NASD Quickens Pace Toward IPO

As expected, the National Assn. of Securities Dealers’ board on Thursday authorized its staff to step up preparations for converting the Nasdaq Stock Market into a publicly traded company.

While a major reason for such a move would be to raise needed capital to advance trading technologies, NASD Chairman Frank Zarb also said a public ownership structure would allow Nasdaq “to make decisions more quickly in an increasingly competitive environment that values speed.�

While the board didn’t give final approval to going public, it appointed a committee headed by Robert Glauber, a former Treasury undersecretary, to begin crafting formulas for selling stock in Nasdaq first to member brokerages and listed companies, Zarb said.

A public stock offering could follow, probably in 2000.

The NASD also approved a plan to seek partnerships with large technology firms to help the market “move more quickly to a low-cost, Internet-based technology platform,� the organization said.

In another controversial move, the NASD forwarded to the Securities and Exchange Commission a proposal to require Nasdaq dealers to display a list of the most competitive stock quotes either from themselves or from rival electronic trading networks known as ECNs.

The idea of a central Nasdaq “book� for all orders is opposed by some dealers who want to be able to execute “limit� orders themselves at the best market price, rather than allow the orders to go to a competing dealer or be matched with another investor via an ECN.