What you need to know:

• Beginning Monday, November 14, 2011, The NASDAQ Stock Market^® (NASDAQ^®), NASDAQ OMX BX^SM (BX^SM) and NASDAQ OMX PSX^SM (PSX^SM) will offer several enhancements for Self Match Prevention:
• Firms will be able to optionally assign a “Group ID” to orders received via designated OUCH ports, pending Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) review.
• Execution-style details for cancelled orders resulting from Self Match Prevention interactions will be available upon request
• Firms can opt to set up their Self Match Prevention methodology at either the MPID level or at the port level, pending SEC review.

What is the new Group ID functionality for Self Match Prevention?

Pending SEC review, beginning Monday, November 14, 2011, firms employing Self Match Prevention can assign a “Group ID” to orders received via designated ports. Firms may contact NASDAQ OMX Subscriber Services beginning November 14^th to request this functionality, which will be enabled upon SEC review. Group ID functionality will only be available via OUCH ports.

The Group ID will indicate that the incoming order should not execute against orders with both the same MPID and with an identical Group ID. The Group ID will be a two-character code, composed of alphanumerics and/or spaces, assigned at the port-level and updated by NASDAQ OMX^® on behalf of the client. If an incoming order is sent via a port using Self Match Prevention that has been assigned a Group ID, then it will be eligible to execute against all resting orders except those with the same MPID and Group ID. Examples of this execution are as follows:

• Incoming order “A” has an MPID of “ABCD” and Group ID “A1”, resting order “B” has an MPID of “ABCD” and Group ID “A1” – in this scenario, these two orders would not execute against each other.
• Incoming order “C” has an MPID of “EFGH” and Group ID “XY”, resting order “D” has an MPID of “EFGH” does not have a Group ID – in this scenario, these two orders would execute against each other.

What is the new functionality for Self Match Prevention execution-style details?

Beginning Monday, November 14, 2011, NASDAQ, BX and PSX will support the ability to provide additional information on OUCH about cancelled messages resulting from the “Decrement Both” Self Match Prevention methodology. This new message type, the “AIQ Cancelled Message”, is available upon request.

The execution-style details in the “AIQ Cancelled Message” for these Self Match Prevention interactions will include:

• Price at which the trade would have occurred
• Liquidity code the order would have received
• Quantity that would have executed

What is the new functionality for Self Match Prevention methodology selection options?

Pending SEC review, firms can opt to set up their Self Match Prevention methodology (e.g., “Decrement Both” or “Cancel Oldest”) at either the MPID level, where all orders received will receive the same Self Match Prevention treatment, or at the port level. Firms may contact NASDAQ OMX Subscriber Services beginning November 14^th to request this functionality, which will be enabled upon SEC review.

If two orders interact but have different Self Match Prevention methodology instructions, the methodology of the incoming order will be utilized. However, port level methodology will always override MPID methodology. For example, if a firm places an order with a “Decrement Both” selection at the MPID level and an order with “Cancel Oldest” selection at the port level, the port level designation will be used and the order will follow the "Cancel Oldest" functionality.

Which protocols will be supported?

The new Self Match Prevention enhancements will be available only on OUCH 3.1, OUCH 3.2, OUCH 4.0 and OUCH 4.1. Firms should refer to the NASDAQ OMX technical specifications for updates.

Will testing be available?

Firms may test the new functionalities on Saturday, November 12, 2011. NASDAQ OMX production systems will be available for pre-market trading in all securities at 9:00 a.m., ET. On NASDAQ the pre-market trading is followed by a market open at 9:30 a.m., ET and a market close event at 12:00 p.m., ET.

Where can I find additional information?

• Register for the upcoming U.S. Transactions Services webinar occurring on Wednesday, November 9th at 4:30 p.m., ET.
• Refer to the NASDAQ OMX technical specifications.
• Contact NASDAQ OMX Trading Services at +1 212 231 5180.
• Contact Transaction Services U.S. Market Sales at +1 800 846 0477