Trading firm / fund / OTC software, built around SEC, FINRA and multi-venue book + live P&L

Arkathos gives a trading firm a workspace tailored to how the work actually runs — This workspace is built around a consolidated multi-venue trading book — live P&L, tax lots, and AML — across CEX, DeFi, and self-custody. Arkathos tailors a trading firm workspace around 4 agents: vault-keeper, Treasury, Watchtower, Herald.

Compliance a trading firm can't afford to miss

Watchtower tracks every license, bond, insurance policy, and continuing-education requirement for a trading firm, with renewal cadences and staged reminders so nothing lapses.

• A trading firm must maintain a Business entity formation, through the Secretary of State, which has no fixed renewal cycle.
• A trading firm must maintain a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) registration - Form ADV annual updating amendment, through the SEC or State Securities Regulator (filed via IARD), which renews every year.
• A trading firm must maintain a General business license, which renews every year.
• A trading firm must maintain a Investment Adviser Representative (IAR) registration, through the State Securities Regulator (NASAA IAR CE Model Rule; renewal via IARD/CRD), which renews every year.
• The Investment Adviser Representative (IAR) registration carries a continuing-education requirement of 12 hours per year (6h Ethics and Professional Responsibility, 6h Products and Practice).
• A trading firm must maintain a FinCEN MSB registration (OTC desk), through the FinCEN, which renews every two years.
• A trading firm must maintain a NFA Membership + CFTC registration (Commodity Pool Operator / Commodity Trading Advisor), through the National Futures Association (NFA) / CFTC, which renews every year.
• A trading firm must maintain a State Money Transmitter License (per operating state), through the State Dept of Financial Institutions, which renews every year.
• A trading firm must maintain a Investment Adviser (RIA) registration, through the SEC / State Securities Regulator, which renews every year.
• A trading firm must maintain a Series 3 - National Commodity Futures Examination (Associated Person proficiency), through the National Futures Association (exam administered by FINRA), which has no fixed renewal cycle.
• A trading firm must maintain a FinCEN Money Services Business (MSB) registration - Form 107, through the FinCEN (U.S. Department of the Treasury), which renews every two years.
• A trading firm must maintain a Investment Adviser Representative (Series 65) registration, through the NASAA / State Securities Regulator, which renews every year.
• The Investment Adviser Representative (Series 65) registration carries a continuing-education requirement of 12 hours per year (6h Ethics and professional responsibility, 6h Products and practice).
• A trading firm must maintain a State Money Transmitter License (virtual currency / OTC principal dealing), through the State Financial Regulator (via NMLS), which renews every year.
• A trading firm must maintain a ACAMS CAMS certification (BSA/AML officer), through the ACAMS, which renews every 3 years.
• A trading firm must maintain a Money Transmitter Surety Bond, through the Surety company (amount set by State Financial Regulator), which renews every year.
• The ACAMS CAMS certification (BSA/AML officer) carries a continuing-education requirement of 60 hours every 36 months (60h Anti-money laundering / financial crime).
• A trading firm must maintain a Professional Liability / Errors & Omissions (E&O) and Directors & Officers (D&O) insurance, through the Commercial insurance carrier, which renews every year.
• A trading firm must maintain a Directors & Officers (D&O) liability insurance, which renews every year.
• A trading firm must maintain a General Liability insurance, through the Commercial insurance carrier, which renews every year.
• A trading firm must maintain a Cyber Liability insurance, through the Commercial insurance carrier, which renews every year.
• A trading firm must maintain a Professional liability / E&O insurance, which renews every year.
• A trading firm must maintain a Workers' Compensation insurance, through the State-regulated / commercial insurance carrier, which renews every year.
• A trading firm must maintain a Crime / fidelity bond, which renews every year.

Everything Arkathos runs for a trading firm

These are the agents set up first for a trading firm — and because it's one platform, every plan includes all 16 Arkathos agents. Also included whenever you need them: Sentinel, Guardhouse, Quartermaster, Scribe, Courier, War Room, Armory, Marshall, Mint Warden, Vault Keeper, Bulletin Board, Client Portal.

• Treasury — Invoicing & payment collection, Expense tracking, Accounting & bookkeeping, Business tax prep & filing, Recurring billing & subscriptions, Financial dashboards & reports.
• Watchtower — License & permit tracking, Certification & continuing-education (CE) tracking, Renewal reminders & alerts, Compliance document vault.
• Herald — SEO & get-found content, Social media scheduling, Email & newsletter campaigns, Brand voice & content studio, Review & reputation growth, AI-overview & directory visibility.

Your tailored trading firm workspace

These are net-new, trading firm-specific capabilities — not a generic CRM bolted onto your industry.

