          Despite our substantial indebtedness, we may still be able to incur significantly more debt. The incurrence of additional debt could increase the risks associated with our substantial leverage, including our ability to service our indebtedness. In addition, because borrowings under our senior secured credit facility bear interest at a variable rate, our interest expense could increase, exacerbating these risks. For instance, assuming an aggregate principal balance of $510$502.7 million outstanding under our senior secured credit facility, which was the amount outstanding as of February 28,December 31, 2014, a 1% increase in the interest rate we are charged on our debt would increase our annual interest expense by $5.1$5.03 million.

          In addition, the covenants in our credit agreement may negatively impact our ability to finance future operations or capital needs or to engage in other business activities. Our credit agreement requires us to maintain specified financial ratios and tests, including interest coverage and total leverage ratios, which may require us to take action to reduce our debt or to act in a manner contrary to our business objectives. Our credit agreement also restricts our ability to, among other things, incur additional indebtedness, dispose of assets, guarantee debt obligations, repay other indebtedness, pay dividends, pledge assets, make investments, including in certain of our operating subsidiaries, make acquisitions or consummate mergers or consolidations and engage in certain transactions with subsidiaries and affiliates.


Table of Contents

          A failure to comply with the restrictions contained in our credit agreement could lead to an event of default, which could result in an acceleration of our indebtedness. Our future operating results may not be sufficient to enable compliance with the covenants in our credit agreement or to remedy such a default. In addition, in the event of an acceleration, we may not have or be able to obtain sufficient funds to refinance our indebtedness or to make any accelerated payments. Even if we were able to obtain new financing, we would not be able to guarantee that the new financing would be on commercially reasonable terms. If we default on our indebtedness, our business, financial condition and results of operation could suffer a material adverse effect.

We will be exempt from certain corporate governance requirements since we will be a "controlled company" within the meaning of the NASDAQ rules, and as a result our stockholders will not have the protections afforded by these corporate governance requirements.

          The Founder Post-IPO Member will continue to control more than 50% of our combined voting power upon the completion of this offering. As a result, we will be considered a "controlled company" for the purposes of NASDAQ rules and corporate governance standards, and therefore we will be permitted to, and we intend to, elect not to comply with certain NASDAQ corporate governance requirements, including those that would otherwise require our board of directors to have a majority of independent directors and require that we either establish a Compensation and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees, each comprised entirely of independent directors, or otherwise ensure that the compensation of our executive officers and nominees for directors are determined or recommended to the board of directors by the independent members of the board of directors. Accordingly, holders of our Class A common stock will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the NASDAQ rules and corporate governance standards, and the ability of our independent directors to influence our business policies and affairs may be reduced. See "Management — Controlled Company."


Table of Contents

We will be required to pay the Virtu Post-IPO Members and the Silver LakeInvestor Post-IPO StockholderStockholders for certain tax benefits we may claim, and the amounts we may pay could be significant.

          In connection with the reorganization transactions, we will acquire equity interests in Virtu Financial from thean affiliate of Silver Lake Post-IPO Stockholder.Partners and Temasek, and the Temasek Pre-IPO Member in the Mergers. In addition, as described under "Use of Proceeds," we intend to use a portion of the net proceeds from this offering to repurchase (i) Class A common stock from the Silver Lake Post-IPO Stockholder and (ii)purchase Virtu Financial Units and corresponding shares of Class C common stock from certain Virtu Post-IPO Members, including the Silver Lake Post-IPO Members, and certain members of management.employees. These acquisitions of interests in Virtu Financial will result in favorable tax basis adjustments to the assets of Virtu Financial and these basis adjustmentsthat will be allocated to us and our subsidiaries. In addition, future exchanges by the Virtu Post-IPO Members of Virtu Financial Units and corresponding shares of Class C common stock or Class D common stock, as the case may be, for shares of our Class A common stock or Class B common stock, respectively, are expected to produce favorable tax attributes. These tax attributes would not be available to us in the absence of those transactions. In addition, in connection with the reorganization transactions, we expect to succeed to future depreciation and amortization deductions attributable to the prior acquisition of interests in Virtu Financial by an affiliate of Silver Lake Partners. Both the existing and anticipated tax basis adjustments are expected to reduce the amount of tax that we would otherwise be required to pay in the future.

          We intend to enter into three tax receivable agreements with the Virtu Post-IPO Members and the Silver LakeInvestor Post-IPO StockholderStockholders (one with the Founder Post-IPO Member, the Management Vehicles, the Management MembersVirtu Employee Holdco and other post-IPO investors, other than affiliates of Silver Lake Partners and affiliates of Temasek, another with the Silver LakeInvestor Post-IPO StockholderStockholders and the other with the Silver Lake


Table of Contents

Post-IPO Members) that will provide for the payment by us to the Virtu Post-IPO Members and the Silver LakeInvestor Post-IPO StockholderStockholders (or their transferees of Virtu Financial Units or other assignees) of 85% of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that we actually realize as a result of (i) any increase in tax basis in Virtu Financial's assets resulting from (a) the acquisition of equity interests in Virtu Financial from an affiliate of Silver Lake Partners and Temasek, and the Temasek Pre-IPO Member in the reorganization transactions (which represents the unamortized portion of the increase in tax basis in Virtu Financial's assets resulting from a prior acquisition of interests in Virtu Financial by an affiliate of Silver Lake Partners and Temasek, and the Temasek Pre-IPO Member), (b) the purchases of Virtu Financial Units (along with the corresponding shares of our Class C common stock or Class D common stock, as applicable) from certain of the Virtu Post-IPO Members using a portion of the net proceeds from this offering or in any future offering, (c) exchanges by the Virtu Post-IPO Members of Virtu Financial Units (along with the corresponding shares of our Class C common stock or Class D common stock, as applicable) for shares of our Class A common stock or Class B common stock, as applicable, or (d) payments under the tax receivable agreements, (ii) future depreciation and amortization deductions attributableany net operating losses available to us as a result of the prior acquisition of interests in Virtu Financial by an affiliate of Silver lake PartnersMergers and (iii) tax benefits related to imputed interest deemed arising as a result of payments made under the tax receivable agreements.

          The actual increase in tax basis, as well as the amount and timing of any payments under these tax receivable agreements, will vary depending upon a number of factors, including the timing of exchanges by the Virtu Post-IPO Members, the price of our Class A common stock at the time of the exchange, the extent to which such exchanges are taxable, the amount and timing of the taxable income we generate in the future and the tax rate then applicable and the portion of our payments under the tax receivable agreements constituting imputed interest.

