NASDAQ Milestones

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1961
Congress authorizes the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to conduct a study of fragmentation in the over-the-counter market. The SEC proposes automation as a possible solution and charges the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (NASD) with its implementation.

1971
February 8, the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) begins trading, with median quotes for 2,500 over-the-counter securities.

1976
NASDAQ purchased the assets of the automated quotation NASDAQ System from its builder and operator, Bunker Ramo Corporation.

1980
NASDAQ releases inside quotations, which promptly narrows displayed and published spreads on more than 85 percent of its securities.

1982
The National Market System (NMS) is created for NASDAQ’s 40 highest volume securities for up-to-the-minute reporting of trades.

1983
Computer Assisted Execution System (CAES) executes transactions in NMS
issues.

1984
Small Order Execution System (SOES) automatically executes small orders
against the best quotations, making greater volume and efficiency in trading
possible.

1985
The NASDAQ-100 Index, which includes 100 of the largest domestic and international non-financial companies listed on NASDAQ based on market capitalization, begins with a base of 250.00.

1986
NASDAQ opens fully redundant backup system to ensure reliable market.

1987
NASDAQ Workstation, a PC-based platform, gives traders a faster tool and
greater flexibility in customizing their service.

1988
Advanced Computerized Execution System (ACES) enables market makers to
execute many orders automatically

1989
The new Automated Confirmation Transaction (ACT) Service reduces risk by
providing same-day comparisons of telephone-negotiated trades.

The StockWatch Automated Tracking system (SWAT) is launched, bringing state-of-the-art sophistication to the evaluation of NASDAQ securities for abnormal activity.

1990
SelectNet enhances opportunities to find and execute transactions at the best
prices at greater volume.

1991
Introduction of the NASDAQ International Service enables firms and investors
around the globe to participate in the trans-Atlantic NASDAQ network during
European trading hours.
NASDAQ launches its first television advertising campaign with a series of three advertisements.

1993
NASDAQ develops three new indexes that enable investors to track key
growth industries: biotechnology, computer and telecommunications.

1994
NASDAQ surpasses the New York Stock Exchange in yearly share volume.

1995
NASDAQ Workstation II is unveiled, and the state-of-the-art surveillance tool, RADAR, is introduced.

1996
The NASDAQ Web site–– www.NASDAQ.com ––begins operating, quickly becoming one of the most visited investor sites on the Internet.

1997
The SEC approves NASDAQ's proposal to reduce the minimum quotation increment from 1/8 of a dollar to 1/16 of a dollar for stocks trading above $10. New SEC Order Handling Rules begin to phase in, narrowing spreads and enhancing market information.
NASDAQ opens its first MarketSite at 33 Whitehall Street in NYC and for the first time begins to offer Market Open ceremonies and broadcasts.

NASDAQ is the first stock market to offer its listed companies an online service, which today is known as NASDAQ Online.

1998
In conjunction with The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, NASDAQ announces a
partnership to provide investors worldwide with information about their respective markets on a new, joint Internet service.

1999
NASDAQ becomes the world’s biggest stock market by dollar volume.
The NASDAQ-100 Index Tracking Stock (QQQ) launches and sees 2.6 million shares traded in the first two hours.

NASDAQ moves the MarketSite to NYC’s Times Square, featuring high visibility broadcast studios and the largest outdoor video screen in the world.

NASDAQ launches NASDAQ Canada

2000
NASDAQ membership votes overwhelmingly to restructure and spin off NASDAQ into a shareholder-owned, for-profit company.

2001
NASDAQ sets new share volume record — more than 3.19 billion shares traded.

As part of its global expansion efforts, NASDAQ opens liaison office in
Bangalore, India.

NASDAQ becomes the first U.S. stock market to meet ISO 9001 quality standards.

NASDAQ launches the final phase of SuperSoes. NASDAQ converts all equity securities to decimal pricing.

2002
NASDAQ completes repurchase of 33.8 million shares of NASDAQ common stock owned by the NASD for consideration valued at $439 million or $13 per share – another major step toward NASDAQ’s separation from the NASD.

