Every journey begins with a single step – and the Investors Exchange just took one more step towards becoming a listings exchange.

Just yesterday, regulators approved IEX’s application/request to conduct opening and closing auctions. This is a crucial step for the exchange as it seeks to attract companies and become the listing exchange of public record for them. That exchange would be known as IEX Listings, according to IEX.

“We’re pleased that the SEC has approved our auctions, another step towards launching IEX Listings,” Sara Furber, Head of IEX Listings told Traders Magazine. “Our design reflects feedback from investors, companies and brokers on how to design auctions that work better for them.”

Furber continued, “Our mission is building markets that serve everyone, so we have adjusted aspects to broaden participation to include more fundamental investors. We will also introduce features to better level the playing field, such as publishing auction data more frequently, for free, while keeping what works well today.”

The IEX auction process provides electronic price discovery mechanisms that efficiently match orders in IEX-listed securities at a single price using a double auction. These auctions enable IEX participants to execute against On-Open and On-Close interest at IEX. They also allow for participation in IEX corporate initial public offerings (IPOs), new issues, auctions resulting from security halts, and auctions resulting from LU/LD trading pauses. During the auction process, IEX will calculate and disseminate current price, size, imbalance information, auction collar information, and other relevant information about upcoming auctions via IEX Auction Information.

The IEX Opening/Closing Auction has been designed to efficiently maximize the number of shares executed at a single price for securities during the Regular Market Session open/close, respectively, while minimizing the opportunities for information leakage within the NBBO. The IEX IPO/Halt Auction provides a mechanism that has been designed to allow participants to match a maximum number of shares at a single price for IPOs, new issues, and securities coming out of a trading halt based on supply and demand. The IEX Volatility Auction provides a mechanism that has been designed to allow Users to match a maximum number of shares at a single price for securities coming out of an LULD trading pause based on supply and demand.

IEX will disseminate IEX Auction Information every one second between the Lock-in Time (9:28 a.m. / 3:50 p.m. ET) and the auction match for the Opening/Closing Auction, and during the Display Only Period for the IPO/Halt/Volatility Auction. IEX Auction Information is available to subscribers of the IEX Top of Book Quote and Last Sale feed (“TOPS”), the IEX Depth of Book and Last Sale feed (“DEEP”), and will also made available to other market participants by various market data vendors.

IEX Auction Information will also be available on the exchange’s public website via various apps and the IEX API.

Firms may also receive portions of IEX Auction Information via the CTS binary feed once it launches. In the binary CTS feed, the CTA is introducing a new Auction Status message which will contain auction collar and extension information.

On its website, IEX has published a timeline for the creation of Listings, which the exchange said is heavily subject to further SEC approvals on other things needed (not related to auctions). That timeline can be found here : https://www.iextrading.com/trading/listed/

So, when does the exchange expect to have listings up and officially running?

A spokesman for IEX said it hopes to be open for business the week of October 9^th .

The next phase of Listings begins on Wednesday, August 23 through Wednesday, August 30, when the opening process for Non-IEX-Listed Securities phase-in begins:

Wednesday, August 23

Test symbols (CBO, CBX, ZBZX, ZJZZT, ZTEST, ZVV, ZVZZT, ZWZZT, ZXZZT)

Thursday, August 24

Two non-test securities (VG, WIN)

Friday, August 25

Ten non-test securities (VALE.P, VG, VHC, VIAV, VIP, VLY, WIN, YINN, YTEN, ZIOP)

Monday, August 28

All symbols starting with ‘Y’ – ‘Z’, VALE.P, VG, VHC, VIAV, VIP, VLY, WIN

Tuesday, August 29

All symbols starting with ‘V’ – ‘Z’

Wednesday, August 30

All symbols (‘A’ – ‘Z’)

On Monday, IEX’s market share hit 2.509% and was its second-best day ever in terms of share.