Alternative Display Facility (ADF) Fact Sheet*

The Alternative Display Facility (ADF) is a facility for posting quotes, and reporting and comparing trades. All Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) members are eligible to participate in ADF. This document outlines the system's key characteristics.

 

Liquidity Access

 

Participants will have access to liquidity through the ADF and will be able to trade:

  • Nasdaq, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and American Stock Exchange (AMEX) equity securities with all other ADF participants, subject to ADF rules.
  • Eligible Intermarket Trading System (ITS) securities with ITS market makers on exchanges, subject to ITS rules (requires optional registration as an ITS market maker in the ADF).

Key Features

 

ADF is designed to handle Nasdaq, NYSE, and AMEX equity securities. Major functionality includes:

  • Quote processing, display, and distribution
  • Trade report handling, display, and distribution
  • Trade comparison
  • ITS quoting, order routing, and execution

ADF will not provide order routing and execution systems (except through ITS). ADF participants must privately provide automated linkage for order routing and execution to other participants.

 

ADF operations will include the processing of:

  • Three sided transactions as a single transaction report, while protecting the underlying clients' confidentiality
  • Automated Give Up processing
  • Locked in Trade Submission to DTCC

The ADF will operate from 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Eastern Time (it will support pre-opening and after-hours trading). Initial trading rules will be similar to those adopted by Nasdaq.

 

Market Data

  • For ADF activity, all quotes and trading activity including last sale, daily high and low, and the difference from the previous day close and volume for each issue will be distributed to ADF participants.
  • An ADF Best Bid or Offer (ABBO) and an ITS ABBO will be distributed daily to ADF participants.
  • All ADF market data will be available for purchase by vendors and the public through the UTP and CQS/ CTA.

 

 

* ADF plans, rules, features, and functions are all subject to Securities and Exchange Commission approval. All representations in this and other documents describing ADF may change as a result of the regulatory review process.