          The payments we will be required to make under the tax receivable agreements could be substantial. We expect that, as a result of the amount of the increases in the tax basis of the tangible and intangible assets of Virtu Financial, assuming no material changes in the relevant tax law and that we earn sufficient taxable income to realize in full the potential tax benefits described above, future payments to the Virtu Post-IPO Members and the Silver LakeInvestor Post-IPO StockholderStockholders in respect of the purchases, the exchanges and the Mergers in connection with this offering will aggregate approximately $$175.7 million and range from approximately $$7.4 million to $             $12.9 million


Table of Contents

per year over the next 15 years (or $$179.9 million and range from approximately $$7.7 million to $$13.2 million per year over the next 15 years if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional Class A common stock). Future payments under the tax receivable agreements in respect of subsequent exchanges would be in addition to these amounts and are expected to be substantial. The payments under the tax receivable agreements are not conditioned upon the Virtu Post-IPO Members' or the Silver LakeInvestor Post-IPO Stockholder'sStockholders' continued ownership of us.

          In addition, although we are not aware of any issue that would cause the Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS") to challenge the tax basis increases or other benefits arising under the tax receivable agreements, the Virtu Post-IPO Members and the Silver LakeInvestor Post-IPO StockholderStockholders (or their transferees or other assignees) will not reimburse us for any payments previously made if such tax basis increases or other tax benefits are subsequently disallowed, except that any excess payments made to the Virtu Post-IPO Members and the Silver LakeInvestor Post-IPO StockholderStockholders will be netted against future payments otherwise to be made under the tax receivable agreements, if any, after our determination of such excess. As a result, in such circumstances we could make payments to the Virtu Post-IPO Members and the Silver LakeInvestor Post-IPO StockholderStockholders under the tax receivable agreements that are greater than our actual cash tax savings and may not be able to recoup those payments, which could negatively impact our liquidity.

          In addition, the tax receivable agreements provide that, upon certain mergers, asset sales or other forms of business combination, or certain other changes of control, our or our successor's obligations with respect to tax benefits would be based on certain assumptions, including that we or our successor would have sufficient taxable income to fully utilize the increased tax deductions


Table of Contents

and tax basis and other benefits covered by the tax receivable agreements. As a result, upon a change of control, we could be required to make payments under a tax receivable agreement that are greater than the specified percentage of our actual cash tax savings, which could negatively impact our liquidity.

          In addition, the tax receivable agreements will provide that in the case of a change in control of the Company, the Virtu Post-IPO Members and the Investor Post-IPO Stockholders will have the option to terminate the applicable tax receivable agreement, and we will be required to make a payment to such electing party in an amount equal to the present value of future payments (calculated using a discount rate equal to the lesser of 6.5% or LIBOR plus 100 basis points, which may differ from our, or a potential acquirer's, then-current cost of capital) under the tax receivable agreement, which payment would be based on certain assumptions, including those relating to our future taxable income. In these situations, our obligations under the tax receivable agreements could have a substantial negative impact on our, or a potential acquirer's, liquidity and could have the effect of delaying, deferring, modifying or preventing certain mergers, asset sales, other forms of business combinations or other changes of control. These provisions of the tax receivable agreements may result in situations where the Virtu Post-IPO Members and the Investor Post-IPO Stockholders have interests that differ from or are in addition to those of our other shareholders. In addition, we could be required to make payments under the tax receivable agreements that are substantial and in excess of our, or a potential acquirer's, actual cash savings in income tax.

          Finally, because we are a holding company with no operations of our own, our ability to make payments under the tax receivable agreements are dependent on the ability of our subsidiaries to make distributions to us. Our credit agreement restricts the ability of our subsidiaries to make distributions to us, which could affect our ability to make payments under the tax receivable agreements. To the extent that we are unable to make payments under the tax receivable agreements for any reason, such payments will be deferred and will accrue interest until paid, which could negatively impact our results of operations and could also affect our liquidity in periods in which such payments are made.


Table of Contents

Risks Related to this Offering and Our Class A Common Stock

Substantial future sales of shares of our Class A common stock in the public market could cause our stock price to fall.

          Upon the consummation of this offering, we will have 31,899,012 shares of Class A common stock (or 34,378,852 shares if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full) outstanding, excluding 9,223,000 shares of Class A common stock underlying outstanding stock options and restricted stock units and, based on an assumed initial public offering price of $$18.00 per share (the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus), and 104,610,072 shares of Class A common stock issuable upon potential exchanges and/or conversions. Of these shares, the 16,532,272 shares sold in this offering (or 19,012,112 shares if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full) will be freely tradable without further restriction under the Securities Act. Upon the completion of this offering, the remaining 119,976,812 outstanding shares of Class A common stock, including shares issuable upon exchange and/or conversion (or 119,421,256 shares if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full), will be deemed "restricted securities," as that term is defined under Rule 144 of the Securities Act. Immediately following the consummation of this offering, the holders of these remaining 119,976,812 shares of our Class A common stock, including shares issuable upon exchange or conversion as described above (or 119,421,256 shares if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full) will be entitled to dispose of their shares following the expiration of an initial 180-day underwriter "lock-up" period pursuant to (i) the applicable holding period, volume and other restrictions of Rule 144 or (ii) another exemption from registration under the Securities Act. See "Shares Available for Future Sale."

          We intend to file a registration statement under the Securities Act registering 12,000,000 shares of our Class A common stock and                          shares of our Class B common stock reserved for issuance under our 20142015 Management Incentive Plan, and we will enter into the Registration Rights Agreement pursuant to which we will grant demand and piggyback registration rights to the Founder Post-IPO Member, and the Silver Lake Equityholders and the Temasek Post-IPO Stockholder and piggyback registration rights to certain of the other Virtu Post-IPO Members. See "Shares Available for Future Sale" for a more detailed description of the shares that will be available for future sale upon completion of this offering.


Table of Contents

Failure to establish and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and stock price.

          Maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting is necessary for us to produce reliable financial reports and is important in helping to prevent financial fraud. If we are unable to maintain adequate internal controls, our business and operating results could be harmed. We have begun to evaluate how to document and test our internal control procedures to satisfy the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 ("Sarbanes-Oxley") and the related rules of the SEC, which require, among other things, our management to assess annually the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and, if we are no longer an emerging growth company under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the "JOBS Act"), our independent registered public accounting firm to issue a report on that assessment beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2015.2016. During the course of this documentation and testing, we may identify weaknesses or deficiencies that we may be unable to remedy before the requisite deadline for those reports. In connection with the audit of our consolidated financial statements forFor the year ended December 31, 2013, we and our independent registered public accounting firm identified a material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting. This material weakness related to our inability to prepare accurate financial statements, resulting from a lack of reconciliations, a lack of detailed review and


Table of Contents

insufficient resources and level of technical accounting expertise within the accounting function. AlthoughTo address this material weakness, we have hired senior accounting and finance employees, reallocated existing internal resources and retained third-party consultants to help enhance our internal controls over financial reporting following reviews of our accounting and finance function conducted by members of senior management and by a third-party consultant,consultant. Although no material weakness was identified for the year ended December 31, 2014, there can be no assurance that we will remediate this material weakness or avoid future weaknesses or deficiencies. Any failure to remediate this material weakness and any future weaknesses or deficiencies or any failure to implement required new or improved controls or difficulties encountered in their implementation could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations or result in material misstatements in our financial statements. If our management or our independent registered public accounting firm were to conclude in their reports that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective, investors could lose confidence in our reported financial information, and the trading price of our Class A common stock could drop significantly. Failure to comply with Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley could potentially subject us to sanctions or investigations by the SEC, FINRA or other regulatory authorities, as well as increasing the risk of liability arising from litigation based on securities law.

We intend to pay regular dividends to our stockholders, but our ability to do so may be limited by our holding company structure, contractual restrictions and regulatory requirements.

          After the consummation of this offering, we intend to pay cash dividends on a quarterly basis. See "Dividend Policy." However, we are a holding company, with our principal asset after the consummation of this offering being our direct and indirect equity interests in Virtu Financial, and we will have no independent means of generating revenue. Accordingly, as the sole managing member of Virtu Financial, we intend to cause, and will rely on, Virtu Financial to make distributions to its equityholders, including the Founder Post-IPO Member, the Silver Lake Post-IPO Members, the Management Vehicles, the Management MembersVirtu Employee Holdco and us, to fund our dividends. When Virtu Financial makes such distributions, the other equityholders of Virtu Financial will be entitled to receive equivalent distributions pro rata based on their economic interests in Virtu Financial. See "Organizational Structure." In order for Virtu Financial to make distributions, it may need to receive distributions from its subsidiaries. Certain of these subsidiaries are or may in the future be subject to regulatory capital requirements that limit the size or frequency of distributions. See " — Risks Related to Our Business — Failure to comply with applicable regulatory capital requirements could


Table of Contents

subject us to sanctions imposed by the SEC, FINRA and other SROs or regulatory bodies." If Virtu Financial is unable to cause these subsidiaries to make distributions, we may not receive adequate distributions from Virtu Financial in order to fund our dividends.

          Our board of directors will periodically review the cash generated from our business and the capital expenditures required to finance our global growth plans and determine whether to modify the amount of regular dividends and/or declare periodic special dividends to our stockholders. Our board of directors will take into account general economic and business conditions, including our financial condition and results of operations, capital requirements, contractual restrictions, including restrictions contained in our credit agreement, business prospects and other factors that our board of directors considers relevant. There can be no assurance that our board of directors will not reduce the amount of regular cash dividends or cause us to cease paying dividends altogether. In addition, our credit agreement limits the amount of distributions our subsidiaries, including Virtu Financial, can make to us and the purposes for which distributions could be made. Accordingly, we may not be able to pay dividends even if our board of directors would otherwise deem it appropriate. See "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources" and "Description of Capital Stock."


Table of Contents

Provisions in our charter documents and certain rules imposed by regulatory authorities may delay or prevent our acquisition by a third party.

          Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and by-laws will contain several provisions that may make it more difficult or expensive for a third party to acquire control of us without the approval of our board of directors. These provisions, which may delay, prevent or deter a merger, acquisition, tender offer, proxy contest or other transaction that stockholders may consider favorable, include the following, some of which may only become effective when the Founder Post-IPO Member or any of its affiliates or permitted transferees no longer beneficially own shares representing 25% of our issued and outstanding common stock (the "Triggering Event"):


Table of Contents

          These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and by-laws could discourage potential takeover attempts and reduce the price that investors might be willing to pay for shares of our Class A common stock in the future, which could reduce the market price of our Class A common stock. For more information, see "Description of Capital Stock."

          In addition, a third party attempting to acquire us or a substantial position in our Class A common stock may be delayed or ultimately prevented from doing so by change in ownership or control regulations to which certain of our regulated subsidiaries are subject. FINRA's NASD Rule 1017 generally provides that FINRA approval must be obtained in connection with any transaction resulting in a single person or entity owning, directly or indirectly, 25% or more of a member firm's equity and would include a change in control of a parent company. Similarly, Virtu Financial Ireland Limited is subject to change in control regulations promulgated by the Central Bank of Ireland. We may also be subject to similar restrictions in other jurisdictions in which we operate. These regulations could discourage potential takeover attempts and reduce the price that investors might be willing to pay for shares of our Class A common stock in the future, which could reduce the market price of our Class A common stock.


Table of Contents

Our stock price may be volatile, and you may be unable to resell your shares at or above the offering price or at all.

          Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our Class A common stock, and an active trading market may not develop or be sustained upon the completion of this offering. The initial public offering price of the Class A common stock offered hereby was determined through our negotiations with the underwriters and may not be indicative of the market price of the Class A common stock after this offering. The market price of our Class A common stock after this offering will be subject to significant fluctuations in response to, among other factors, variations in our operating results and market conditions specific to our business.

          Furthermore, in recent years the stock market has experienced significant price and volume fluctuations. This volatility has had a significant impact on the market price of securities issued by many companies, including companies in our industry. The changes frequently appear to occur without regard to the operating performance of the affected companies. As such, the price of our Class A common stock could fluctuate based upon factors that have little or nothing to do with us, and these fluctuations could materially reduce the price of our Class A common stock and materially affect the value of your investment.

Because the initial public offering price per share of Class A common stock is substantially higher than our book value per share, purchasers in this offering will immediately experience a substantial dilution in net tangible book value.

          Purchasers of our Class A common stock will experience immediate and substantial dilution in net tangible book value per share from the initial public offering price per share. After giving effect to the reorganization transactions, our entry into the tax receivable agreements, the sale of the 16,532,272 shares of Class A common stock we have offered hereby (after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us) and the application of the net proceeds therefrom, our pro forma net tangible book value as of December 31, 2013,2014, would have been $a deficit of $400.4 million, or $$(2.93) per share of Class A common stock and Class B common stock (assuming that the Virtu Post-IPO Members exchange all of their Virtu Financial Units (andand corresponding shares of Class C common stock or Class D common stock, as applicable)applicable, for shares of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock, as applicable, on a one-for-one basis). This value represents an immediate dilution in net tangible book value of $$20.93 per share to new investors purchasing shares of our Class A common stock in this offering. A calculation of the dilution purchasers will incur is provided below under "Dilution."

