Alpaca expands to Europe with WealthKernel acquisition

By Aarav Garg

Alpaca has expanded into Europe with the completion of its acquisition of WealthKernel, which will now operate as Alpaca Europe. The acquisition provides Alpaca with an established regulatory presence in the UK and EU, built on WealthKernel’s licensed brokerage infrastructure.

This includes local brokerage and custody capabilities, as well as access to tax-advantaged products such as ISAs and SIPPs. Karan Shanmugarajah, previously CEO of WealthKernel, will lead the European business.

Alongside the acquisition, Alpaca has begun rolling out equities trading across European markets. The platform currently supports trading on Germany’s Xetra exchange, with plans to expand to additional venues including Euronext and the London Stock Exchange.

“Completing the WealthKernel acquisition is a major step in Alpaca’s expansion into Europe,” said Yoshi Yokokawa, CEO and Co-Founder of Alpaca. By combining Alpaca’s US-headquartered, fully licensed and self-clearing brokerage infrastructure with our licensed operations in the UK and EU, we’re making it easier for companies to build and scale

Through a single API integration, Alpaca aims to simplify cross-border investing by combining execution, custody and settlement into one infrastructure layer. The company said this approach reduces the operational complexity typically associated with entering new markets.

“This is an exciting step not just for Alpaca, but for the broader European investment ecosystem,” said Karan Shanmugarajah, CEO of Alpaca Europe. “By combining local regulatory expertise with global, API-driven infrastructure, we are well positioned to help partners build, launch, and scale investment products across Europe with greater speed and efficiency.”

Alpaca already provides trading infrastructure to FinTech firms and financial institutions globally. The European expansion marks a further step in its strategy to build a unified, API-driven brokerage platform spanning multiple jurisdictions.