Security Futures in the U.S.: Still No Launch Date

Nasdaq Liffe LLC, a joint venture of Nasdaq and the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange, is likewise not in a position to commit to a launch date, according to spokesman Ray Carmichael. It has held regular technology simulations and dress rehearsals since last spring, and “now that the margin rules have been set” by the Securities Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, “those have been plugged in to the simulations.”

Nasdaq Liffe, or NQLX, has its operational headquarters in Chicago, as well as what it calls a “strong presence” in New York.

The Island Futures Exchange LLC, an affiliate of Island ECN Inc. also plans to list security futures shortly, “by the end of the fourth quarter this year or early in the first quarter next,” according to spokesman Chris Concannon.

Recently, Island ECN’s shareholders voted in favor of a merger with the Instinet Group. The integration of the two groups has already begun, Mr. Concannon said, “which is one reason why we’re not trying to get out first on single-stock futures.” One oddity associated with this merger and the resulting integration of the two systems is that Instinet has already announced it will post its Nasdaq quotations in the Alternative Display Facility. A couple weeks ago, it made this decision official in a letter to the SEC. Its merger partner Island, on the other hand, has not committed to participate in the ADF. One effect of Instinet’s decision on ADF is to delay the rollout of Nasdaq’s new order-routing and execution platform, Supermontage, until Oct. 14.