After the completion of this offering and giving effect to the use of the net proceeds from the offering, we will only have a limited amount of remaining IPO proceeds available for our use, which may limit our ability to grow our business through acquisitions or other strategic investments.

          After the completion of this offering and giving effect to the use of the net proceeds from the offering (including acquiring shares of Class A common stock from the Silver Lake Post-IPO Stockholder and Virtu Financial Units and corresponding shares of Class C common stock from certain of the Virtu Post-IPO Members), we will only have $23.3 million of the remaining net proceeds from the IPO (or $55.5 million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full) available for our working capital and general corporate purposes. This may limit our ability to finance our growth through strategic acquisitions requiring cash, including the acquisition of, or the investment in, businesses, products, services or technologies that are complementary to our current business. To the extent that we do not have enough capital to fund any such acquisition or investment, we may need to raise additional debt or equity capital. The terms of any debt or equity financing transaction will depend on market conditions, our business


Table of Contents

and financial condition and other factors. There can be no assurance that we will be able to complete a debt or equity financing or that any such financing will be on terms favorable to us and our stockholders.

We will incur increased costs as a result of being a public company.

          As a public company, we will incur significant levels of legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a privately-owned corporation. Sarbanes-Oxley and related rules of the SEC, together with the listing requirements of NASDAQ, impose significant requirements relating to disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. We expect that compliance with these public company requirements will increase our costs, require additional resources and make some activities more time consuming than they have been in the past when we were privately owned. We will be required to expend considerable time and resources complying with public company regulations. In addition, these laws and regulations could make it more difficult or costly for us to obtain certain types of insurance, including director and officer liability insurance, and we may be forced to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. In addition, these laws and regulations could make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors or as executive officers and may divert management's attention. Furthermore, if we are unable to satisfy our obligations as a public company, we could be subject to delisting of our Class A common stock, fines, sanctions and other regulatory action.

Our anticipated reliance on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements under the JOBS Act may deter trading in our Class A common stock.

          We qualify as an "emerging growth company" under the JOBS Act. As a result, we are permitted to, and intend to, rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements. For so long as we are an emerging growth company, we will not be required to:

          In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an emerging growth company can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected not to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.

          We will remain an "emerging growth company" for up to five years, or until the earliest of (i) the last day of the first fiscal year in which our total annual gross revenues exceed $1 billion, (ii) the date that we become a "large accelerated filer" as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the


Table of Contents

Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), which would occur if the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter or (iii) the date on which we have issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt during the preceding three-year period.


Table of Contents

          Until such time, however, we cannot predict if investors will find our Class A common stock less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our Class A common stock less attractive, there may be a less active trading market for our Class A common stock and our stock price may be more volatile.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about us or our business, or publish projections for our business that exceed our actual results, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

          The trading market for our Class A common stock may be affected by the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. We do not currently have, and may never obtain, research coverage by securities and industry analysts. If no securities or industry analysts commence coverage of our Company, the trading price for our Class A common stock and the trading volume could decline. In the event we obtain securities or industry analyst coverage, if one or more of the analysts who covers us downgrades our Class A common stock or publishes inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price could decline. In addition, if we obtain analyst coverage, the analysts' projections may have little or no relationship to the results we actually achieve and could cause our stock price to decline if we fail to meet their projections. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of us or fails to publish reports on us regularly, our stock price or trading volume could decline.

We have broad discretion over the use of the net proceeds from this offering and may not use them effectively.

          Our management will have broad discretion over the application of a portion of the net proceeds from this offering and could spend such net proceeds in ways that do not improve our financial condition or results of operations, or enhance the value of our Class A common stock. The failure by our management to apply these funds effectively could result in financial losses and cause the price of our Class A common stock to decline. Pending their use, we may invest such net proceeds in a manner that does not produce income or that loses value.


Table of Contents


FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

          This prospectus contains forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because they are subject to numerous uncertainties and factors relating to our operations and business environment, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control. Forward-looking statements include information concerning our possible or assumed future results of operations, including descriptions of our business strategy. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms "may," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate," "project" or, in each case, their negative, or other variations or comparable terminology and expressions. These statements are based on assumptions that we have made in light of our experience in the industry as well as our perceptions of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors we believe are appropriate under the circumstances. As you read and consider this prospectus, you should understand that these statements are not guarantees of performance or results and that our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the industry in which we operate, may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. Although we believe that the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus are based on reasonable assumptions, you should be aware that many factors could affect our actual financial results or results of operations and could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to:


Table of Contents


Table of Contents

          These and other factors are more fully discussed in the "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" sections and elsewhere in this prospectus. These risks could cause actual results to differ materially from those implied by forward-looking statements in this prospectus. Even if our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity and the development of the industry in which we operate are consistent with the forward looking statements contained in this prospectus, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods.

          All information contained in this prospectus is materially accurate and complete as of the date of this prospectus. You should keep in mind, however, that any forward-looking statement made by us in this prospectus, or elsewhere, speaks only as of the date on which we make it. New risks and uncertainties come up from time to time, and it is impossible for us to predict these events or how they may affect us. We have no obligation to update any forward-looking statements in this prospectus after the date of this prospectus, except as required by federal securities laws. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements concerning the proposed transaction or other matters and attributable to us or any other person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to within this prospectus. In light of these risks and uncertainties, you should keep in mind that any event described in a forward-looking statement made in this prospectus or elsewhere might not occur.


Table of Contents


ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

Structure Prior to the Reorganization Transactions

          We and our predecessors have been in the electronic trading and market making business for approximately 12 years. We currently conduct our business through Virtu Financial and its subsidiaries. Mr. Viola, our Founder and Executive Chairman, is the sole manager of Virtu Financial.

          Prior to the commencement of the reorganization transactions, Virtu Financial had limited liability company interests outstanding in the form of Class A-1 interests, Class A-2 interests and Class B interests. Class A-2 interests included both Class A-2 capital interests and Class A-2 profits interests.

          The following diagram depicts Virtu Financial's organizational structure prior to the reorganization transactions. This chart is provided for illustrative purposes only and does not purport to represent all legal entities within Virtu Financial's organizational structure.

