03 Nov Nasdaq Decides to Get Small

In a HUGE announcement last week, Nasdaq, Inc., the parent company of the various stock exchanges bearing that name, decided the exchanges should no longer be called NASDAQ. Instead they are “re-branding” as just plain Nasdaq, ie initial cap then lower case.

Why? Well, the name had been upper case because it stood for the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation system. The NASD no longer exists since it was merged in 2007 with the NYSE’s regulatory arm to form the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). So they’re acknowledging that people just know “Nasdaq” and it doesn’t need to stand for anything anymore.

The NYSE also recently re-branded its lower tier market from NYSE MKT to NYSE American, harkening back to the exchange’s prior history as the American Stock Exchange before the NYSE bought it. Does this stuff matter to anyone? Do these changes result from big high level strategy meetings? As a former marketing major I would love to know. But alas likely we shall not. You are free to continue going about your day.