Electronic Communication Network
An Electronic Communication Network ( ECN ) is an electronic trading system from a third-party provider that is connected to the NASDAQ electronic system or that of another exchange.
If the securities order cannot be executed in the respective ECN, it is forwarded to NASDAQ, for example. The first German ECN was Tradegate , the electronic trading system of the Berlin-based Tradegate AG, securities trading bank from 2001; Tradegate Exchange has now become a stock exchange.
The conditions were set by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January 1997 :
- The continuous dissemination of course information.
- Limit book management or continuous auctions.
- The (automatic) merging of customer orders and their execution.
In addition, the operator of the ECN must ensure that the best available market maker orders will be passed on to the Nasdaq system.
List of known ECNs
| symbol | designation |
|---|---|
| ARCA | Archipelago ECN |
| BTRD | Bloomberg TradeBook ECN |
| BROOD | The Brass Utility ECN |
| CHIX | Chi-X ECN |
| INCA | Instinet ECN |
| INET | INET ECN |
| TIQS | TIQS ECN |
| TLNK | TradeLink ECN |
| MBTX | MB Trading ECN |
| NTRD | NexTrade ECN |
| TRGT | Tradegate ECN |
| REDI | Spear, Leeds & Kellogg ECN |