New stock exchange CEO lays out launch timeline

Members Exchange (MEMX) will launch the previously announced stock exchange in the first half of next year, as it begins the process to secure an exchange license from the SEC "shortly," Jonathan Kellner, in his first public comments as CEO of MEMX, said at the Milken Conference.

Why it matters: There are few details about the venture so far, including how much cheaper its model will be versus the existing stock exchanges. MEMX — backed and owned by a group of major Wall Street firms— promises to be a less costly alternative to challenge the stock exchange business dominated by Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange parent Intercontinental Exchange. "There is room for competition and there needs to be competition," Kellner said.