NASDAQ OMX introduces listing and trading service for investment funds in the Baltic Market

16.09.2008 VLN

Tallinn, September 16, 2008 – The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) announced that as of today the three NASDAQ OMX Baltic stock exchanges will provide new services for existing and newly created investment funds in the Baltic countries. The new market segment and new Baltic Funds list were launched in order to enable investment funds to become listed and traded on these stock exchanges. The new market segments are available in Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius.

“The offering to list and trade investment units and investment funds on stock exchanges is now open in the Baltic countries. By offering this service, we expect to widen the choice of financial instruments available for investors on the Baltic stock exchanges outside of common shares and bonds. Accordingly, we are providing opportunities for investment funds to access a wider investor community, including foreign investors. Our experience with the OMX Nordic Exchange and with the NASDAQ OMX U.S. market for ETFs shows very high interest in such instruments,” commented Henrik Elfving, NASDAQ OMX Vice President and Head of the Baltic Markets.

All necessary infrastructure for the functioning of the newly created market segment, including rules, the trading system, and the web page are in place. Trading, clearing and settlement will be handled in a manner identical to equity trading.

Listing fund units on the stock exchange can address both investment funds’ and investors’ needs. The private investor can trade investment fund units within the trading day, and an exchange listing ensures that the trading terms are transparent and trades are settled in accordance with the principles and rules applicable to listed securities. This type of investment is easily available to both local and foreign investors and it provides fund companies with a wider distribution channel. Market data covering the Baltic Fund list will be available on the NASDAQ OMX Baltic Market website. All public information about the funds will be also displayed within the Baltic Fund Center, where investors can find information on the net asset values, trading history, period reports and corporate information announcements.

Trading funds on exchanges has become increasingly popular in the last decade. The Nordic Exchange offers different listing and trading services for fund products, and in Denmark, there is a long tradition of trading and listing investment funds on the exchange. More than 500 investment funds are listed on NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen, with a total daily turnover of approximately EUR 160 million and 6000 trades per day, approximately one-third of all fund trading. In Sweden and Finland, the Nordic Exchange offers listing and trading for nine Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).