Lee Shavel, CFO of NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NDAQ), Speaks at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Securities Brokerage Conference

November 19, 2014

NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NDAQ) is looking forward to the continued migration and rollout of its next-gen product and the retirement of legacy products, said CFO Lee Shavel. He was speaking at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ 2014 Securities Brokerage & Market Structure Conference in New York.

Shavel said he has seen prototypes for the company’s next-gen IR platform, and that they can’t be matched in terms of interface and content. NASDAQ is currently holding roadshows across the country, and the reaction has been positive, Shavel said, with improved retention from clients. He said the company is “looking forward to moving forward with over the course of 2015″ with this product.

In the near term, Shavel said the company is focused on the careful large-scale integration and conversion of clients over 17 platforms to 11, and he expects to continue to see that conversion over the balance of 2014 into 2015. This will be the source of a lot of cost savings as they retire legacy platforms, Shavel said.

Shavel also told shareholders that while there is a misperception that most of their business is driven by the trading business, it was actually only 6% in the third quarter. This “drives a view that we are in a very mature, low-growth industry that has a lot of volatility in it,” Shavel said. He encouraged listeners to look at the company’s organic growth, which was 4% in 2012, 5% in 2013, and year-to-date 2014 is at 5%.

On the leverage front, the company is at the leverage ratio that they think is appropriate, Shavel said. He also said that “share purchases have been a staple for us” and that the company has initiated a dividend, which the board has increased. He said NASDAQ’s board is “certainly very capital-focused” and “investors should feel reassured” they have representation.

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