Great to see you blogging Jim!

I just wanted to put in a plug for the easy shortcut we made to the matchpoint section on nyse.com!

nyse.com/matchpoint

Catchy and easy to remember.

by Danielle Gustafson on August 15, 2007 4:55 PM

I look forward to hearing more about the topic.

by Nick Fenton on August 15, 2007 5:08 PM

Clearly, Matchpoint is responsible for the recent volatility.

However, the AMEX is still responsible for global warming.

Welcome.

-DT

by Dinosaur Trader on August 15, 2007 8:56 PM

Great to see you're blogging on Exchanges. NYX's leadership obviously knows how to find and integrate, companies that can add value, as well as provide significant economies.

With so much focus on marquee deals such as merging with another bourse, deals like the acquisition of Matchpoint can get overlooked.

So here is a link to the NYX news release about the Matchpoint acquisition which provides some background:
http://www.nyse.com/about/publication/1156157016600.html

Jim, when do you plan to go live with Matchpoint?

Thanks, and I look forward to reading more about MP.

by Barry K on August 16, 2007 2:03 PM

Thanks for the warm welcome and feedback....while I can't comment on the nature of the AMEX's greenhouse gaseous emissions, I can say that MatchPoint can't take credit for the volatility because we are not even live yet! But come September/October (pending SEC approval), we hope to be up and running.

by Crossing Ross on August 16, 2007 3:20 PM

Barry K, you make a good point. NYSE Euronext has been doing some high-profile deals over the past few years. Arca and Euronext are the most obvious ones and the rollout of Hybrid, Reg. NMS, a new bond platform, ETF business and options platform are pretty cool strategic initiatives.

But there is one acquisition that has not gotten much attention. It was actually the first the NYSE did after going public: the acquisition of a trade-matching platform called MatchPoint. And while is it not as high profile as the businesses and initiatives above, MatchPoint represents a profound and intriguing strategic shift for the NYSE.

First of all, MatchPoint transacts by aggregating liquidity at distinct points-in-time, a much different approach from NYSE's Hybrid and NYSE Arca's continuous-trading model. Second, MatchPoint accomodates both single block orders AND portfolios. Currently, no exchange provides transactional capabilities for the portfolio-based investor (not to mention integrating them with single block orders too). Third, MatchPoint is not only completely anonymous but it also has no displayed order book or order information. Most exchange trading systems traditionally display order interest or "imbalance information". Oh, and finally, MatchPoint will trade all NMS securities, not just NYSE-listed securities. For the first time in its 215-year history, NYSE through MatchPoint will begin trading public securities listed on other markets.

So while MatchPoint's acquisition is not front-page news, it represents some significant changes to NYSE Euronext's exchange model. Instead of a "one size fits all" approach, MatchPoint is a piece of the sophisticated collage of products designed to meet the diverse needs of the investing community. We plan to launch it in September-October, pending SEC approval.

by Jim Ross on August 20, 2007 10:34 AM