Jet Blue lists the shares of its IPO on NASDAQ – becoming the 14th airline to trade on NASDAQ.

On May 6, NASDAQ distributes its first annual report to shareholders, issuers, employees and other key constituencies for the year ended December 31, 2001.

NASDAQ launches SuperMontage — the next generation market platform — creating more transparency, access to liquidity and stable trading.

NASDAQ unveils the Market Intelligence Desk, which provides listed companies with a centralized point-of-contact for detailed information regarding their stocks’ trading activity, news coverage, analyst coverage and chat room activity.

NASDAQ warrants to public stockholders expire, allowing NASDAQ to be quoted on the OTCBB.

2003
Hardwick (Wick) Simmons resigns in April as Chief Executive of NASDAQ. Mr. Simmons announced in December 2002 his intention to retire in 2003 when his replacement was selected.
The Board of Directors of NASDAQ names Robert Greifeld President and Chief Executive Officer. H. Furlong Baldwin is elected non-executive Chairman.

The Fidelity NASDAQ Composite Index Tracking Stock (ONEQ), an ETF based on the NASDAQ Composite Index, begins trading in October.

Robert Greifeld unveils his strategic vision. In June, he announces “NASDAQ is relentlessly driven to be the best-performing, fairest, fastest, most transparent stock market in the world.”

2004
NASDAQ announces in January its dual listing initiative and concurrently the decision of six New York Stock Exchange companies to dually list their stock on NASDAQ and the NYSE. The six companies, the first to list on both markets under this program, are Apache Corporation, Cadence Design Systems, The Charles Schwab Corporation, Countrywide Financial, Hewlett-Packard and Walgreens. American Financial Group dual listed its stock on NASDAQ and the NYSE in April.

NASDAQ launches in March the NASDAQ Market Center, a new high-capacity trading platform for NYSE, AMEX, and NASDAQ securities, including exchange traded funds (ETF). The platform incorporates all of NASDAQ’s trading systems on one fast and functionality-driven system.

The NASDAQ Closing Cross begins operating in April, becoming the first successful electronic auction in the U.S. that executes all shares for each stock at a single price. The Closing Cross had a record day when it calculated the entire family of Russell indexes during their annual reconstitution on June 25. A total of approximately 333 million shares were executed at the 4 p.m. close, exceeding the prior record of 24 million.

TotalView, NASDAQ’s flagship proprietary data product, is enhanced in May to display more depth, resulting in an approximate 1,400-percent increase in displayed depth on the first day the enhancement was operational.

NASDAQ wins Google’s landmark initial public offering in August and 147 others in 2004.

NASDAQ launches the Opening Cross, a fully-transparent process auction process for opening the NASDAQ market, in September.

NASDAQ acquires Brut from SunGard Data Systems Inc. in September, accelerating NASDAQ’s growth initiatives and enhancing NASDAQ’s competitive position.

The NASDAQ-100 Index Tracking Stock transfers its listing to NASDAQ from the American Stock Exchange effective December 1. It began trading under the symbol “QQQQ.”

NASDAQ exports its leading ETFs globally, with QQQ to Japan, Israel and Mexico, and EQQQ to Switzerland and Germany.

2005
In January, NASDAQ announces it completed the acquisition of a 50 percent ownership interest in The NASDAQ Insurance Agency from a wholly-owned subsidiary of American International Group, Inc., making The NASDAQ Insurance Agency a wholly owned subsidiary of The NASDAQ Stock Market.
NASDAQ welcomes Sears Holdings Corporation in March, a historic move from the NYSE where it had listed since 1910.

NASDAQ welcomes the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to the dual listing program in April, and welcomes the first closed-end funds to the program. Nuveen Equity Premium Advantage Fund dual listed in August, and Nuveen Equity Premium Income Fund and Nuveen Equity Premium Opportunity Fund dual listed in December.

