As part of its ETF expansion efforts, in April, BATS appointed Laura Morrison as Senior Vice President, Global Head of Exchange-Traded Products. Morrison previously acted as NYSE’s Senior Vice President of Global Index and ETPs and has accumulated 20 years of experience at the NYSE.
BATS is currently the top U.S. exchange for ETF trading volume, which has become a selling point for new issuers. Additionally, the exchange has adopted a favorable ETF market-making program, which provides incentives to market makers that put up their own capital to aid in tighter bid-ask spreads to promote liquidity and more efficient ETF trades. [BlackRock iShares Raising Liquidity in Smaller ETF Offerings]
iShares, a unit of BlackRock and the world’s largest ETF issuer, currently accounts for nearly two-thirds of the ETFs listed on BATS.
NYSE Arca is home to the majority of ETFs, accounting for more than 1,200 of almost 1,600 U.S.-listed ETFs on the market. NYSE Arca also charges between $5,000 and $40,000 per year on ETFs, depending on number of shares outstanding, while Nasdaq issues fees ranging between $6,500 to $14,500, depending on how many shares are on the market.