MCT vs MAXEX

Different loans, different problem

MCT is a hedge advisor and secondary marketing platform, aimed largely at agency eligible production. MAXEX is a loan exchange for non-agency paper. Jumbo, non-QM and DSCR are its core programs. A lender with only conforming production has no reason to call MAXEX. A lender with a growing jumbo book may well need both.

How MAXEX structures the trade

MAXEX describes a central clearinghouse sitting between lender and investor. The seller signs one contract instead of a stack of bilateral agreements. That removes repeated legal cost and repeated annual certifications. MAXEX states that 35+ institutional buyers compete on the platform.

It advertises daily pricing and no monthly minimums. Settlements run Monday, Wednesday and Friday three times a week. Sellers pick a delegated, non-delegated or bulk channel. Program coverage includes jumbo, non-QM, DSCR and agency eligible loans. MAXEX also publishes program guides, submission forms and exception request forms for sellers.

What MCT does that MAXEX does not

MAXEX is a venue. It does not build or carry your hedge. MCT constructs and maintains the hedge position against the pipeline. MCT also runs bid tape auctions, assignment of trade, TBA execution and MSR valuation.

MCT states it does not sell a standalone front end pricing engine. Its back end engine handles mark to market and execution comparison across delivery methods. A lender needing a front end quoting tool must buy that elsewhere.

MCT also markets a Security Spread Commitment feature for bidding with unapproved counterparties. MAXEX solves that same approval problem with its single contract instead. The two answers to counterparty friction are structurally different.

Counterparty counts and where they came from

The MAXEX seller page cites 380+ lenders and 35+ institutional buyers. Coverage of the Tradeweb transaction cited nearly 400 mortgage lenders and over three dozen institutional investors. That same coverage cited more than 250 private label securitizations and portfolio investors. None of those figures carries a stated method.

MAXEX homepage statistics render as zero placeholders in plain text retrieval. MCT cites 150+ financial institutions and names Chase, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, PennyMac and Rocket Companies. MCT’s lock volume index is the one figure on either site with a published method.

Ownership moved in February 2026

Tradeweb Markets announced an investment in MAXEX on 12 February 2026. Terms were not disclosed. Troy Dixon of Tradeweb joined the MAXEX board. Marc Simpson of JPMorgan, which led a 2021 round, remains on it. Tom Pearce is co-founder, chairman and chief executive.

MAXEX named John Levonick general counsel in December 2025. It hired John McNeill as chief financial officer in June 2026. MAXEX was launched in 2016 and has also announced work with South Street Securities Holdings and Atlas Merchant Capital. MCT publishes no parent or investor detail on its about page. Curtis Richins is listed as president and chief executive there.

One of them publishes part of its pricing

MAXEX posts no rate card, but it does state there are no monthly minimums. That is one line more than MCT publishes, which is nothing. Ask MAXEX for the all in take rate per program in basis points. Ask whether the fee differs between delegated and non-delegated channels.

Ask MCT for advisory fee, trading fee and any per commitment charge, separately stated. Then model cost per loan sold under a fifty percent volume drop. Fixed platform minimums hurt worst in a slow quarter.

Which one to pick

A conforming lender hedging a mandatory pipeline needs MCT, not MAXEX. The gain there is hedge cost and execution, not new buyers. A lender with jumbo or DSCR production currently sold to two investors should test MAXEX. The gain there is bid depth on paper with thin natural liquidity.

Demo question for MAXEX: show cover bids on a recent jumbo trade and the exact fee taken. Demo question for MCT: show execution comparison across agency, co-issue and bid tape on a single loan.

Also in this category

Also in this category: Agile Trading vs MAXEX and Agile Trading vs MERS.