ECN success: increasing market share
Interestingly, ECNs market share and traded volume have grown fast on Nasdaq
market, gaining market share up to twenty to thirty percent of the total traded
volume on Nasdaq stocks. However since every ECNs have a di¤erent way to
report trades, the exact ECNs’ market share can only be approximated. For
example, the biggest and oldest ECN, Instinet which accounts for half of ECNs’
transactions has a market share estimated about …fteen to twenty percent of
the total volume traded on some Nasdaq stocks. Because of their success and
for communication issue, ECNs have recently started giving more information
on their activity. They have began providing on their web site …gures about
their book and their market shares (Instinet, Island...).
This success has been the result of two major facts: low costs of ECN on one
hand, and relative ine¢ciency of Nasdaq dealers on the other hand. By o¤ering
lower transaction costs, ECNs have gained customers. The electronic treatment
of orders has as well simpli…ed the procedure. The other major reason has been
Nasdaq brokers dealers ine¢ciency. It has been advocated that Nasdaq brokers
dealers collude.
We can also claim that it is the growth of the American stock market which
has provided a continuous growth of volume.