GRAPHICGRAPHIC

Class A Interests

          Prior to the commencement of the reorganization transactions, the Class A-1 interests, Class A-2 capital interests and Class A-2 profits interests were owned as follows:


Table of Contents


Table of Contents

          In a sale or other specified capital transaction, holders of Class A-1 interests are entitled to receive distributions up to specified preference amounts before holders of Class A-2 capital interests are entitled to receive distributions.

          The Class A-2 profits interests are treated similarly to the Class A-2 capital interests, except that they are not entitled to receive any distributions resulting from a transaction that implies a liquidation value of Virtu Financial that is less than the liquidation value of Virtu Financial on their date of grant. Certain of the Class A-2 profits interests vest over specified time periods, subject to the continued service of the applicable employee or director on each annual vesting date.

Class B Interests

          Prior to the commencement of the reorganization transactions, Virtu Financial also had limited liability company interests outstanding in the form of Class B interests, which represent, in a sale or other specified capital transaction, a percentage of the profits and appreciation in the equity value of Virtu Financial arising after the date of grant (such percentage of profits and appreciation, a "Class B percentage interest"). The Class B interests were issued directly to, and are currently held by, Virtu Employee Holdco, on behalf of certain members of the management of Virtu Financial that participate in the Virtu Financial LLC Management Incentive Plan (the "Existing Equity Incentive Plan"), and two of our executive officers. The Class B interests vest over a four-year period, subject to (i) the direct or indirect recipient's continued employment on each annual vesting date and (ii) the consummation of a sale transaction meeting specified criteria or an initial public offering. We expect this offering to meet the vesting criteria for an initial public offering. Prior to the commencement of the reorganization transactions, Virtu Financial had outstanding Class B interests representing an aggregate 13.715%12.915% Class B percentage interest. Class B interests are not entitled to receive distributions of operating cash flow from Virtu Financial.

The Temasek Transaction

          On December 31, 2014, through a series of transactions, Temasek, acting through two indirect wholly owned subsidiaries, acquired direct or indirect ownership of 10,535,891 Class A-1 redeemable interests and 1,828,755 Class A-2 capital interests in Virtu Financial (the "Temasek Transaction"). Such investment was made as follows:


Table of Contents

          Following the Temasek Transaction, affiliates of Silver Lake Partners retained direct or indirect ownership of 14,464,109 Class A-1 redeemable interests.

The Reorganization Transactions

          Prior to the completion of this offering, we intend to commence an internal reorganization, which we refer to as the "reorganization transactions." In connection with the reorganization transactions, the following steps will occur:


Table of Contents


Table of Contents

Class of Common Stock
 Votes Economic Rights

Class A common stock

  1 Yes

Class B common stock

  10 Yes

Class C common stock

  1 No

Class D common stock

  10 No

          Shares of our common stock will generally vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of our stockholders;


Table of Contents


Table of Class B interests of Virtu East MIP, such common units of Virtu Employee Holdco and (B) to the holders of Class A interests of Virtu East MIP, including the Founder Post-IPO Member and Messrs. Cifu and Concannon, any Virtu Financial Units and corresponding shares of Class C common stock held by Virtu East MIP on behalf of employees that forfeited their Class B interests in Virtu East MIP. In addition, we will cancel any shares of Class C common stock distributed by Virtu East MIP to the Founder Post-IPO Member as described above and issue to the Founder Post-IPO Member a number of shares of Class D common stock equal to the number of shares of Class C common stock so cancelled.Contents

          We have not engaged in any business or other activities except in connection with the reorganization transactions and have no material assets. Following this offering, Virtu Financial and its subsidiaries will continue to operate the historical business of our Company.

Effect of the Reorganization Transactions and this Offering

          The reorganization transactions are intended to create a holding company that will facilitate public ownership of, and investment in, our Company and are structured in a tax-efficient manner for our investors. Because we will manage and operate the business and control the strategic decisions and day-to-day operations of Virtu Financial, as its sole managing member, and will also have a substantial financial interest in Virtu Financial, we will consolidate the financial results of Virtu Financial, and a portion of our net income (loss) will be allocated to the non-controlling interest to reflect the entitlement of the Virtu Post-IPO Members to a portion of Virtu Financial's net income


Table of Contents

(loss). In addition, because Virtu Financial will be under the common control of Mr. Viola and his affiliates before and after the reorganization transactions, we will account for the reorganization transactions as a reorganization of entities under common control and will initially measure the interests of the Virtu Pre-IPO Members in the assets and liabilities of Virtu Financial at their carrying amounts as of the date of the completion of this reorganization transactions.

          Certain Virtu Pre-IPO Members desire that their investment in us maintain its existing tax treatment as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, therefore, will continue to hold their ownership interests in Virtu Financial until such time in the future as they may elect to exchange their Virtu Financial Units (andand corresponding shares of our Class C common stock or Class D common stock, as applicable)applicable, with Virtu Financial for shares of our Class A common stock or Class B common stock, as applicable, on a one-for-one basis.

          After the completion of this offering, based on an assumed initial public offering price of $$18.00 per share (the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus), we intend to use the net proceeds from this offering as follows:


Table of Contents

          We estimate that the offering expenses (other than the underwriting discounts) will be approximately $10.2 million. All of such offering expenses will be paid for or otherwise borne by Virtu Financial.

          See "Use of Proceeds" and "Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Purchases from Equityholders" for further details.

          The following diagram depicts our organizational structure following the reorganization transactions, this offering and the application of the net proceeds from this offering, including all of the transactions described above (assuming an initial public offering price of $$18.00 per share (the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus) and no exercise of the underwriters' option to purchase additional shares). This chart is provided for illustrative purposes only and does not purport to represent all legal entities within our organizational structure:


Table of Contents

GRAPHICGRAPHIC


*
ExcludesIncludes 3,150,057 unvested Virtu Financial Units and corresponding shares of Class C common stock.
**
Represents economic interest in Virtu Financial, Inc. and not Virtu Financial LLC.

Table of Contents

          Based on an assumed initial public offering price of $$18.00 per share (the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus), upon completion of the transactions described above, this offering and the application of the net proceeds from this offering:


Table of Contents


Table of Contents

Holding Company Structure and Tax Receivable Agreements

          We are a holding company, and immediately after the consummation of the reorganization transactions and this offering our principal asset will be our ownership interests in Virtu Financial, which we will hold directly and indirectly. The number of Virtu Financial Units we will own, directly or indirectly, at any time will equal the aggregate number of outstanding shares of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock. The economic interest represented by each Virtu Financial Unit that we own will correspond to one share of our Class A common stock or Class B common stock, and the total number of Virtu Financial Units owned directly or indirectly by us and the holders of our Class C common stock and Class D common stock at any given time will equal the sum of the outstanding shares of all classes of our common stock. Shares of our Class C common stock and Class D common stock cannot be transferred except in connection with a transfer or exchange of Virtu Financial Units.