NASDAQ transfers the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board® (OTCBB) business and the trade reporting of all other Over-the-Counter (OTC) securities to NASD. This development helped facilitate corporate structure changes related to NASDAQ achieving exchange status.

NASDAQ and Reuters announce in June the formation of the Independent Research Network to help public companies obtain independent analyst coverage.

Premium Advantage Fund dual listed in August, and Nuveen Equity Premium Income Fund and Nuveen Equity Premium Opportunity Fund dual listed in December.

NASDAQ holds its first remote Opening and Closing Bell in August, from Cisco Systems’ headquarters in San Jose, CA, to celebrate Cisco’s 20th anniversary. In December, NASDAQ holds it first remote Opening Bell outside the U.S. — in London — to kick off NASDAQ’s 16th Investor Conference.

In September, NASDAQ acquires Carpenter Moore Insurance Services, a privately held San Francisco-based insurance brokerage firm specializing in management liability. As a result of this transaction, NASDAQ’s insurance business is ranked as a top 10 provider of management liability insurance with a total of seven offices throughout the country, serving over 2,000 existing clients, including 12 of the NASDAQ-100 companies.

NASDAQ announces in September the introduction of NASDAQ OrderView®, a new data feed that facilitates program and algorithmic trading. OrderView is a complement to NASDAQ's flagship TotalView® Data Product, providing critical TotalView information in a manner better suited for automated trading operations.

NASDAQ completes the acquisition of the INET ECN, designed to provide NASDAQ with a technologically superior trading platform, enhance NASDAQ’s ability to compete with U.S. and international market centers, and generate significant savings through technology.

NASDAQ welcomes Charles Schwab and Cadence Design Systems as sole NASDAQ issuers. Both switched their listings to NASDAQ from NYSE after participating in NASDAQ’s dual listing program. NASDAQ welcomed Harmony Gold as its first dual listed international company.

In December, NASDAQ completes its acquisition of Instinet Group Incorporated and sells Instinet’s Institutional Broker division to Silver Lake Partners.

2006
NASDAQ receives unanimous SEC approval in January to operate as a national securities exchange, allowing NASDAQ to take the final steps needed to complete its separation from the NASD.
NASDAQ announced in January plans to conduct an underwritten public offering of its common stock. NASDAQ plans to sell its own shares in the offering.

On February 15, NASDAQ celebrates 35 years of performance as the largest U.S. electronic stock market and in the process launches a new market tier, NASDAQ Global Select, which features the highest listing standards in the world.

NASDAQ welcomes UAL Corporation, parent of United Airlines, in February. UAL remotely opens and closes the market from Chicago and San Francisco, respectively.

For the first time, the total market capitalization ($25 billion) of the companies that switched to NASDAQ from the NYSE exceeded the total market value ($5 billion) of those that transferred from NASDAQ to the NYSE.

NASDAQ enters into a definitive agreement to acquire Shareholder.com, a shareholder communications and investor intelligence firm, enabling NASDAQ to offer Shareholder.com's comprehensive suite of services to its listed and other public companies.

NASDAQ dual-lists Ivanhoe Mines on the NASDAQ National Market — the first Canadian company to dual list on NASDAQ and the NYSE.

NASDAQ announces it will introduce the NASDAQ Crossing Network, a fully-anonymous trade execution facility designed to facilitate the execution of large trades, in the second quarter. All U.S. securities will be included in the intraday cross.

In March, NASDAQ makes an initial bid to acquire the London Stock Exchange at 950 pence per share. The bid is rejected by the LSE.

In May, NASDAQ announces it acquires a 15% stake in shares of the London Stock Exchange, worth approximately $781.7 million (U.S.).

Also in May, Liberty Media Corporation, a $24 billion company, announces it will switch the listing of its shares from the NYSE to the NASDAQ Stock Market.

In June, NASDAQ announces it will acquire PrimeZone, a newswire and multimedia distribution service based in Los Angeles. The move boosts NASDAQ's investor relations and corporate communications suite of products for listed companies .