• Multi-venue book + live P&L (Vault Keeper): Consolidate positions across CEX accounts, DEX/DeFi, and self-custody into one book with mark-to-market unrealized P&L and realized P&L by desk/strategy — holdings already exist, this adds the aggregation + P&L layer on top.
• Tax-lot relief-method engine + 1099-DA reconciliation (Vault Keeper): Let the firm choose FIFO/LIFO/HIFO/spec-ID lot relief, compute realized gains per disposal, generate 8949/Schedule D, and reconcile against broker/exchange 1099-DA forms (new 2025+). Enrich the existing 8949 export, don't rebuild.
• OTC counterparty AML + OFAC wallet screening (Watchtower): For OTC desks: KYC/AML onboarding of counterparties, OFAC + sanctioned-address screening on every settlement wallet, Travel-Rule data capture above threshold, and a SAR case workflow from alert to filing.
• OTC deal blotter (Sentinel): RFQ → quote → trade → settlement tracking for OTC block trades: counterparty, asset, size, agreed price/spread, settlement wallet, status, and per-counterparty exposure limits.
• Exchange-balance reconciliation cron (Vault Keeper): Daily pull of exchange-reported balances via API keys, diffed against the internal ledger, flagging drift, missing deposits, or unexplained withdrawals.

The agents and tabs you get

Treasury for a trading firm surfaces Financial sheet, Transactions, Tax coverage, Filings, Integrations, Chat. Watchtower for a trading firm surfaces Overview, Compliance items, Policies, Calendar, Chat. Herald for a trading firm surfaces Brief, Compose, Schedule, Mentions, Analytics, Chat, ✦Studio, Brand voice.

Frequently asked questions

best software for running a prop trading firm

Prop firms run a specialized CRM (challenge management, KYC, automated payouts) plus a trading platform. For the business side—investor/client CRM, invoicing, payroll, compliance records—a flat-priced platform like Arkathos handles it without per-seat fees.

how much does hedge fund accounting software cost

Published pricing starts around $34,000/year (FundCount); enterprise NAV and portfolio platforms often run $100,000+ annually, priced by AUM, users, and modules. Most vendors quote custom rather than public tiers.

how much does it cost to start a prop firm

Roughly $20,000-$50,000 to launch. White-label tech runs $5,000-$20,000 setup plus $3,000-$15,000/month by account count, and payment infrastructure adds $500-$1,500/month.

do prop firms have to register with the sec

Depends on activity—firms dealing securities or managing outside money may need SEC/FINRA registration, but all must follow AML/KYC rules. Many retail evaluation firms use educational/demo models to limit obligations.

kyc aml requirements for otc crypto desk

US OTC desks register with FinCEN as MSBs and run identity verification, beneficial-ownership checks, wallet screening, and ongoing transaction monitoring against sanctions and AML risk indicators before settling large trades.

do i need a fund administrator or can i use software

You can outsource to a third-party admin, run it in-house with software, or blend both. Small funds still need NAV, reconciliations, capital calls, and investor statements handled somehow.

best crm for prop firms

Prop-specific CRMs (AltimaCRM, Finovex, Brokeret) bundle challenge management, KYC, risk monitoring, and automated payouts. For general client/investor CRM plus payroll, bookkeeping, and marketing, Arkathos covers it at flat pricing.

software to automate nav calculation and trade reconciliation

Fund-reconciliation tools (Limina, NeoXam, Linedata) pull trade, valuation, and cash feeds across brokers and custodians, auto-categorize breaks, and compute NAV impact—increasingly using AI to reconcile without manual clicks.

investor reporting software for a small hedge fund

Reporting tools turn monthly-close inputs into a NAV pack, investor statements, and controlled portal distribution. FundCount, Dynamo, and Repool serve emerging managers; some publish pricing near $34k/year.

What licenses and insurance does a trading firm need?

Arkathos tracks 21 items for a trading firm, including Business entity formation, Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) registration - Form ADV annual updating amendment, General business license, Investment Adviser Representative (IAR) registration. Each renewal and expiration is monitored in Watchtower with staged reminders.

What continuing education is required for a trading firm?

The Investment Adviser Representative (IAR) registration carries a continuing-education requirement of 12 hours per year (6h Ethics and Professional Responsibility, 6h Products and Practice). The Investment Adviser Representative (Series 65) registration carries a continuing-education requirement of 12 hours per year (6h Ethics and professional responsibility, 6h Products and practice). The ACAMS CAMS certification (BSA/AML officer) carries a continuing-education requirement of 60 hours every 36 months (60h Anti-money laundering / financial crime). Watchtower logs hours by category and flags shortfalls before the deadline.

Which Arkathos agents does a trading firm get?

Arkathos tailors a trading firm workspace around 4 agents: vault-keeper, Treasury, Watchtower, Herald.

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