The hearing, titled Market Structure III: The Role of the Specialist in the Evolving Modern Marketplace, was held in New York today.
During today's hearing, Mr. Greifeld focused on the evolving modern stock markets and putting investor interests first when determining the future of the markets. Greifeld emphasized free market competition that results in more choice for investors and in turn better prices when trading. In calling for the repeal of the Trade Through rule he said, "Let's bring all the U.S. equity markets into the modern era by exposing them to the forces of competition which apply to the rest of the American marketplace and have made our capitalist system so successful."
By repealing the Trade Through rule, Greifeld stated that investor orders would not be forced to slow down for floor-based markets for an "eternity of seconds" with the hope of accessing a best advertised price.
Greifeld also commented, "The most important aspect of Trade Through repeal -- [is that] investors would benefit from having choice and from the innovation and improvements that competition would unleash, just as they have in the NASDAQ market space with tighter spreads, greater liquidity and faster execution times."
Mr. Greifeld's submitted testimony can be accessed at www.nasdaqnews.com
NASDAQ is the world's largest electronic stock market. With approximately 3,300 companies, it lists more companies and, on average, trades more shares per day than any other U.S. market. It is home to category-defining companies that are leaders across all areas of business including technology, retail, communications, financial services, transportation, media and biotechnology industries. NASDAQ is the primary market for trading NASDAQ listed stocks. Approximately 54% of NASDAQ-listed shares traded are reported to NASDAQ systems. For more information about NASDAQ, visit the NASDAQ Web site at www.NASDAQ.com or the NASDAQ NewsroomSM at www.NASDAQnews.com.
