hey... how can you be out doing something relaxing if you are sitting at your computer telling us about pios/knt updates??
interesting article regarding the naz and the ecn's...
Nasdaq plans to cut SelectNet fees
By Emily Church, CBS MarketWatch
Last Update: 5:19 PM ET Sep 16, 1999 Also: NewsWatch
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- The Nasdaq Stock Market, striking back against electronic communications networks trying to snag its trading business, said it will cut the fees it charges for trades that pass through its SelectNet system.
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Updated:
9/16/99 5:58:58 PM ET
Nasdaq ($COMPQ: news, msgs) plans to file the proposed cuts in the $1 per executed order fee in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, spokesman Scott Peterson told CBS.MarketWatch.com.
The Nasdaq's ruling board of governors decided to take another look at the SelectNet fees at a meeting this summer, Peterson said. According to Nasdaq's own studies, the electronic communications networks (ECN) are matching some 30 percent of trades in Nasdaq-listed issues.
In its own effort to take the lead in after-hours trading, the Nasdaq announced plans last month to keep its important systems running after the close to facilitate after-hours trading.
Clearly, the latest move is all about keeping the order flow centralized as much as possible through Nasdaq. Whether the move will undercut the ECNs separate push remains to be seen.
On Wednesday, eight ECNs announced plans to link their networks and consolidate their order flows in the after-hours, leaving Nasdaq out of the loop.
"Maybe (the fee cuts) will make Nasdaq more competitive in the Nasdaq-ECN landscape in terms of where the liquidity is, but this doesn't affect the after-hours," said Larry Leibowitz, acting CEO of RediBook, an ECN operated by market makers Spear, Leeds & Kellogg.
Nasdaq's pilot
Peterson said Nasdaq expects to cut the fees in a pilot program beginning Oct.1 and running through March 31 of next year.
"The concept was approved by the (National Association of Securities Dealers) Board of Governors on July 29. However, it is designed to address competitive pressures on SelectNet fees," he said.
Under the plan, fees are discounted the more a firm's volume grows. The fees are $1 per order for the first orders executed for the first 50,000 orders per month, lowering to 70 cents per order for 50,000-100,000 orders and then down to 20 cents for orders above that number.
The cuts will cost Nasdaq an estimated over $10 million a year.
Earlier on Thursday, some of the ECNs involved made clear that their networking effort excluded Nasdaq.
"This is taking place outside of the Nasdaq. We're going to get connected via our own dedicated lines so we won't have to go through the Nasdaq to hit (the other ECNs') bids or match orders," said Brian Hyndman, president of Brass Utility, one of the electronic communications networks, or ECNs, in the pact.
A second key component is the rush of firms to lock in on off-hours trading, which is now being extended to individual investors through at least five outlets. See full story.
The pact was pulled together in one month, according Mike Sanderson, chief executive of MarketXT, an alternative trading system that played a leading role in bringing the squad of 8 networks together. RediBook was also a key player, participants said.
The New York Stock Exchange prodded the ECNs months ago to come up with a plan to trade Nasdaq Stock Market issues in a united front. Those NYSE-led talks apparently dissipated, and the ECNs began talking with one another independently.
Many have been expecting consolidation among the ECNs for some time. Island ECN and Reuter's-owned (RTRSY: news, msgs) Instinet dominate the ECNs with about 90 percent of the volume.
Regulators -- who are reviewing three separate filings by ECNs and would-be ECNs seeking to become stock exchanges -- also didn't prompt the pact, Hyndman said.
For now, plans are for each of the ECNs to hook up to the others individually. Some of the ECNs are already linked. Once this chain starts to come together, it means that a customer order that cannot be satisfied at one ECN can pass through to a meshed, larger network to find a match.
"It just made sense to get a network together. We don't have the critical mass, and all the others don't either, for the best execution," Hyndman said. "This is a step forward. Who knows what will happen after that?"
The eight ECNs
Island ECN: Major owners include Datek Holdings, parent of Datek Online. Toronto Dominion (TD: news, msgs), an owner in online broker TD Waterhouse (TWE: news, msgs), is also an equity participant. Island ECN has filed to become a stock exchange.
Instinet, owned by media company Reuters, is the largest of the group. Instinet recently set a pact with online broker E-Trade (EGRP: news, msgs) to grant E-Trade customers access to the off-hours markets.
Archipelago, which has also filed to become an exchange, is now believed to be a $300 million company with seven major equity stake holders: Goldman Sachs (GS: news, msgs), E-Trade, Merrill Lynch (MER: news, msgs), and GE's (GE: news, msgs) CNBC each have an about 12 percent stake. J.P. Morgan (JPM: news, msgs) and American Century, a fund company, share another about 12 percent stake.
Bloomberg Tradebook, owned by Bloomberg LP, a privately-held media company, recently inked a pact with Investment Technology Group, Inc. (ITG: news, msgs)
Brass Utility, known as Brut, is an ECN that has wide ownership on Wall Street. Firms involved include: Goldman Sachs, Knight/Trimark Group (NITE: news, msgs), Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (MWD: news, msgs).
MarketXT, the newest after-markets player has changed its name from Eclipse Trading. Owners and participants in MarketXT's off-hours platform are: Mellon Bank's (MEL: news, msgs) Dreyfus. Morgan Stanley's Discover Direct and Citigroup's (C: news, msgs) Salomon Smith Barney and market makers Madoff Investment and Herzog Heine Geduld.
RediBook's backer is market maker Spear, Leeds & Kellogg, which has formed an alliance with Fidelity Investments, DLJdirect (DIR: news, msgs) and Charles Schwab (SCH: news, msgs).
Strike Technologies has a gathering of Wall Street backers, including Bear Stearns (BSC: news, msgs).
Emily Church is the New York bureau chief for CBS MarketWatch.
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