Four major brokerage and financial services firms today announced that they have signed a letter of intent for the formation of a new electronic communications network (ECN).
Spear, Leeds & Kellogg;
Fidelity Investments;
Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ); and
The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCH) will each have an equal stake in this proposed joint venture.
The new ECN, which has yet to be named, will use the same technology as the
REDIBook ECN, the third largest ECN, currently operated by Spear, Leeds & Kellogg.
ECNs are computerized trading networks that match subscribers' buy and sell limit orders. Historically, ECNs were used primarily by institutional investors as a private network to post bids and offers anonymously. Recently, however, as new rules have made ECN price quotes available to the market at large, ECNs have garnered an increasing share of the Nasdaq market -- as much as 20-25% by some estimates.
Terms of the venture are not being disclosed. 
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