Score one for the ETF market makers.

Just one day after the NYSE revived its proposal for its own market maker incentive plan, rival exchange Nasdaq had its own proposed program finally approved by the SEC.

The Nasdaq program, called the Market Quality Program, would charge ETF sponsors a fee for allowing their funds to be promoted by a group of approved market makers who would provide quotes and liquidity for the products.

The sponsors will be charged a basic annual fee of $50,000 to participate in the program (with the fees paid on a quarterly basis), plus additional fees for each product added to the program. The total amount billed to any one ETF sponsor will not go beyond $100,000 per year, and is paid in addition to other basic Nasdaq listing fees.

Meanwhile, the firms serving as market makers will be credited a pro-rated portion of these fees according to various factors like trading volume, spread, and so on.

Nasdaq had to go through a long, winding road to get approval, having filed the latest requests to change its rules to allow for the program on December 7, 2012 and then amended that request on December 20, 2012, (publishing the proposed rule change in the Federal Register on December 31, 2012). It amended the request again on Fedbaruy 7, 2013 and again the day after.

A previous iteration of the request weathered harsh industry criticism from industry participants on the SEC comment page.

Nasdaq plans to start the program out first as a one-year pilot.  

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