Alpha Group Announces New ETF Trading Fee Structure

By Alpha Group, PRNE
Tuesday, December 14, 2010

TORONTO, December 15, 2010 - Alpha Group today announced that, subject to regulatory approval, it will
implement a new ETF trading fee structure as of January 1st, 2011.

For all Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) with a value greater than or equal
to $5, active fees will be reduced from 35 mils per share to 25 mils per
share and passive fee rebates will be reduced from 31 mils per share to 21
mils per share. This fee reduction positions Alpha as the market with the
lowest active fees for trading ETFs - a segment that represents a substantial
component of the overall volume traded in Canada across all Canadian
marketplaces. This is also a segment where Alpha established itself as the
dominant marketplace by regularly demonstrating a market share in excess of
50%, as compared to the second most active venue in ETFs which is trending
towards a 30% market share.

For a dealer facing a majority of 'taker' trades, this new fee schedule
represents close to 30% savings on these trades. The new fee schedule comes
on top of a series of other cost-friendly features at Alpha: free opening
trades, an existing '25 mils / -21 mils' fee structure for all securities
with a value greater than or equal to $1 and a value below $5, full rebates
on iceberg orders, not capping rebates and the lowest active / passive ratio
for dealers posting their resting orders on Alpha. It confirms that Alpha is
the trading venue that stands for liquidity at the lowest cost.

"In 2010, the Industry started to reap the benefits of our commitment to
reducing the cost of trading in Canada" noted Jos Schmitt, CEO of Alpha
Group. "Now that we have reached a substantial market share in ETFs, it is
time again for us to demonstrate that we live up to our commitments. We are
all about finding the right balance between the interests of all our
constituents: our recent and major technology upgrade has been most
beneficial to our HFT community; this fee reduction is most beneficial to our
Canadian retail dealer community. In line with our mantra "For the Industry,
By the Industry" this new fee structure is available to all dealers without
any restrictions".

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.

For further information: For further information: Jennifer Bennett,
+1(647)2590421, jennifer.bennett(at)alpha-group.ca

For further information: For further information: Jennifer Bennett, +1(647)2590421, jennifer.bennett(at)alpha-group.ca

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