New Texas Stock Exchange takes on New York in stock market showdown

Texas is two-stepping on New York City’s territory with plans to open a competing stock exchange. TXSE Group announced Wednesday, June 5, that it raised $120 million in capital to start the Texas Stock Exchange. Financial heavyweights BlackRock and Citadel Securities backed the exchange.

Few buildings in New York are more iconic than the New York Stock Exchange, which is the largest stock exchange in the world by market capitalization and trading volume. Next in line is the Nasdaq, also headquartered in New York City. Texas wants to take them both on.

“TXSE will ultimately create more competition around quote activity, liquidity and transparency,” James Lee, founder and CEO of TXSE Group, said.

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The Texas Stock Exchange would be a fully electronic, national securities exchange. The group said it plans to file registration documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission later this year.

A stock exchange is simply a marketplace where stock buyers connect with sellers. When a company goes public, it chooses what exchange to list with. But to get accepted at a particular exchange, the company has to follow the rules of that exchange and pay fees.

The Wall Street Journal said the proposed Texas Stock Exchange is “aiming to tap in to disaffection with increasing compliance costs at Nasdaq and NYSE and newer rules like one setting targets for board diversity at Nasdaq.”

TXSE Group said it believes it will be the most well-capitalized exchange entrant to file registration with the SEC. There used to be more regional exchange options, but most of those closed or folded into the effective duopoly of the NYSE and Nasdaq.

Once approved, TXSE will have the task of convincing companies to list on its exchange. According to Fortune, Texas is tied with New York for the second-most Fortune 500 companies headquartered in a state at 52. For the first time since 2014, California came out on top with 57.

Especially in recent years, Texas tried to entice more financial business to the state, whether it is companies moving headquarters there or reincorporating.

This year, Texas will launch a new business court system to challenge Delaware, America’s corporate home for more than a century. And they are doing so with a little public relations help from Elon Musk.

Tesla shareholders are currently voting on whether to move its incorporation from Delaware to Texas after Delaware courts struck down Musk’s $56 billion pay package.