Tomorrow morning, John Thain will preside over the opening of trading on the New York Stock Exchange, as he has done so often before. This time, however, the exchange CEO will personally ring the bell, ushering in the first-ever trading of the combined NYSE/Archipelago stock, under the symbol NYX.

For Mr. Thain, it is a mission accomplished. It is also a beginning.

Mr. Thain has made no secret of his intentions of taking the now-public stock of the NYSE and using it to broaden significantly the reach and product offerings of the venerable exchange. The combination with Archipelago, which officially takes place today, provides the NYSE with a sophisticated electronic trading capability, and with an entree into the options markets, ETFs, and Nasdaq-listed stocks. It also provides a listing platform for securities that are not up to NYSE standards, thus giving it a way to compete with the Nasdaq on the latter’s turf.

In what other directions is the exchange likely to go? In numerous presentations over the past few months, Mr. Thain has discussed his interest in trading commodities futures, options, and derivatives, buying an international exchange, and developing a greater presence in the fixed-income markets. In other words, the NYSE plate is extremely full. Also, the world’s securities and commodities exchanges are in the early stages of a major consolidation.

What does all this mean to the individual investor? “The NYSE has always been individual investor-friendly,” Mr. Thain says. “We’re very committed to America’s 90 million investors. Like the big guys, they will also benefit from new choices in trading on the NYSE and having more innovative products beyond equities to trade.”

In the short term, little will change for individual investors because the shift to electronic trading will be gradual and will involve mostly institutional trades. Over time, a more competitive marketplace will likely mean lower costs and broader product offerings from the surviving firms. An offsetting but lesser factor will be the new for-profit orientation of the NYSE, which surely tempers its “public service” mandate to create and protect orderly markets.

An underlying cause of the “urge to merge” for the NYSE has been the need to satisfy the aggressive and demanding trading requirements of hedge funds, primarily, that have been demanding speedier executions. Though the NYSE will argue that on 90% of listed stock trades, it scores the fastest transaction times, the truth is that the exchange has been losing market share because it is simply not fast enough. While the exchange transacted 79% of the volume in its 2,775 listed stocks last year, the share has been dropping.

The gradual changeover to electronic trading, which will be accelerated by the ARCA deal, will enhance the ability of the NYSE to compete. Mr. Thain says, “We’re giving specialists and floor brokers the technology tools to better serve customers, both investors and issuers.” That said, the role of the specialist will certainly decline.

The NYSE is not the only group in town looking to expand market share and trample on its competitors’ turf. The Nasdaq is out wooing NYSE firms to dual list on its exchange, and recently announced plans to offer a top tier of companies that will have the toughest listing requirements in the world, and it recently raised $280 million through a stock sale. The competitive environment could ultimately also include one or more European exchanges, which are eager to broaden their participation in America. Consequently, investors will witness a growing number of competing exchanges, which should result in lower costs and improved transaction times.

Individual investors will not be particularly wowed by this development, since few are trading in sufficient quantities to notice the speed of execution or even trading costs. What may get the investor’s attention is that within a couple of years, his broker may become much more conversant with a wider range of investment opportunities.

In the past year, the commodities markets have unquestionably offered the most attractive returns. How many individual investors have been able to participate directly in the soaring prices of copper, oil, or gold? Few personal brokers are equipped to give sound advice on these markets, or on the vehicles available for participation. Images of wildmen waving their arms and shouting themselves hoarse in the NYMEX or CME trading pits cloud our opinion of the efficiency and professionalism of those marketplaces, and keep many investors at bay.

But having commodities-based products traded by the New York Stock Exchange could change that perspective. Similarly, international stocks still seem exotic to a great many investors. Giving foreign securities the imprimatur of the NYSE could enhance the appeal of investing in overseas companies, especially those in countries like India and China, which appear to have terrific growth prospects but limited oversight.

Even the fixed-income markets could ultimately become more accessible to the private investor. Today, the bond markets are opaque. The NYSE trades a small fraction of the bonds held by the public. Instead, the major trading firms trade fixed-income securities among themselves; little information is available to the public on the merits or pricing of comparable bond issues.

Over the next 20 years, when 80 million Americans are projected to retire, the individual investor’s appetite for bonds as the basis for retirement income may grow substantially. More active participation in this sector seems like a major opportunity for the NYSE.

These changes will happen quickly or more slowly depending in part on the pace of acquisitions. Almost surely the NYSE will take a hard look at acquiring the NYMEX and the London Stock Exchange. Both would bring significant product line expansions, and both are already in play. The NYMEX, which still controls oil price futures trading, would bring the NYSE a platform from which it could expand into other commodities. The NYMEX, like the NYSE, is facing competitive pressures from companies that have abandoned the traditional so-called outcry method of trading in favor of electronic transactions. Getting together would work in favor of both companies.

All these opportunities are reflected in the price of Archipelago’s stock, which has soared 260% over the past year. Investors are betting on the power and position of the NYSE and on further industry restructuring. They are not alone. Mr. Thain says, “We’re a $21 trillion market that offers investors access to the world’s best companies, overall highest listing standards, and superior market quality. With our transformation into a public company, the addition of Archipelago, and our transformation into a hybrid market, we’re in a position to build upon our strengths.” In other words, the fun has just begun.

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