IEX plans to nab listings from rivals

NEW YORK: A year after disrupting the U.S. stock market with a new approach to handling trades, upstart stock exchange operator IEX Group is planning to nab listings from rivals by charging simpler, cheaper fees, Sara Furber, IEX´s head of listings, said in a recent interview.

In October, IEX will roll out a flat fee structure for the first companies that call its Investors´ Exchange their home, Furber said.

Other venues charge companies based on the number of outstanding shares they have, which is costlier not only for companies with more shares but potentially for those that perform stock splits or make acquisitions.

"If it´s complicated, but doesn´t serve a purpose and we can eliminate it and make it better for clients, that´s sort of the sweet spot of where we´d like to be," said Furber.

To get companies on board for the launch, IEX has also been offering to waive the first five years of listing fees for the initial group of companies that list on its exchange, said an executive at one company that IEX pitched, who requested anonymity to discuss private business negotiations.

IEX launched as a trading venue exactly a year ago on Aug. 19, but its founders had already been portrayed as crusaders against predatory trading tactics in the controversial 2014 book "Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt.

" It upended the status quo by introducing new concepts like a "speed bump" to slow trading, and flat pricing for other types of services, all of which it says benefit investors.