Investors and traders using Brut are now able to set the inside quote in exchange-listed securities, as they have been able to do with Nasdaq stocks since 1997. They are also able to match their specific buying and selling interests directly with each other at prices equal to, and often superior to, the prevailing national consolidated best bid or offer (NBBO).
In addition to Brut, MarketXT and Archipelago are the other two ECNs that connect to and are involved with Nasdaq InterMarket. Today, Market Makers and ECNs trade a combined 11.2 percent of NYSE Composite shares through Nasdaq InterMarket.
"With Brut trading on Nasdaq InterMarket, their customers will have greater access to a major pool of liquidity in a broad range of exchange-listed securities," said Dean Furbush, executive vice president, Nasdaq Transaction Services. "ECN participation in the Nasdaq InterMarket continues to grow and gain momentum. Currently, one out of every 10 shares of NYSE-listed stocks is traded by a participant linked to Nasdaq InterMarket."
Through its link with Nasdaq InterMarket, Brut's quotations - using the identifier BRUT - are shown to traders and investors worldwide on the Nasdaq Workstation II (NWII) and on market data vendor terminals fed by the Consolidated Quotation Service (CQS) tape.
"Brut, like other Nasdaq InterMarket quoting participants, has agreed to provide immediate executions or rejections to orders it receives through CAES, the Nasdaq trading system that links Nasdaq InterMarket participants together," said Erich Buckenmaier, director for Nasdaq InterMarket. "Brut's election to get involved with this marketplace is a real strategic win for us. We expect that Brut will contribute significantly to a growing pool of market liquidity in exchange-listed stocks reachable in a true auto-execution transaction environment."
"In today's highly competitive financial marketplace, investors and traders require access to increased liquidity and multiple solutions to implement their trading strategies," said Richard Schenkman, Chief Executive Officer of Brut. "By connecting to Nasdaq InterMarket, we are not only enhancing Brut's product offering, but we are also providing our customers with quick, anonymous, and cost effective access to all major U.S. listed market centers."
Nasdaq InterMarket comprises Nasdaq market participants, such as Market Makers and ECNs, which quote and trade exchange-listed securities using their proprietary systems, Nasdaq technology, and the InterMarket Trading System (ITS). Through the Nasdaq Computer Assisted Execution System (CAES), participants are linked with each other and gain immediate access to each other's quotations. CAES also provides participants a means of accessing ITS, a system developed to link the exchanges and the Nasdaq InterMarket.
About Brut, LLC
Brut is an Alternative Trading System (ATS) that operates an Electronic Communications Network (ECN) for the trading of Nasdaq and exchange-listed securities. Brut's unique Sponsorship Program* strengthens the relationships between broker-dealers and their institutional clients by allowing institutions trading on Brut to allocate commissions to their brokers-thereby retaining valuable brokerage services such as research and market expertise. Brut is owned and supported by 26 Wall Street firms, including Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs, Knight Trading Group, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Robertson Stephens, Salomon Smith Barney and SunGard Data Systems. The Company is headquartered in New York City. For more information, please visit www.ebrut.com.
*U.S. patent pending.
About Nasdaq
Nasdaq is the world's largest stock market. With more than 4,000 companies, Nasdaq lists more companies and trades more shares per day than any other U.S. market. Over the past five years, Nasdaq has outpaced all other U.S. markets in listing IPOs. It is also home to category defining companies that are leaders across all areas of business including technology, retail, communications, transportation, media and healthcare industries. With operations on three continents, Nasdaq is a key driver of global capital formation. For more information about Nasdaq, visit the Nasdaq Web site at www.nasdaq.com or the Nasdaq NewsroomSM at www.nasdaqnews.com.
