Delivering on our Commitments

March 2011: Record Activity on Alpha

TORONTO, April 7 /PRNewswire/ - Alpha Group today announced that its March 1, 2011 fee change for trading in securities with a value below $1 has resulted in March 2011 being its largest monthly traded volume since launch. Additionally, in March Alpha achieved a new record market share across TSX and TSX-V listed securities.

On March 1, 2011 Alpha reduced its active fees for all TSX and TSX-V listed securities with a value lower than $1, from $0.0004 per share to $0.0003 per share while passive fee rebates remained unchanged at $0.0002 per share. While this fee reduction demonstrates Alpha's continued commitment to reduce the cost of trading in Canada, it also led to substantial volume and market share gains for Alpha. Alpha traded close to 6 billion shares in March 2011, over 1 billion shares more than its previous record. Alpha's market share jumped to 21.5% amongst lit markets, across both TSX and TSX-V listed securities. For the first time, the corresponding market share of the TMX fell below 70%. Alpha's market share in TSX listed securities is now on a sustainable basis, close to 25%, while its market share in TSX-V listed securities regularly hits the 20% mark.

"This fee change clearly put us on the map in TSX-V listed securities," noted Jos Schmitt, CEO of Alpha Group. "The savings for the Canadian industry are substantial and it demonstrates again the benefits of true competition. It also reaffirms our leadership role in the Canadian market-within weeks after noticing the impact of our fee change the TMX reduced its fees to counter our competitive pressure. For us, this is not where it ends. While benefitting the industry, this fee reduction and the subsequent market share growth also strengthens Alpha and enables us to launch further initiatives of this nature. Leveraging the strengths of the new generation marketplace business model is what makes this possible," concluded Jos Schmitt.

About Alpha Group - Alpha Group comprises the leading Alternative Trading System for Canadian Securities - Alpha ATS, and a data distribution plant for Alpha ATS market data. Alpha Group was established in May, 2007 by nine of Canada's leading financial institutions with the aim of increasing the country's securities trading efficiencies and making the Canadian marketplace more globally competitive. Established for the Industry, by the Industry, the Alpha Group focuses on increasing liquidity, reducing the cost of trading and providing innovative services leveraging its unique expertise, operating model and technological capabilities.

For further information regarding Alpha Group, visit www.alpha-group.ca.

SOURCE Alpha Group

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