The NYSE is Moving its Historic Chicago Operation to Dallas

New York is muscling in on Texan dreams of becoming Wall Street 2.0 by taking the fight to the Lone Star state. 

On Wednesday, the New York Stock Exchange announced it is moving its Chicago Stock Exchange, which has been in operation for 143 years, to Dallas, Texas, where the upstart Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE) is expected to launch next year. (Personally, we’re keen to see the Texan barbeque pit master take on a Chicago-style Italian beef and peppers sandwich.)

Y’all Street

Last year, the TXSE raised some $120 million from major investors like BlackRock and Citadel Securities to launch a Dallas-based exchange; last month, the group said its fundraising has now reached $160 million, as it filed for registration of the Texas Stock Exchange with the SEC. In September, analysts told The Daily Upside that, Texas bluster aside, the exchange will likely cater to smaller foreign and domestic listings with boutique markets when it launches.

Meanwhile, NYSE Chicago — which the NYSE acquired in 2018 — mostly facilitates equities trades for hedge funds and other fast-moving traders. When it becomes NYSE Texas, the group plans to offer companies another venue for listings, pending regulatory approval.

So why is everyone going to Texas, anyway? As they say, come for the tax breaks, stay for the regulatory loopholes:

• Texas is already home to more NYSE-listed companies than any other US state, the exchange said Wednesday. The total market cap of those companies? A staggering $3.7 trillion.
• It’s part of a great corporate migration. According to the Texas governor’s office, some 300 companies have relocated their headquarters to the state.

Shifting Winds: The Windy City sure seems to be seeing its status as a finance hub getting blown away. After moving Citadel from Chicago to Miami in 2022, billionaire hedge fund boss Ken Griffin at a Miami-based conference just this week called South Beach “a really nice change of pace” from the midwest mecca, which he said was riddled with “corruption and incompetence in City Hall.” Being the Second City was one thing. Being the third, or fourth, or possibly even fifth city? That’s an ego blow.