← Back to Blog

How to Get Started with FIX Protocol Trading

By Amber Horizon TeamTutorial

Learn how to integrate with Amber Horizon's FIX 4.4 protocol for institutional trading. This guide covers connection setup, message types, and best practices for FIX protocol integration.

FIX (Financial Information eXchange) Protocol is the industry standard for electronic trading communications. Amber Horizon supports FIX 4.4, making it easy for institutional clients to integrate their existing Order Management Systems (OMS) and Execution Management Systems (EMS).

Why Use FIX Protocol?

FIX protocol offers several advantages for institutional trading:

  • Industry Standard: Widely adopted by brokers, exchanges, and trading platforms
  • Reliable: Built-in session management and message sequencing
  • Compatible: Works with existing OMS/EMS systems without major modifications
  • Comprehensive: Supports all order types, executions, and market data

Getting Started

1. Configure Your FIX Client

To connect to Amber Horizon via FIX protocol, you'll need to configure your FIX client with the following settings:

  • TargetCompID: AMBER_TRADING (for AMBER instrument) or HORIZON_TRADING (for HORIZON instrument)
  • SenderCompID: Your unique identifier (provided by Amber Horizon)
  • Host: amberhorizon.eu (for AMBER) or hori.amberhorizon.eu (for HORIZON)
  • Port: Standard FIX port (contact support for specific port numbers)
  • FIX Version: 4.4

2. Establish Session

The FIX session follows standard FIX 4.4 session management:

  1. Logon: Send a Logon message to establish the session
  2. Heartbeat: Maintain connection with periodic Heartbeat messages
  3. Test Request: Respond to Test Request messages
  4. Logout: Gracefully close the session when done

3. Send Orders

Once your session is established, you can send NewOrderSingle messages to place orders:

  • Market Orders: Set OrdType = 1 (Market)
  • Limit Orders: Set OrdType = 2 (Limit) and specify Price
  • Stop-Limit Orders: Set OrdType = 3 (Stop) with StopPx

4. Receive Executions

Amber Horizon will send ExecutionReport messages for:

  • Order acknowledgments
  • Partial fills
  • Complete fills
  • Order rejections
  • Order cancellations

Optimized FIX Dictionary

Amber Horizon uses an optimized FIX 4.4 data dictionary that's 40% smaller than the standard FIX44.xml. This optimization:

  • Reduces validation time
  • Lowers memory usage
  • Improves message processing speed
  • Maintains full compatibility with standard FIX 4.4

Best Practices

  1. Session Management: Always maintain proper session state and handle reconnections gracefully
  2. Message Sequencing: Monitor sequence numbers and handle gaps appropriately
  3. Error Handling: Implement robust error handling for rejections and session issues
  4. Testing: Test your integration thoroughly in a sandbox environment before going live
  5. Monitoring: Set up monitoring for session health and message flow

Next Steps

  • Review the FIX 4.4 specification
  • Contact us at info@amberhorizon.io for your SenderCompID and connection details
  • Test your integration with our sandbox environment
  • Go live with your trading operations

For more information about Amber Horizon's FIX protocol support, visit our FAQ page or contact our support team.