Selecting a Stock Exchange (2)

The NASDAQ stock exchange (www.nasdaq.com) was founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and is owned and operated today by The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. NASDAQ does not have a trading floor where traders match buy and sell orders on behalf of investors. Rather, the buyers and sellers are connected through an elaborate system of computer networks. With approximately 3,300 companies listed, NASDAQ is the largest U.S. electronic stock market.

Although NASDAQ does not have a trading floor, it has created MarketSite, a broadcast studio located in the heart of New York’s famous Times Square. Click here to go to the NASDAQ website and see pictures of the MarketSite Broadcast Studio and the seven-story MarketSite Tower: http://www.nasdaq.com/reference/marketsite_about.stm.  If you would like to view the MarketSite Tower by live webcam, click this link: http://www.nasdaq.com/about/marketsitetowervideo.asx .

The NASDAQ traditionally represents smaller, newer companies — especially high-tech businesses. A lot of companies such as Microsoft and Yahoo started off small on the NASDAQ, but grew into giant corporations. Intel and Dell are two large well-known companies that qualified for listing on the NYSE when they went public, but decided to go with NASDAQ. 

Listing fees for larger companies are generally more affordable on this exchange. NASDAQ also offers listing in the Nasdaq SmallCap Market, where initial entry fees are about $10,000 and the annual fees are a flat $4,000. For young entrepreneurs who started small and are gradually growing their businesses, the NASDAQ might make good sense as a place to gain a public foothold and raise capital.

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