Canadian regulators have given approval to Aequitas, a new stock exchange backed by a consortium of financial services firms that plans to take on TMX Group and keep out high-frequency traders.
The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has issued a recognition order that will be effective from 1 March, and Aequitas plans to launch its trading and listing platforms during the first half of 2015.
The group - which takes its name from the Latin for fairness - counts the Royal Bank of Canada, pension fund OMERS Capital Markets, and mutual fund manager IGM Financial among its backers. LSE-owned MillenniumIT has been brought in to build a technology platform.
Aequitas argues that "predatory" high-frequency trading practices have eroded investor and issuer confidence in the Canadian capital markets, and plans to challenge bank-owned TMX Group, with a model designed to deter HFT firms through unattractive fees and speed bumps.
Jos Schmitt, CEO, Aequitas NEO Exchange, says: "We appreciate the careful review undertaken by the OSC. We are now in a position to help promote confidence and build an exchange of the future using a bold new blueprint that puts investors, companies and their dealers first."