Quote MTF, a multilateral trading facility (MTF) based in Hungary, has become the newest member of an industry working group to develop common symbology for European equities.
The working group, which was established in October 2008, comprises fellow MTFs BATS Europe, Chi-X Europe, Nasdaq OMX Europe, NYSE Arca Europe and Turquoise. Its aim is to increase market efficiency by adopting a common framework for stock symbols traded across multiple trading venues.
According to the group, adopting common symbology allows market data from European trading venues to be consolidated more easily and smart order routing to operate more effectively. Participation in the group is open to all European execution venues. Chi-X, Turquoise, Nasdaq OMX Europe and BATS Europe have already migrated to the new stock codes.
“As a no-frills MTF we are very happy to become a part of this valuable initiative because creating and adopting standards are cornerstones of our business model,” said Tamás Madlena, CEO of Quote MTF, in a statement. “We strongly believe that harmonised symbology is beneficial for the whole of the industry, as it is a clear step towards a more efficient European trading landscape where peer venues cooperate for simplicity and ease of use.”
Quote MTF is backed by Canadian firm BRMS Holdings, which also owns Canadian alternative trading system SwiftTrade. It is due to launch on 5 September.