Aquis Exchange is set to begin charging its trading members for non-displayed market data feeds for the first time since its inception almost 11 years ago.
According to a member notice distributed on Friday 1 March, members on both Aquis Exchange and Aquis Exchange Europe will have to pay the same monthly rate as non-members for non-displayed data effective 1 June 2024. Non-display and terminal fees are now applicable to trading members, the notice confirmed.
Members in the “basic subscription tier”, excluding AQSE broker membership, will be expected to pay £1,250 per month. All other members, excluding AQSE broker membership, will have to pay £2,500 per month.
Ongoing access to historical market data will be subject to a monthly fee of £500, said Aquis, and members’ terminal fees will be charged as the same rate as non-members.
Trading fees, subscriptions, and message tiers remain unchanged, The TRADE understands.
Aquis declined to comment.
The decision is not an unexpected one. Market data revenues for 2023 were up 23% to £3.7 million in comparison with 2022 according to the venue’s end of year results, helping to boost net revenue 12% for the year to £22.6 million.
Aquis chief executive Alasdair Haynes has signalled to the potential for a decision around data charges for members in recent years. Speaking to The TRADE regarding Aquis’ 2021 full year results, Haynes said he would never say never when asked if the firm had any plans to begin charging for market data.
Marking its tenth anniversary last year, Aquis Exchange has cemented itself as direct competitor to the likes of Cboe and the London Stock Exchange Group’s (LSEG) MTF, Turquoise. It now accounts for roughly 5-6% of European trading volumes.
Turquoise and Cboe charge trading members roughly £1,600 and £3,600 for their non-displayed market data feeds, respectively.
The exchange operator has diversified its business by expanding its dark pool acquired from UBS in March 2022, Aquis Matching Pool (AMP), and its alternative closing auction mechanism, Market at Close (MaC). Most recently the exchange launched conditional and dark to lit sweep orders on its dark pool.
Friday’s changes to market data fees is the second reversal decision by Aquis in the last few months after it also moved to scrap its previous eight-year ban on proprietary trading firms in September last year.
Speaking to The TRADE at the time of the decision, Aquis’ Haynes said it was time for the exchange to reflect on its various offerings brought to market by its inception over 10 years ago.