The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.

First ETFs Listing Exchange to Launch Competitive Payment for Market Making
Program 

NEW YORK, 2013-04-03 17:30 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) today announced that the Market
Quality Program (MQP) will launch in the second quarter of 2013. MQP is an
optional listing program that allows exchange traded fund (ETF) issuers to
contribute funds to the Exchange that may be used to pay market makers that
improve the liquidity and quality of the markets in MQP products. This
groundbreaking liquidity and market quality incentive program in the U.S. will
be available only on The NASDAQ Stock Market, the largest and most liquid cash
equities market on the planet, and has been approved by the Securities and
Exchange Commission on a pilot basis. 

Recognizing a need for liquidity in ETFs, NASDAQ OMX designed the MQP to
broaden the pool of ETF liquidity providers, encourage competitive trading and
enhance the quality of the markets in exchange traded funds by tightening quote
spreads, increasing depth of liquidity and reducing execution costs for
investors. Issuers that list new or existing ETFs in the MQP will benefit from
a broader pool of liquidity providers, which offers investors decreased trading
costs and certainty of execution. Market makers will benefit from the program's
quarterly rebate payments in exchange for a demonstrated commitment to enhance
the quality of the markets in registered ETFs. 

"This market quality incentive program, which is similar to non-U.S. paid for
market making programs around the globe, is an important step in the evolution
of our U.S. capital markets system," said Eric Noll, Executive Vice President
of Transaction Services U.S. and U.K. at NASDAQ OMX. "The MQP will enhance
liquidity and exposure for exchange traded products (ETPs), attract investors
in the capital markets to stimulate growth in these products, generate interest
from a broader range of market participants and benefit investors by reducing
execution costs and narrowing bid/ask spreads." 

He added, "The MQP is a key piece of our larger strategy to better serve the
ETP industry with market quality incentive programs, ETP-specific functionality
and a platform built to be the preeminent ETP trading destination." 

Through the MQP, an ETF issuer will pay a basic annual fee into NASDAQ OMX's
general fund which will be rebated quarterly to qualified market makers. Market
maker performance will be measured by time and size quoted at the National Best
Bid and Offer and depth of displayed liquidity. MQP details and progress
throughout the pilot will be provided on our ETP listings homepage: 

www.nasdaqomxtrader.com/etfmarket

"We're thrilled to demonstrate our commitment to the listings community as the
first U.S. exchange to launch a competitive payment for market making program
for ETPs, and we're proud to have transformed what was a market structure
concept for many years into a reality with the help of the SEC," said Dave
LaValle, Head of ETP Listings at NASDAQ OMX. 

He added, "Our market is primed for additional ETP listings and stronger issuer
partnerships in 2013 as we look to leverage our relationships in the market
making community to increase ETP liquidity and broaden the pool of ETP
liquidity providers. The MQP will accelerate our momentum within the ETP
community." 

About NASDAQ OMX:

The inventor of the electronic exchange, The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc., fuels
economies and provides transformative technologies for the entire lifecycle of
a trade - from risk management to trade to surveillance to clearing. In the
U.S. and Europe, we own and operate 24 markets, 3 clearinghouses and 5 central
securities depositories supporting equities, options, fixed income,
derivatives, commodities, futures and structured products. Able to process more
than 1 million messages per second at sub-40 microsecond speeds with 99.999%
uptime, our technology drives more than 70 marketplaces in 50 developed and
emerging countries into the future, powering 1 in 10 of the world's securities
transactions. Our award-winning data products and worldwide indexes are the
benchmarks in the financial industry. Home to approximately 3,400 listed
companies worth $6 trillion in market cap whose innovations shape our world, we
give the ideas of tomorrow access to capital today. Welcome to where the world
takes a big leap forward, daily. Welcome to the NASDAQ OMX Century. To learn
more, visit www.nasdaqomx.com. Follow us on Facebook
(http://www.facebook.com/NASDAQ) and Twitter
(http://www.twitter.com/nasdaqomx). (Symbol: NDAQ and member of S&P 500) 

NDAQG


         CONTACT: Media Contact:
         
         Robert Madden
         NASDAQ OMX
         +1 646 441 5045
         Robert.Madden@NASDAQOMX.com