Unless, that is, the liquidity you are looking for is in Microsoft or another big Nasdaq stock. It is that last requirement that cuts out Nasdaq. It is one of the few major markets world-wide that doesn't use that model, in which investor orders for stock are matched with each other in a central location or over a central system. Instead, Nasdaq is an electronically linked decentralized market in which most investors trade with a dealer instead of another investor. Nasdaq Chairman Frank Zarb shrugged off the snub.
Competition is good.
The proposed alliance nevertheless draws the clearest line yet between the Big Board and Nasdaq, which have been locked in a pitched battle to attract and retain member firms. There were other subtle digs at Nasdaq. This means investors trading through GEM won't have access to companies such as Intel, Cisco Systems and Microsoft. And it also means that the Big Board and Nasdaq aren't likely to leave their rivalry at home once the stock-exchange game goes global. Nasdaq's Mr. Zarb isn't worried about the Australian and Hong Kong exchanges hooking up with the enemy.