ISLAND TOPS LIST AS LARGEST ECN, REPORTS NASD

New York – January 9, 2002 -- Island ECN, the technology leader in electronic marketplaces, announced today that the latest market analysis from the National Association of Securities Dealers’ (NASD) Economic Research Department ranks Island as the largest ECN for Nasdaq securities. 

In its authoritative analysis of internally matched, single-counted shares, the NASD reports that Island accounted for 11.3% of the total Nasdaq share volume during November 2001. By comparison, Instinet’s activity during November 2001 comprised 9.8% of the total Nasdaq share volume. The combined share volume of REDIBook and Archipelago stood at 8.1% during this same period.* 

“In capturing the top ranking among ECNs, Island must first thank its over 700 subscribing broker-dealers and hundreds of other sophisticated professional investors, who have learned to count on Island’s speed, reliability, and certainty of execution over the years,” said Island CEO Matthew Andresen. “I appreciate their support and business, and I pledge to them that in the New Year Island will continue to deliver the same sort of superior service that has defined our marketplace since its inception.”

The same NASD market analysis also reveals that Island’s share volume grew by 28.4% between September and November 2001 – making Island the fastest growing ECN. By comparison, during this time Archipelago’s share volume grew by 10.0%, REDIBook’s grew by 11.6%, and Instinet's share volume registered a negative growth –16.2%. 

“Island had an especially strong finish at the end of last year,” said Mr. Andresen. “We continued to be the leading market participant in many of the most actively traded Nasdaq securities, and also set a historical mark by overtaking the American Stock Exchange to become the largest marketplace for the QQQ, one of the world’s most actively traded securities. It’s a strong base to accomplish even greater things in the year to come.”

To recognize its achievement in attaining the status as the largest ECN, Island ran today full-page advertisements in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post reporting the NASD numbers.

Below are share volume percentages and trade volume percentages for each of the leading ECNs, as reported by the NASD Economic Research Department for November 2001:*

Island: Share Volume 11.3%; Trade Volume 23.6%
Instinet: Share Volume 9.8% ; Trade Volume 10.6%
REDIBook: Share Volume 4.8%; Trade Volume 7.4%
Archipelago: Share Volume 3.3%; Trade Volume 4.8%
B-Trade: Share Volume 2.1%; Trade Volume 2.7%
Brut: Share Volume 1.7%; Trade Volume 2.2%
Other ECNs: Share Volume 0.9%; Trade Volume 0.5%
Total: Share Volume 33.9%; Trade Volume 51.8%

About The Island ECN 

Island is the technology leader in electronic marketplaces. Using proprietary technology, Island enables market professionals to display and match limit orders in Nasdaq and Listed securities. During 2001, Island's trading volume was over 90.1 billion shares, representing a growth of more than 69 percent over the year before.**


Contact: Andrew Goldman, EVP Corporate Communications, Island ECN, 212-231-5047, Andrew@island.com

*Source: www.marketdata.nasdaq.com
** Source: Island internal data.