The move will enable Nexa's institutional brokerage, hedge fund, proprietary trading firm and retail trading global client base to trade Canadian options on the MX without incurring the inflated, third party connectivity fees that have been accepted, market-wide until now.

Having supported FIX interface connectivity since 2000, when it connected its trading solutions to the ARCA ECN, Nexa has developed a rich library of FIX interfaces to the world's leading exchanges. Equipped with this existing tool-set, Nexa was able to fast-track the MX interface development process, completing the entire build, test and certification process within three weeks.

Mark Munoz, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, Nexa Technologies, Inc., says: "By embracing MX's FIX interface to provide DMA through our own connectivity layer, Nexa is able to offer trade execution on the MX at significantly reduced costs. In contrast to alternative solutions on the market, we provide our customers with the ability to trade under their own ID and establish a relationship with the MX. We also empower the customer to select technology solutions, back office processing services and suppliers according to individual requirements."

Mark Bourcier, Implementation Coordinator, Montreal Exchange, says: "The widespread acceptance of industry standards such as FIX is a key factor to a number of market changes. By developing our own interface, we are encouraging firms who are interested in trading Canadian options to enter the market or increase their participation for the benefit of the financial services community world wide. We have been impressed with the speed with which Nexa has completed its connectivity with our FIX interface and welcome the business it will bring."

Nexa's commitment to this project with the MX further underlines its ongoing commitment to improve the trading environment for its global customer base through close partnership with the world's exchanges, markets and ECNs.

Eric Stoop, President, Nexa Technologies, Inc. says: "Flexibility is key to the success of our growing customer base. Nexa's leading edge direct access suite of trading solutions, combined with our industry partnerships, provide flexibility from basic execution interfaces to complete STP solutions. This latest development adds a new dimension to our connectivity capabilities for both buy and sell side clients."