PLUS Markets benefits from MiFID

LONDON (Reuters) - PLUS Markets Group, London's small and mid-cap stock exchange, has seen volume and value of shares traded on its platform double since the introduction of new financial rules MiFID.

MiFID, the European Union's Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, was introduced in November 2007 to dismantle barriers to competition in share trading.

"Order flow is coming to PLUS (PMK.L: Quote, Profile, Research) as a result of best execution and trade reporting requirements under MiFID rules. We continue to attract volume in some of the heaviest traded stocks, supported by our strong market share in the small and mid-caps," said Cyril Theret, business development director of PLUS.

Between November and April, Plus recorded a total of 10.2 billion shares in trading, representing 15.4 billion pounds in trade value.

By comparison, the toal number of shares traded for the whole of 2007 was 8.3 billion, and value traded amounted to 7.5 billion pounds.

PLUS has attracted market share dominance in over 600 small and mid-caps listed or quoted on bigger rival London Stock Exchange (LSE.L: Quote, Profile, Research) as it mainly generates revenues from listing fees and market data fees instead of charging clients for trading on its platform.

It is also penetrating the large cap arena, with trading in Alliance Trust ATST.L and Alliance & Leicester (ALLL.L: Quote, Profile, Research) reaching 10 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively, in total trading value in April, up from 6.5 percent and 3.5 percent in March.