SpeedFeed Moves into After-Hours Dissemination

In a move to further market data consolidation, A-T Financial has expanded its Primark SpeedFeed product to include after-hours market information from Island, RediBook, Archipelago and MarketXT. SpeedFeed will disseminate the quotes from the four Electronic Communications Networks (ECNs) during pre- and post-market trading, according to the trading hours of each ECN. In addition, A-T Financial, a wholly owned subsidiary of Primark, is in discussions to include "at least one other major ECN and a couple of smaller ones," says Frank Piasecki, director of marketing and business development at A-T Financial.

Piasecki explains that increasing customer requests led A-T Financial to include the after-hours ECN data as a value-added service. "The benefit to the customer is that they can look at the book of the ECNs together with all of the exchange data through a single point of access," he adds. Although SpeedFeed customers are charged to access the Nasdaq Level II data and ECN data, in most cases there is no charge for the actual data. The ECNs determine "where and how and when the data gets disseminated and if there is a charge," notes Piasecki. He would not comment on how the ECNs determine when there are charges.

He says that continuing talks at the SEC level about the concern over market fragmentation and liquidity were also key factors in the addition of after-hours data to the SpeedFeed product. At this point, it is estimated that ECN activity accounts for a third of Nasdaq's trading volume and with the repeal of Rule 390, ECNs are eyeing the Big Board as their next trading frontier. Piasecki explains that this concern over market fragmentation and lack of liquidity can be, in part, attributed to the lack of information available, which is why SpeedFeed is moving to disseminate as much information as quickly as possible to its users.

A-T Financial has set up direct links to each of the ECNs for real-time output, which is taken in at both of A-T Financial's data centers in Manhattan and outside of Chicago. The data is then made available via satellite or private network to SpeedFeed clients as a raw data output through an API. "We're consolidating the data in real time so that clients can develop and use it for their own purposes--whether to display internally, put on Web sites, in analytical applications, back-office pricing or risk management systems or even third-party quote terminals," says Piasecki. He adds that it is "just a matter of time," before all ECN data will be available on the SpeedFeed product.