By Josh Beckerman


Members Exchange, which said last May that it had become the sixth-largest U.S. equity exchange, will launch an options exchange, targeting a fourth-quarter debut pending Securities and Exchange Commission approval.

MEMX was founded in 2019. Its investors include Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Citadel Securities, Virtu Financial Inc., Charles Schwab Corp. and BlackRock Inc.

MEMX said it will "increase determinism, reduce costs and drive competitive improvements for our options members, just as we did in equities."

MEMX launched in September 2020, seeking to provide lower fees and better technology than existing exchanges. Last month, MEMX said it would provide "top of book" and "last sale" market data to streaming data providers for one cent per user and announced a simplified fee schedule for other data products.

Other creators of new exchanges in recent years include Miami International Holdings Inc., which formed the MIAX Pearl exchange, and the Long-Term Stock Exchange.

Miami International has been active in options trading. MIAX Emerald, which launched in 2019, was its third fully electronic options trading exchange.


Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-15-22 1324ET