TSX Markets is cutting its “gateway access” fees. The price cut applies to brokerage firms or access vendors that connect directly to the Toronto Stock Exchange and trade an average of more than 1 million shares per day.

For example, for firms that meet this criteria, the cost of access to the TSX and TSX Venture Exchange Gateway Test Environment only, will be $2,000/month. Firms that don’t trade 1 million shares/day on average, will be charged $7,000/month for the same service.

In a notice released yesterday announcing the change, TSX Markets says that the new access prices are an incentive for existing and new participants to increase their TSX and TSXV trading.

The reduced fee structure is effective January 1, for the 2005 calendar year only. The TSX will review the access fee program during the fourth quarter of 2005 and make a decision at that time concerning whether the program becomes permanent. The notice says the decision will be based on the success of the program in terms of increasing TSX and TSXV trading.