Administration April 8, 2004

SuperMontage Gets SEC Greenlight

August 28, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given the Nasdaq Stock Market a final OK to bring its SuperMontage trading system online.

Reported by

Fred Schneyer

Nasdaq hopes the platform will help it recapture market share, however, a Reuters news report says the SEC said it might delay going live with SuperMontage if Nasdaq rivals need more time to get set up for the $100-million system.

For example, Reuters said the system might not start trading until October 11 of alternative networks such as Instinet Group and Island submit a delay request to the SEC. Anyone coming to the SEC with an additional time request will have to promise that they will use SuperMontage as their primary access to Nasdaq, Reuters said.

Rivals Fight for ADF

Electronic communication networks, which match buyers and sellers of stock electronically, fought for the development of an alternative display facility, or ADF — an alternative to SuperMontage.

The ECNs feared the new trading facility would become a monopoly, since it would post quotes and orders from all market participants, including ECNs.

If no ECNs ask for a delay, Nasdaq said it would expect to begin trading stocks in SuperMontage September 17.

A further delay in trading real stocks in the system until October 11 will cost the Nasdaq roughly $500,000 in interest on its $100 million investment, SEC chief economist Larry Harris said, according to Reuters.