          We do not intend to list our Class B common stock, Class C common stock or Class D common stock on any stock exchange.

          In connection with the reorganization transactions, we will acquire existing equity interests in Virtu Financial from an affiliate of Silver Lake CorpPartners and Temasek, and the Temasek Pre-IPO Member in the Mergers in exchange for the issuance of shares of our Class A common stock and rights to receive payments under a tax receivable agreement to the Silver LakeInvestor Post-IPO Stockholder.Stockholders. In addition, as described above, we intend to use a portion of the net proceeds from this offering to repurchase (i) Class A common stock from the Silver Lake Post-IPO Stockholder and (ii)purchase Virtu Financial Units and corresponding shares of Class C common stock from certain Virtu Post-IPO Members, including the Silver Lake Post-IPO Members, and certain members of management. These acquisitions of interests in Virtu Financial will result in favorable tax basis adjustments to the assets of Virtu


Table of Contents

Financial, and these basis adjustments will be allocated to us and our subsidiaries. In addition, future exchanges by the Virtu Post-IPO Members of Virtu Financial Units and corresponding shares of Class C common stock or Class D common stock, as the case may be, for shares of our Class A common stock or Class B common stock, respectively, are expected to produce favorable tax attributes. These tax attributes would not be available to us in the absence of those transactions. In addition, in connection with the reorganization transactions, we expect to succeed to future depreciation and amortization deductions attributable to the prior acquisition of interests in Virtu Financial by an affiliate of Silver Lake Partners.

          We intend to enter into three tax receivable agreements with the Virtu Post-IPO Members and the Silver LakeInvestor Post-IPO StockholderStockholders (one with the Founder Post-IPO Member, the Management Vehicles,Virtu Employee Holdco, the Management Members and other pre-IPO investors other than affiliates of Silver Lake Partners and affiliates of Temasek, another with the Silver LakeInvestor Post-IPO StockholderStockholders and the other with the Silver Lake Post-IPO Members) that will provide for the payment by us to the Virtu Post-IPO Members and the Silver LakeInvestor Post-IPO StockholderStockholders (or their transferees of Virtu Financial Units or other assignees) of 85% of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that we actually realize as a result of (i) any increase in tax basis in Virtu Financial's assets resulting from (a) the acquisition of equity interests in Virtu Financial from an


Table of Contents

affiliate of Silver Lake CorpPartners and Temasek, and the Temasek Pre-IPO Member in the reorganization transactions (which represents the unamortized portion of the increase in tax basis in Virtu Financial's assets resulting from a prior acquisition of interests in Virtu Financial by an affiliate of Silver Lake Partners and Temasek, and the Temasek Pre-IPO Member), (b) the purchases of Virtu Financial Units (along with the corresponding shares of our Class C common stock or Class D common stock, as applicable) from certain of the Virtu Post-IPO Members using a portion of the net proceeds from this offering or in any future offering, (c) exchanges by the Virtu Post-IPO Members of Virtu Financial Units (along with the corresponding shares of our Class C common stock or Class D common stock, as applicable) for shares of our Class A common stock or Class B common stock, as applicable, or (d) payments under the tax receivable agreements, (ii) future depreciation and amortization deductions attributableany net operating losses available to us as a result of the prior acquisition of interests in Virtu Financial by an affiliate of Silver Lake PartnersMergers, and (iii) tax benefits related to imputed interest deemed arising as a result of payments made under the tax receivable agreements. Although we are not aware of any issue that would cause the IRS to challenge the tax basis increases or other benefits arising under the tax receivable agreements, the Virtu Post-IPO Members and the Silver LakeInvestor Post-IPO StockholderStockholders (or their transferees or assignees) will not reimburse us for any payments previously made if such basis increases or other benefits are subsequently disallowed, except that excess payments made to the Virtu Post-IPO Members and the Silver LakeInvestor Post-IPO StockholderStockholders will be netted against future payments otherwise to be made under the tax receivable agreements, if any, after our determination of such excess. As a result, in such circumstances we could make future payments to the Virtu Post-IPO Members and the Silver LakeInvestor Post-IPO StockholderStockholders under the tax receivable agreements that are greater than our actual cash tax savings and may not be able to recoup those payments, which could negatively impact our liquidity. See "Risk Factors — We will be required to pay the Virtu Post-IPO Members and the Silver LakeInvestor Post-IPO StockholderStockholders for certain tax benefits we may claim, and the amounts we may pay could be significant" and "Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Tax Receivable Agreements."


Table of Contents


USE OF PROCEEDS

          We estimate that our net proceeds from this offering will be approximately $$276.8 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses of approximately $$20.8 million, based on an assumed initial offering price of $$18.00 per share (the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus) and assuming the underwriters' option to purchase additional shares is not exercised. If the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full, we expect to receive approximately $$318.3 million of net proceeds based on an assumed initial offering price of $$18.00 per share (the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus).

          Based on an assumed initial public offering price of $$18.00 per share (the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus), we intend to contribute $$23.3 million of the net proceeds from this offering to Virtu Financial (or $55.5 million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full (see "Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Purchases from Equityholders")) in exchange for a number of Virtu Financial Units equal to the contribution amount divided by the price paid by the underwriters for shares of our Class A common stock in this offering.offering (1,388,889 Virtu Financial Units at the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus or, if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full, 3,313,174 Virtu Financial Units).

          Virtu Financial will contribute such net proceeds to its subsidiaries. We have broad discretion as to the application of such net proceeds to be used for working capital and general corporate purposes. We may use such net proceeds to finance growth through the acquisition of, or investment in, businesses, products, services or technologies that are complementary to our current business, through mergers, acquisitions or other strategic transactions. Prior to application, we may hold any such net proceeds in cash or invest them in short-term securities or investments. You will not have an opportunity to evaluate the economic, financial or other information on which we base our decisions regarding the use of these proceeds.

          We estimate that the offering expenses (other than the underwriting discount) will be approximately $10.2 million. All of such offering expenses will be paid for or otherwise borne by Virtu Financial.

