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North Capital Adds 311 Securities to the PPEX ATS in July

via Business Wire

North Capital Private Securities Corporation today announced that 311 new securities had been listed on the PPEX ATS, the firm’s alternative trading system (ATS), during the first three weeks of July, a 42% increase month-over-month. There are now over 1,000 securities trading on PPEX.

“The PPEX ATS continues to be a leading secondary marketplace for issuers of private and other exempt securities,” said Michael T. Weaver, CFA, Managing Director and Head of Trading at North Capital. “As more companies opt to stay private for longer, the need for a structured secondary market has never been greater,” said Weaver.

“Private market issuers are increasingly building a secondary market strategy into their distribution plans; we created the PPEX ATS to serve these issuers,” said James P. Dowd, CFA, the CEO of North Capital.

A March 2025 report of the staff of the Division of Economic Risk Analysis of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission shows that the number of private offerings increased from 61,355 in 2015 to 87,716 in 2024. The volume of capital raised in these offerings increased from $1.371 trillion to $3.223 trillion, a compound growth rate of 8.9% per annum.

According to FINRA’s OTC Transparency data, the PPEX ATS reported the 4th highest number of trades for an ATS in over-the-counter equities (OTCE) for Q1 2025, ranking behind alternative trading systems operated by OTC Markets Group Inc. and Intercontinental Exchange Inc.

“Issuers are realizing that regulated alternative trading systems play an important role in facilitating liquidity for existing investors and can open opportunities to engage with new investors,” said Sara Judd, Chief Operating Officer and Head of Business Development. “Expanding secondary markets is also about expanding primary distribution.”

The PPEX ATS was licensed in 2020, but the planning for PPEX began in 2017, when the growth of private markets was beginning to accelerate and North Capital recognized a familiar problem. “An investment market where you can buy and never sell is not much of a market,” said Dowd. “Alternatives professionals refer to this as the Hotel California problem — ‘you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.’ It’s been an issue in private markets for decades.” Dowd believes a palpable shift has occurred over the past year, with growth in private fund secondaries and in private company transfers. “Investors are smart and demanding, and one of the questions they are now asking is ‘how and when will I be able to exit my investment?’” Dowd says the example of crypto markets has contributed to this shift: “the ease of crypto trading and related financial products has influenced opinions about alternative investments among retail investors. Today’s investors can open an account in a few minutes, trade in prediction markets, and speculate in meme stocks. Why shouldn’t they be able to buy and sell private securities just as easily? It’s a reasonable question.”

North Capital expects the ATS business to continue to grow. “Today, the topic of secondary trading comes up in almost every conversation with a new issuer,” said Judd. “I think we are observing the start of rapid evolution in this space.”

About North Capital

North Capital provides comprehensive solutions for private and other exempt offerings and alternative investments, supporting issuers and advisors, funding platforms, and other broker-dealers. Through North Capital Investment Technology and its registered broker-dealer North Capital Private Securities Corporation (member FINRA/SIPC), the firm offers transaction technology and infrastructure for exempt securities, facilitates escrow, streamlines investor vetting (including KYC/AML and accredited investor verifications), and operates the PPEX ATS. For more information, visit www.NorthCapital.com.

This release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security. Investments in private offerings are speculative, illiquid, and may result in a complete loss of capital. Past performance is not indicative of future results. No governmental or regulatory authority has passed upon the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of this information.

Private market issuers are increasingly building a secondary market strategy into their distribution plans.

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