Trump Trial Blowback, Big Money Launches Texas Stock Exchange

Chriss W. Street

Blowback from former President Donald Trump’s lawfare convictions in a dubious New York City “Hush Money” trial appear to include BlackRock as the world’s largest money manager, premier trading firm Citadel Securities, joining TXSE to launch a Texas Stock Exchange in Dallas to globally compete with the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). 

The 232-year old NYSE as the world’s largest equity trading platform lists 2,800 companies that must each meet strict requirements.  NYSE listed companies range from stogy blue chip titans to disruptive new high-growth tech companies.  Daily trading value averages about $18.9 billion on average turnover of 1.46 billion shares. 

NYSE member firms are responsible for about 17% of all New York City economic activity, employ about 181,600 people, pay average annual salaries of $516,560, and generated $5.4 billion in city taxes and $23.4 billion in New York State tax revenues. 

New York had already suffered an exodus of financial businesses leaving the state, before becoming ground zero for lawfare.  Bloomberg reported 158 companies managing with almost a trillion dollars in assets and thousands of employees recently left New York City, mostly for lower cost states such as Florida and Texas. 

The Texas Stock Exchange partners announced they have already raised about $120 million and plan to file registration documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to start operating as a national securities exchange later this year. 

Prior efforts to form exchanges to compete with the NYSE have tended to fail, because they never could get the institutional backing from exceptionally large traders that are referred to “bulge bracket” firms, because of their capital bases and securities appetites.  

BlackRock with $10 trillion under management and Citadel have made no comment about the timing of their commitment to abandon New York City, just 8 days after the Trump conviction.  But big corporations joined individuals in donating $141 million to Trump and the Republican Party in May, and Trump is believed to have raised another $100 million in the first week after his 34-count felony conviction.  

California in prior elections has overwhelmingly been the Democrat Party’s piggybank.  But former President Trump sold out a June 7 fundraiser in Beverly Hills, with tickets priced at $5,000 to attend a reception, and $250,000 to be a campaign event chairs.  Fox reported that other ticket prices were $100,000 to participate in a roundtable and $35,000 for a photo opportunity. 

Trump will then head 50 miles south to Newport Beach for a sold-out June 8 fundraiser with tickets ranging from $3,300 for a lunch reception and $100,000 to be designated as a member of the roundtable host committee. 

James Lee, founder and CEO of TXSE Group, said recent changes in equities trading markets, such as shifts in listing standards and associated costs, are driving trading volumes away from the NYSE and created the opportunities for the Texas Exchange.