          We intend to use the remaining approximately $$253.5 million of the net proceeds from this offering (or $262.8 million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full) to repurchase 3,470,724 shares of Class A common stock from the Silver Lake Post-IPO Stockholder and 11,672,659 Virtu Financial Units and corresponding shares of Class C common stock from certain of the Virtu Post-IPO Members, including certain members of management (or $              million of the net proceeds from this offering,                           shares of Class A common stock and4,862,609 Virtu Financial Units and corresponding shares of Class C common stock from the Silver Lake Post-IPO Members and 6,810,050 Virtu Financial Units and corresponding shares of Class C common stock from certain employees (or, if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full), in each casefull, 3,470,724 shares of Class A common stock from the Silver Lake Post-IPO Stockholder and 12,228,215 Virtu Financial Units and corresponding shares of Class C common stock from certain of the Virtu Post-IPO Members, including 4,862,609 Virtu Financial Units and corresponding shares of Class C common stock from the Silver Lake Post-IPO Members and 7,365,606 Virtu Financial Units from certain employees) at a net price equal to the price paid by the underwriters for shares of our Class A common stock in this offering. Certain of our 5% equityholders, directors and executive officers will receive a portion of the proceeds pursuant to these repurchases, but none of the Founder Pre-IPO Members, the Founder Post-IPO Member nor Mr. Viola or any of his family members intends to sell any equity interests in the Company in connection with the reorganization transactions or this offering.repurchases. See "Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Purchases from Equityholders."

          As a result of any purchases of Virtu Financial Units (together with a corresponding number of shares of Class C common stock) as described above, the number of outstanding shares of


Table of Contents

Class C common stock will be reduced. Because we will hold the Virtu Financial Units that we acquire (and increase our ownership position in Virtu Financial), the number of outstanding Virtu Financial Units will remain the same.

          A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $$18.00 per share would increase (decrease) the amount of proceeds to us from this offering available to purchase shares of Class A common stock and Virtu Financial Units and corresponding shares of Class C common stock by $$14.1 million and for working capital and general corporate purposes by $$1.3 million, assuming the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.


Table of Contents


DIVIDEND POLICY

          Virtu Financial has historically generated cash from market making activities significantly in excess of the capital required to fund its required capital expenditures and the capital required to support its market making activities. As such, Virtu Financial has regularly declared and paid distributions on its equity interests during the years ended December 31, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2013.

          During the year ended December 31, 2011, Virtu Financial declared and paid the following cash distributions, by quarter:

Year Ended December 31, 2011
(In millions)
 
Aggregate
Cash
Distributions
 

1st Quarter

 $ 

2nd Quarter

  18.1 

3rd Quarter

  62.8 

4th Quarter

  40.0 
    

Total distributions

 $120.9 
    

          Madison Tyler Holdings also declared and paid cash distributions to its members of $27.6 million and $31.7 million during the first and second quarters, respectively, of the year ended December 31, 2011, prior to the consummation of the Madison Tyler Transactions.2014.

          During the year ended December 31, 2012, Virtu Financial declared and paid the following cash distributions, by quarter:

Year Ended December 31, 2012
(In millions)
 
Aggregate
Cash
Distributions
 

1st Quarter

 $22.0 

2nd Quarter

  70.0 

3rd Quarter

  19.5 

4th Quarter

  22.9 
    

Total distributions

 $134.4 
    

          During the year ended December 31, 2013, Virtu Financial declared and paid the following cash distributions, by quarter:

Year Ended December 31, 2013
(In millions)
 
Aggregate
Cash
Distributions
 

1st Quarter

 $12.4 

2nd Quarter

  241.0(1)

3rd Quarter

  55.0 

4th Quarter

  125.0(2)
    

Total distributions

 $433.4 
    

(1)
Includes a special distribution of $147.1 million to the members of Virtu Financial, representing the proceeds from an incremental term loan under our senior secured credit facility in May 2013.


Table of Contents

(2)
Includes a special distribution of $98.4 million to the members of Virtu Financial, representing the incremental proceeds from the most recent refinancing of our senior secured credit facility in November 2013.

          During the year ended December 31, 2014, Virtu Financial declared the following cash distributions, by quarter:

Year Ended December 31, 2014
(In millions)
 
Aggregate
Cash
Distributions
 

1st Quarter

 $45.0 

2nd Quarter

  45.7 

3rd Quarter

  35.0 

4th Quarter

  15.0 
    

Total distributions

 $140.7 
    

Table of Contents

In addition, during years ended December 31, 2006 through 2010,2011, Virtu Financial and Madison Tyler Holdings regularly declared and paid significant cash distributions to their respective members, in an aggregate amount of $813.6$934.5 million.

          In January, February and March 2015, Virtu Financial made additional cash distributions to its equityholders in an aggregate amount of $50.0 million, $20.0 million and $10.0 million, respectively. Prior to the consummation of this offering, we expect Virtu Financial to make cash distributions to the Virtu Pre-IPO members in an aggregate amount of $50.0 million. Following the consummation of this offering, as of a record date prior to the commencement of the reorganization transactions, we expect Virtu Financial to make further cash distributions to the Virtu Pre-IPO Members in an aggregate amount of $50.0 million. We refer to these distributions collectively as the "2015 Distributions."

          The distribution to the Virtu Pre-IPO Members following the consummation of this offering will be made before any other distributions are made to us and the Virtu Post-IPO Members, by Virtu Financial, Virtu Financialand will distribute to certain Virtu Pre-IPO Members as of immediately prior to the commencement of the reorganization transactions,be made pro rata in accordance with theirthe Virtu Pre-IPO Members' respective interests in classes of equity entitled to participate in operating cash flow distributions, operating cash flow of Virtu Financial and its subsidiaries for the fiscal period beginning on January 1, 2015 and ending on the date of the consummation of the reorganization transactions, less any reserves established during this period and less any operating cash flow for this period previously distributed to such Virtu Pre-IPO Members. "Operating cash flow" refers to Virtu Financial's Available Cash Flow (as defined in Virtu Financial's existing limited liability company agreement), which includes Virtu Financial's consolidated net income, adjusted to exclude non-cash items, extraordinary or one-time items and any non-cash compensation expense related to any equity interests issued under any management equity plan. We expect this distribution to be in an aggregate amount of approximately $             and towill be funded from cash on hand.hand and excess cash held at clearing deposits from broker dealers and clearing organizations.

          Following the consummation of this offering, our board of directors intends to continue our policy of returning excess cash to our stockholders. Commencing withSubject to the fiscal quarter ending                          , 2014,sole discretion of our board of directors and the considerations discussed below, we intend to pay a quarterlydividends that will annually equal, in the aggregate, between 70% and 100% of our net income. We expect that our first dividend will be paid in the third quarter of $2015 (in respect of the second quarter of 2015) and will be $0.24 per share to holders of our Class A common stock. We intend to fund our initial dividend, as well as any future dividends, from our portion of distributions made by Virtu Financial, from its available cash generations from operations. The payment of dividends will be subject to general economic and business conditions, including our financial condition and results of operations, capital requirements, contractual restrictions, including restrictions contained in our credit agreement, regulatory restrictions, business prospects and other factors that our board of directors considers relevant.

