By Jonathan Kellner, CEO of MEMX
As we approach our third UAT this weekend, I wanted to provide an update on the MEMX rollout plan. While I am eager to get going with the business of being a fully operational exchange, our primary objectives as we move into production are to limit systemic risk and ensure all participants can be integrated into the national market system effectively. As an organization with aspirations to create enduring value, an orderly launch that achieves these objectives is paramount, especially in the current environment.
After consulting with our members, and discussing internally with the MEMX team, it’s become clear that a bit of additional time for industry testing and connectivity work is warranted. There are also some important industry events coming up. The Market Wide Circuit Breaker test is on September 12th and the S&P Rebalance and Quad-witch is on September 18th.
With that in mind, we have updated our rollout schedule and will now begin live trading on Monday, September 21st. MEMX will still move into production in a phased approach that focuses on the successful completion of various milestones prior to advancing to the next phase.
The target dates for commencing each phase are as follows:
- Phase Zero: Production trading in all NMS test symbols on September 8th.
- Phase One: Trading six live symbols (ACST, BB, ED, F-B, GOOG, ICSH) on September 21st.
- Phase Two: Trading all NMS symbols on September 29th.
Launching a new exchange is a significant undertaking in the best of times; it’s even more demanding in a distributed work environment. While working remotely, our team has deftly navigated the implementation of new exchange systems and processes, the building and testing of our technology, and the onboarding and certifying of members. We have had two successful user acceptance tests, welcomed over 40 members and are well positioned for the upcoming launch. I am incredibly proud of the entire MEMX team for rising to this challenge.
We remain focused on our mission to reduce complexity, simplify participants’ trading experience and bring technological innovation to the equity market. We appreciate our members patience, cooperation, and support in getting our new exchange up and running during these unique times.
Source: MEMX
