What is changing?

As outlined in Data News #2010-33, NASDAQ OMX is modifying its data delivery for the MFQS Daily List product. NASDAQ OMX introduced the MFQS Daily List / MFQS Registration Service to facilitate the delivery of mutual funds, money market funds, and unit investment trust (UIT) security master data to the market data community in the fourth quarter of 2011. In developing the new MFQS Daily List product, NASDAQ OMX set out to streamline the security master file processing by:

• Clearly delineate “new” from “current” fields in the new file version so that firms could more easily identify what security attributes were changing in the MFQS database
• Creating a Advance Notification version of the MFQS Daily List for those firms looking for information on anticipated instrument additions and instrument changes
• Adding new data fields to the MFQS Daily List, such as “Minimum Investment Amount” and “Minimum Incremental Investment Amount” as requested by the market data community
• Introducing an enhanced MFQS Directory file for firms looking to verify security master information (including CUSIPs) for existing MFQS instruments

When it introduced the MFQS Daily List / MFQS Registration Service, NASDAQ OMX stated that the new product offering would replace the legacy MFQS Daily List product currently being delivered via the NASDAQ OMX Trader website. NASDAQ OMX subsequently announced that the MFQS Daily List transition deadline would be Monday, August 1, 2011.

For details on the new file format, please refer to the MFQS Daily List / MFQS Registration Service specification document. For a summary of the file differences, please refer to the MFQS Daily List mapping document.

What is the MFQS Registration Service / MFQS Daily List product?

The MFQS Daily List / MFQS Registration Service is a web-based data product offered by NASDAQ OMX Information, LLC that provides issue-level security details for mutual funds, money market funds, unit investment trusts and annuities registered with the Mutual Fund Quotation Service (MFQS). This new MFQS web service product is comprised of the following reports:

• MFQS Daily List: This component provides advance notification of MFQS registration actions such as new instruments, deleted instruments and instrument attribute changes. For the Daily List component, NASDAQ OMX will generate two daily files:

• MFQS Daily List – Advance Notifications: This file will include all MFQS registration actions that were approved by MFQS Operations on the current business date regardless of the MFQS effective date.
• MFQS Daily List – Next Business Day Changes: This file provides only those MFQS registration actions scheduled to take effect on the next business date.

• MFQS Directory: This component file provides security level information for all active instruments in the MFQS system at the beginning of the current business day.
• MFQS Documentation Posting Service: NASDAQ OMX allows MFQS issuers to post prospectus, statements of additional information (SAI), semi-annual and annual reports, and money market monthly financial statements in PDF format for market data vendors to access. Each day, NASDAQ OMX will generate a file defining new MFQS documents available for download.
• Ex-Date Report: As part of the recent MFQS release, NASDAQ OMX allows MFQS pricing agents to enter advance notifications of Dividend/Interest and Capital Distribution actions. To ensure that the market data community can access these corporate actions on the appropriate ex-date, NASDAQ OMX plans to add an Ex-Date report to the MFQS web product.

Please refer to the MFQS Daily List / MFQS Registration Service specification document for details on the field layout for the new web service reports.

In addition, MFQS Daily List / MFQS Registration Service subscribers may track intraday and monthly MFQS reporting statistics via the new MFQS website. For details on the MFQS website only reports, please refer to the MFQS Website User Guide.

How can I access the new MFQS Daily List / MFQS Registration Service product?

Similar to the NASDAQ OMX Global Index Watch (GIW) product, the new MFQS Daily List / MFQS Registration Service is offered as a secured web service. By creating a web application programming interface as outlined in the specification document, firms may automate the MFQS Daily List file retrieval process.

Alternately, firms may also download the MFQS Daily List / MFQS Registration Service customers via the Download section of the secured MFQS website interface.

Please note that a firm must have a valid NASDAQ OMX security certificate, user ID and password to access the MFQS web service and MFQS website.

Do I need to transition to MFQS Registration Service files for MFQS corporate action information, such as new listings, delistings and name/symbol changes?

Yes. Firms must complete the transition to the new MFQS Daily List / MFQS Registration Service as soon as possible since NASDAQ OMX will cease to publish the legacy MFQS Daily List on the NASDAQ OMX Trader website in August 2011. For a summary of the file differences, please refer to the MFQS Daily List mapping document.

When will NASDAQ OMX retire the legacy MFQS Daily List on the NASDAQ OMX Trader website?

NASDAQ OMX will cease the publication of the MFQS Daily List product to the NASDAQ OMX Trader website on or about August 1, 2011¹. NASDAQ OMX will, however, retain the historical MFQS Daily List files on the NASDAQ OMX Trader website for reference purposes.

How do I obtain access to the MFQS Daily List / MFQS Registration Service product?

For NASDAQ Daily List – CUSIP subscribers: As stated in Data News #2010-33, NASDAQ OMX has granted MFQS Daily List / MFQS Registration Service access rights to all NASDAQ Daily List – CUSIP subscribers. As noted above, users must have a valid NWSF security certificate, user ID and password to access the new MFQS Daily List / MFQS Registration Service product. To ensure that these firms have the proper security set-up, NASDAQ OMX recently sent an email to NASDAQ Daily List – CUSIP users with certificate download instructions.

NASDAQ Daily List firms must contact NASDAQ OMX Global Data Products - Operations if they wish to remove the MFQS Daily List / MFQS Registration Service access from their firm account.

For NASDAQ Daily List – Non-CUSIP subscribers: Because the MFQS Daily List / MFQS Registration Service includes CUSIP data, firms must have a CUSIP license with Standard and Poor’s to get access to the product. While all NASDAQ Daily List subscribers are eligible for the fee waiver through the end of July 2011, NASDAQ OMX requires that NASDAQ Daily List – Non-CUSIP subscribers complete the NASDAQ OMX Data Product Request Form to add the MFQS Daily List / MFQS Registration Service entitlement.

For all other firms: To order the MFQS Daily List / MFQS Registration Service product, you must complete and submit the following NASDAQ OMX agreements and forms:

• NASDAQ OMX Global Data Agreement - Required for new NASDAQ OMX proprietary data customers only
• NASDAQ OMX Data Product Request Form – Used to add the MFQS Daily List / MFQS Registration Service product to a firm’s entitlement configuration
• NASDAQ OMX Web-Based Logon Request Form – Required to add a MFQS user account to an approved MFQS Registration Service / MFQS Daily List firm configuration

As noted above, firms must have a CUSIP license with Standard and Poor’s to get access to the MFQS Daily List / MFQS Registration Service product. Please note that non-NASDAQ Daily List subscribers will be subject to the $500 per month access fee upon ordering.

What is the cost for the MFQS Daily List / MFQS Registration Service product?

NASDAQ OMX charges a monthly access fee of $500 per firm to access the MFQS Daily List / MFQS Registration Service product.

To facilitate the transition to the new platform, NASDAQ OMX has waived the MFQS Daily List / MFQS Registration Service fee for existing NASDAQ Daily List subscribers through the month of July 2011.

Effective August 1, 2011, NASDAQ OMX will assess the monthly $500 fee to all firms with access rights to the MFQS Daily List / MFQS Registration Service product including those NASDAQ Daily List – CUSIP subscriber firms that were granted automatic access to the system.

Where can I find additional information?

• Refer to the MFQS Daily List / MFQS Registration Service specification document.
• Contact NASDAQ OMX Global Data Products at +1 301 978 5307.

¹ As outlined in Data Technical News #2011-17, the official date for the NASDAQ OMX Trader website change is Monday, October 17, 2011. Please note that the NASDAQ OMX Trader release date has no bearing on the MFQS Daily List fee liability date.