Canadian ATS's Capture 24.8 % of Market Share

Pure Trading and the other alternative trading systems captured 24.8 per cent of the total Canadian volume -- including listings on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the TSX Venture Exchange and the Canadian National Stock Exchange -- during the week ended Jan. 15, 2010. The most active ATS was Alpha Trading Systems which traded an average of 198.7 million shares per day, followed by Chi-X Canada with an average of 31 million shares per day. Pure Trading was the third most active ATS, trading an average of 20.2 million shares per day.

CNSX Markets Inc., the owner of Pure Trading and the CNSX, plans to start charging fees for trading TSX-listed debentures and notes. It will charge the active side (the buyer) nine cents per $1,000 par value of a debenture or note, while the passive side (the seller) will receive a seven-cent rebate per $1,000 par value of a debenture or note. CNSX Markets will begin earning its two-cent middleman fee on Feb. 1, 2010. Until then trading debentures or notes on Pure Trading will remain free.

Over at Alpha, unless the competitive ATS plans to raise its rates it will become the cheapest platform in Canada for trading debentures or notes. Alpha currently charges the active side 0.35 of a cent per $1,000 par value of a debentures or note, while the passive side receives a rebate of 0.31 of a cent per $1,000 par value. The quickly eroding monopoly, TMX Group, charges both the active and passive sides 10 cents per $1,000 par value.

Debentures and notes cannot be traded on Chi-X Canada and the ATS has no plans to make it available in the near future either, stating there is not enough demand. Chi-X Canada says its next challenge will be to increase its number of TSX-V listings.