Nasdaq announced today (press release) that it is creating a third market tier called NASDAQ Global Select Market which will have the highest initial listing standards of any stock market in the world. According to Nasdaq’s CEO Robert Greifeld:
NASDAQ is raising its financial listing standards above that of any other market globally to attract and retain companies that want to trade on the market with the highest listing standards.
NASDAQ’s view is that the best companies globally will migrate to the markets with the best standards. We believe that the best, most intelligent standards come about when markets and companies recognize what is good for investors and initiate improvements from within. NASDAQ invites markets, companies and investors to review our standards, emulate us, or suggest other types of enhancements. In this way we hope to create a reasoned race to the top for markets and companies.
Nasdaq also announced that it is changing the name of what will be the second market tier from the NASDAQ National Market to the NASDAQ Global Market. The third market tier will be the NASDAQ Capital Market.
The W$J characterizes the new tier as “the latest move in Nasdaq Chief Executive Robert Greifeld’s strategy to get more large companies to move their stocks to Nasdaq from the larger New York Stock Exchange.â€?