Introduction
Self-managed trading (also called offline trading) lets your company collect exercise and sale requests in Ledgy while executing the actual trades through your own broker outside of Ledgy.
Ledgy remains the central place to collect requests, review them, export broker-ready data, import execution results, and update stakeholder holdings and documentation. This guide explains how the feature works from an administrator perspective.
Availability
This feature is available for public companies on an Enterprise subscription. If you are unsure whether self-managed trading is enabled for your account, contact your Customer Success Manager.
What is self-managed trading?
Self-managed trading enables your company to:
Collect exercise and sale requests from stakeholders through Ledgy
Manage documentation, compliance, and record-keeping in one place
Execute trades externally through your preferred broker
Import execution results back into Ledgy to update holdings and generate transactions
Your stakeholders still interact with Ledgy in a familiar way, while your team keeps full control over broker choice, execution timing, and trade handling.
If you would prefer a more automated end-to-end workflow, Ledgy also offers an integrated trading solution through Zedra and Winterflood. Speak to your Customer Success Manager if you would like to compare both setups.
How to access and configure trading settings
Once your Customer Success Manager has enabled self-managed trading for your account, go to Company Settings > General > Public Trading.
Here you can configure the following settings:
Volatility buffer
The volatility buffer is applied to the share price estimates shown to stakeholders during the request flow. It helps account for potential price movements between request submission and trade execution.
Default: 15% (a conservative starting point)
Adjust this value to reflect your usual execution timeline and market conditions
Minimum trade fee
Set the minimum fee your broker charges per trade, denominated in your trading currency.
Example: a value of 2500 in GBX equals £25
Percentage trade fee
This fee applies when the trade value exceeds the minimum trade fee threshold.
Enter the value as a percentage
Basis points conversion: divide by 100 (for example, 50 bps = 0.5%)
Ledgy uses these settings to show stakeholders estimated costs during the request process. These amounts are estimates, not final execution values.
Supported request types
Exercise windows
You can create exercise windows with specific eligibility rules and the following settlement methods:
Sell all: the stakeholder sells all shares acquired on exercise
Sell to cover: the stakeholder sells enough shares to cover exercise costs and taxes
Withhold to cover: tax obligations are covered by withholding shares
During the window, stakeholders choose the relevant grant, select a settlement method, and submit their request. Ledgy uses either the fair market value defined when the window was created or the latest stock price, together with your configured fees and volatility buffer, to show approximate costs.
For more on exercise-window workflows, see How to manage exercise windows and process exercise requests?.
Simple sales
Stakeholders can also request to sell existing share holdings outside of exercise windows. When they submit the request, Ledgy uses the latest share price and your configured fees to show estimated proceeds and costs.
Execution timing remains at your company's discretion, which gives you flexibility to batch and process orders daily, weekly, or on another schedule that suits your broker workflow.
Administrator workflow
Once requests start arriving, the end-to-end process typically looks like this:
Review requests in the Exercise Requests queue. Approve or reject each exercise request as appropriate.
Adjust taxes before approving. The system can prefill estimates based on your tax settings, but you should update them to accurate stakeholder-specific values before approval.
Move approved exercise requests into Sell Requests. Once approved, exercise requests move automatically to the Sell Requests queue, where they sit alongside simple sale requests.
Make bulk updates if requests have been waiting. Before exporting, you can update conversion rates, market prices, or other values in bulk. Ledgy recalculates automatically based on the latest inputs.
Export open requests. Use the bulk export action to download only the outstanding requests along with the information your broker needs.
Execute trades through your broker. Trade execution happens outside of Ledgy.
Update the export file with final execution data. Add the actual sale price, conversion rate, and final status such as fulfilled.
Import the completed file back into Ledgy. Ledgy then generates the resulting transactions, updates stakeholder holdings, and attaches the relevant documentation.
Important: If market conditions change significantly while requests are still queued, you can reject or cancel them so stakeholders can submit a new request with updated valuations before execution.
Managing stakeholder bank details
Stakeholder bank details are available under Reporting > Operational > Stakeholder Bank Details.
Bank details are masked by default
To view unmasked details, request the report and complete the email verification step
Use the unmasked report to match payout details to stakeholders for payment processing
For a fuller walkthrough, see How do I collect and manage stakeholder bank details?.
Stakeholder requirements
Before a stakeholder can submit a trade request:
Their current holdings must already be calculated in Ledgy
Their required profile information must be complete
If information is missing, Ledgy guides the stakeholder to complete the required steps before they can continue.
Frequently asked questions
Who configures the initial trading settings?
Who configures the initial trading settings?
Your Customer Success Manager configures the baseline values needed to enable self-managed trading, including the ticker symbol, ISIN, and stock exchange. After the feature is enabled, administrators can adjust the volatility buffer, minimum trade fee, and percentage trade fee themselves.
How are trading fees calculated for stakeholders?
How are trading fees calculated for stakeholders?
Ledgy uses your configured minimum trade fee and percentage trade fee to estimate costs shown to stakeholders. If the trade value exceeds the minimum fee threshold, the percentage fee applies. All values shown during the request flow are approximate until execution is completed.
What should I do if a request has been sitting in the queue for several days?
What should I do if a request has been sitting in the queue for several days?
Before exporting the request, you can update conversion rates, market prices, tax inputs, or other relevant values in bulk. Ledgy will automatically recalculate the request values using the updated information.
Can I cancel a request after it has been approved?
Can I cancel a request after it has been approved?
Yes. You can reject or cancel requests from the Sell Requests queue if circumstances change, for example after a significant price movement. Stakeholders can then submit a new request with updated values.
How are transactions recorded after execution?
How are transactions recorded after execution?
After your broker executes the trades, update the exported file with the final execution data and import it back into Ledgy. This triggers transaction generation, updates stakeholder holdings, and ensures the related documentation stays linked in the platform.
Where can I find stakeholder bank details for payment processing?
Where can I find stakeholder bank details for payment processing?
Go to Reporting > Operational > Stakeholder Bank Details. The report is masked by default. To view unmasked details, request the report and confirm access with the email verification code sent to you.