NASDAQ Closing Cross sets new record for third year in a row during the Annual Russell Index Reconstitution. Approximately 690.8 million shares representing $10.5 billion were executed in the Closing Cross in 5.1 seconds across some 3,200 NASDAQ stocks.

In August, NASDAQ becomes operational as a national securities exchange for the first time ever.

In August, NASDAQ Execution Systems (formally Brut) becomes the number one liquidity provider to NYSE floor.

In October, NASDAQ announces it will transfer the sponsorship rights of its ETFs to PowerShares in a move that will help expand the sales distribution channels for QQQ, EQQQ and BLDRs ETFs. The ownership rights of the products remain with NASDAQ.

In November, NASDAQ announces its offer for the remaining shares of London Stock Exchange Group plc that it does not already own at 1,243 pence. The offer was immediately rejected by the LSE as undervaluing the exchange.

Highly sought after Mexican Airport operator OMA IPO debuts on NASDAQ, representing the first Latin American privatization.

In December, E*TRADE, a $10 billion company, announces it is switching its listing from The NYSE back to NASDAQ; with the win, NASDAQ takes over $34 billion in market cap from the NYSE during 2006.

NASDAQ unveiled a new suite of virtual 3-Demensional graphic products on its MarketSite Wall. The new graphics will provide more unique and interesting views of NASDAQ market data such as Market Velocity and IPO crosses.

2007
In January, NASDAQ mourns the passing of its founder Gordon S. Macklin. He served as President of NASDAQ from 1975-1987.

In January, CNBC's “Fast Money” program launched from the NASDAQ MarketSite.

NASDAQ appoints Hon. Michael G. Oxley as Vice Chairman in March.

In May, NASDAQ is recognized as the Best Exchange Data Provider among securities exchanges for the second year in a row.

NASDAQ launches Board Recruiting, an online service to help public and private companies identify board members, in May. It is the first online service of its kind and the first board recruitment service to be offered by a stock exchange.

Also in May, NASDAQ announces a transaction to create global exchange and technology company with Swedish exchange operator, OMX. 1

In June, NASDAQ acquires Directors Desk, a technology company that specializes in creating a secure, online work space for corporate board members that streamlines board communications and key functions.

NASDAQ sets an all time single-day record in June in NYSE-listed trading volume, reaching a record 19.6 % matched market share.

In July, NASDAQ introduces ETF market, a special market segment for exchange traded funds.

In August, NASDAQ sets an all time share-volume record on August 10 with 3.31 billion shares traded.

NASDAQ announces sale of its remaining 5.3 million shares of the London Stock Exchange in September. (NASDAQ announced its original offer for the LSE back in March of 2006 and subsequently built a 29% ownership stake in the London Stock Exchange plc.)

1In September, NASDAQ announces a series of transactions with Borse Dubai and OMX to create a global financial marketplace with a unique footprint spanning the U.S., Europe, the Middle East and strategic emerging markets.

In October, NASDAQ's Q3 earnings represent 12 straight quarters of top-line growth, with record operating results.

Also in October, NASDAQ announces it will acquire the Boston Stock Exchange. The transaction, once completed, will give NASDAQ a second exchange license and flexibility around Market Structure and Execution Efficiencies.

NASDAQ announces the formation of the PORTAL Alliance with 12 leading investment firms in November. Alliance will create an open, industry-standard facility for the private offering, trading, shareholder tracking and settlement of 144A securities.

In November, NASDAQ announces it will acquire the Philadelphia Stock Exchange (PHLX). The transaction, once completed, will provide NASDAQ with one of the premier options trading platforms in the U.S.

Also in November, DirecTV announces switch from the NYSE to NASDAQ becoming the largest switch ever in terms of market cap ($28 billion). It is the first NYSE company to switch and retain their three-letter ticker symbol.

NASDAQ signs MOU with Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in November.

In December, NASDAQ becomes the first U.S. exchange to open an office in Beijing, China.

Also in December, NASDAQ shareholders approve issuance of shares for OMX transaction and name change to “The NASDAQ OMX Group” upon completion of NASDAQ's acquisition of OMX.