BATS Global Markets (BATS), a leading operator of securities markets in the U.S. and Europe, today announced that ProShares, a premier provider of alternative exchange traded funds (ETFs), will list the ProShares Merger ETF on BATS Exchange.
The ProShares Merger ETF is scheduled to begin trading on BATS Exchange on December 13 under the ticker MRGR. The fund is designed to track the performance of the S&P Merger Arbitrage Index, which provides exposure to a global merger arbitrage strategy. The new ETF listing makes ProShares the second ETF family to list on the BATS Exchange.
“We’re excited to welcome another respected exchange traded fund family like ProShares to the BATS Exchange as our innovative approach to the ETF listings business continues to attract issuers and investors alike,” said BATS Global Markets President and CEO Joe Ratterman.
“The BATS Competitive Liquidity Provider (CLP) program has proven to be effective at incenting tighter spreads and more size at the national best bid and offer (NBBO) for issues listed at BATS, which in turn lowers the cost of trading for institutional and retail investors. We look forward to implementing this program for the ProShares Merger ETF,” he said.
The BATS CLP program is a rewards-based program designed to incent market makers to increase liquidity and create tighter quoted spreads for each listing on BATS. Through the program, liquidity providers compete for a daily reward by posting competitive quotes in an exchange-traded product (ETP). Liquidity providers are rewarded based on their continuous daily quoted size at the NBBO in the securities for which they are registered CLPs.
BATS has also filed a proposal with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch three additional ProShares ETFs in 2013, subject to approvals.
Additional information on the BATS Listings program, including the BATS Listings Rules and Listing Fees, is available on the BATS Listings website. Companies interested in learning more may email listings@bats.com.