          Our board of directors will periodically review the cash generated from our business and the capital expenditures required to finance our growth plans and determine whether to increase this regular dividend and/or declare and pay periodic special dividends to our stockholders. Any future determination to change the amount of dividends and/or declare special dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will be dependent upon then-existing conditions, including our financial condition and results of operations, capital requirements, contractual restrictions, including restrictions contained in our credit agreement, business prospects and other factors that our board of directors considers relevant.

          Because we will be a holding company and our principal asset after the consummation of this offering will be our direct and indirect equity interests in Virtu Financial, we intend to fund our initial dividend and any future dividends by causing Virtu Financial, in our capacity as its sole managing member, to make distributions to its equityholders, including the Founder Post-IPO Member, the Silver Lake Post-IPO Members, the Management Vehicles,Virtu Employee Holdco, the Management Members and us.


Table of Contents


CAPITALIZATION

          The following table sets forth our cash and cash equivalents and capitalization as of December 31, 20132014 (i) on an actual basis, (ii) on a pro forma basis to reflect the reorganization transactions described under "Organizational Structure" and the estimated impact of the tax receivable agreements and (iii) as further adjusted to reflect:

          This table should be read in conjunction with "Use of Proceeds," "Unaudited Pro Forma Financial Information" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and the consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus.


 As of December 31, 2013  As of December 31, 2014 
(in thousands)
 
Actual
 
Pro Forma
 
Pro Forma
As Adjusted(1)
  
Actual
 
Pro Forma
As Adjusted
Before this
Offering
 
Pro Forma(1)
 

Cash and cash equivalents

 $66,010 $  $   $75,864 $5,864 $29,114 
              

Total long-term indebtedness

 507,725      $500,827 $500,827 $500,827 

Class A-1 redeemable membership interest

 250,000   

Class A-1 redeemable interest

 294,433   

Equity:

  

Class A-1 membership interest

 19,648   

Class A-2 membership interest

 256,340   

Class A-1 interest

 19,648   

Class A-2 interest

 287,705   

Class A common stock, par value $0.00001 per share

          

Class B common stock, par value $0.00001 per share

          

Class C common stock, par value $0.00001 per share

          

Class D common stock, par value $0.00001 per share

        1 1 

Additional paid-in capital

        13,398 66,117 

Accumulated other income (loss)

 1,327     

Accumulated deficit

 (74,027)      (91,383)  (9,276)

Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)

 (3,705) (867) (867)
       

Total members' equity/shareholders' equity

 212,265 12,532 55,975 

Non-controlling interest

        290,743 260,381 
              

Total members'/stockholders' equity

 203,288     

Total equity

 212,265 303,275 316,356 
              

Total capitalization

 $961,013 $  $   $1,007,525 $804,102 $817,183 
              

(1)
A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $$18.00 per share, would increase (decrease) each of additional paid-in capital, total equity and total capitalization by $             ,$15.4 million, assuming the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

Table of Contents


DILUTION

          If you invest in our Class A common stock, you will experience dilution to the extent of the difference between the initial public offering price per share of our Class A common stock and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our Class A common stock. Dilution results from the fact that the per share offering price of the Class A common stock is substantially in excess of the book value per share attributable to the Class A common stock held by existing equityholders.equityholders (including all shares issuable upon exchange and/or conversion).

          Our pro forma net tangible book value as of December 31, 20132014 would have been a deficit of approximately $$413.5 million, or $$(3.06) per share of our common stock. Pro forma net tangible book value represents the amount of total tangible assets less total liabilities, and pro forma net tangible book value per share represents pro forma net tangible book value divided by the number of shares of common stock outstanding, in each case after giving effect to the reorganization transactions (based on an assumed initial public offering price of $$18.00 per share (the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus)), the 2015 Distributions and the estimated impact of the tax receivable agreements, assuming that the Virtu Post-IPO Members exchange all of their Virtu Financial Units (andand corresponding shares of our Class C common stock or Class D common stock, as applicable)applicable, for newly-issued shares of our Class A common stock or Class B common stock, as applicable, on a one-for-one basis.

          After giving effect to the reorganization transactions, the 2015 Distributions and the estimated impact of the tax receivable agreements, assuming that the Virtu Post-IPO Members exchange all of their Virtu Financial Units (andand corresponding shares of our Class C common stock or Class D common stock, as applicable)applicable, for newly-issued shares of our Class A common stock or Class B common stock, as applicable, on a one-for-one basis, and after giving further effect to the sale of 16,532,272 shares of Class A common stock in this offering at the assumed initial public offering price of $$18.00 per share (the midpoint of the estimated price range on the cover page of this prospectus), and the application of the net proceeds from this offering (including the contribution of $$23.3 million of the net proceeds from this offering to Virtu Financial in exchange for                      Virtu Financial Units, and the use of the remaining approximately $$253.5 million of the net proceeds from this offering to repurchase 3,470,724 shares of Class A common stock from the Silver Lake Post-IPO Stockholder and 11,672,659 Virtu Financial Units and corresponding shares of Class C common stock from certain of the Virtu Post-IPO Members, including certain members of management) and the one-time distribution to occur following the consummation of this offering described under "Dividend Policy,"Members), our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value would have been $a deficit of approximately $400.4 million, or $$(2.93) per share, representing an immediate increase in net tangible book value of $$0.13 per share to existing equityholders and an immediate dilution in net tangible book value of $$20.93 per share to new investors.

          The following table illustrates the per share dilution:

Assumed initial public offering price per share

$

Pro forma net tangible book value per share as of December 31, 2013(1)

$

Increase in pro forma net tangible book value per share attributable to new investors

Pro forma adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering(2)

Dilution in pro forma net tangible book value per share to new investors

$

Assumed initial public offering price per share

 $18.00 

Pro forma net tangible book value per share as of December 31, 2014(1)

 $(3.06)

Increase in pro forma net tangible book value per share attributable to new investors

  0.13 

Pro forma adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering(2)

  (2.93)
    

Dilution in pro forma net tangible book value per share to new investors

 $20.93 
    

(1)
Reflects 135,120,195 outstanding shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, including (i) 79,902,009 shares of Class B common stock issuable upon

Table of Contents