James Lee TXSE Chief Makes Education Pledge as Exchange Nears

Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE) founder and CEO James Lee has pledged $600,000 to the University of Texas McCombs School of Business, marking a significant milestone as his ambitious project to establish America’s newest national securities exchange enters a crucial phase.

The donation, announced by the McCombs School of Business, will create a permanent endowment for the Wall Street for McCombs program, where Lee’s own financial career began as part of the inaugural group of ambassadors to Wall Street in 1991. Selected by then-Dean Robert Witt, Lee was among five MBA students whose New York trip launched successful careers at leading Wall Street firms. In 2013, the Wall Street for McCombs program was formally founded to build a pipeline of talent from Texas in investment banking. It has since expanded to other industries through the New York for McCombs initiative. 

“My time at McCombs shaped who I am today,” Lee reflected, “I’m proud to support the next generation of students as they embark on their own careers in our U.S. capital markets.”. Lee went on to a successful career in investment banking and eventually founded his own trading firm, Momentum Securities, that he later sold to eTrade. 

Under Lee’s leadership, TXSE has secured $161 million in backing from prominent institutions including Charles Schwab, Fortress, BlackRock, and Citadel Securities, making it the most well capitalized exchange entrant to file registration with the SEC. The exchange filed its Form 1 registration on Jan. 31, 2025, and intends to launch trading in early 2026, with listings by the end of the same year. 

Lee has outlined ambitious plans to establish more stringent listing standards than current market leaders, positioning TXSE to exclude approximately 1,500 Nasdaq companies and 200 NYSE companies that would not meet its proposed criteria. “Ours are going to be the tightest quantitative standards inside of the strike zone,” Lee told the Financial Times, emphasizing the exchange’s focus on quality and predictability.

The exchange will be headquartered in downtown Dallas, already the nation’s second largest financial hub by industry employment. TXSE plans to eventually employ 100 people at its executive offices. Amirhossein Fard, assistant professor of finance at the University of North Texas was quoted as saying, “I think this could set up Dallas as a more attractive opportunity for local firms, especially in financial or legal consulting sectors that may be closely related to the stock exchange,” he said. “We’re already seeing it now with the new Goldman Sachs campus, but you can expect this to surge high profile financial events and conferences and could spur new developments,” he told the Dallas Morning News. Dallas billionaire Mark Cuban endorsed the exchange’s potential impact: “Not just the jobs, but the improvement on digital infrastructure required, the focus on Dallas-based companies it would bring, and maybe most importantly, it would be a foundation for people to get a better financial education.” 

The southeast quadrant (seQ), stretching from Texas to North Carolina, has contributed more than half of total U.S. job growth since 2018 and boasts an annualized GDP of $8 trillion. The region has driven the entirety of recent U.S. net population growth, adding 3.5 million people from 2020 to 2023, and is home to nearly 1,000 publicly traded companies alongside 14,000 sponsor-backed private companies. 

Lee brings three decades of experience in U.S. equity markets, having co-founded trading technology companies that pioneered smart order routing technologies and electronic trading systems. His extensive public service includes chairing the Board of Trustees of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas and serving on multiple state commissions. 

The exchange has assembled an impressive leadership team, including former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissioner Rick Roberts on its board. Alex Bussandri, global head of strategy at Citadel Securities, joins them in oversight roles. Key operational appointments include Cameron Smith as global head of trading and co-president, bringing crucial electronic trading platform experience, and Jeff Brown, former acting general counsel at Charles Schwab, as chief legal officer and general counsel 

TXSE’s launch addresses a crucial market need, as public company listings have declined by more than 40% over 25 years. The exchange plans to minimize costs by maintaining strict listing requirements that will keep out speculative penny stocks. 

Lee emphasized TXSE’s role in market health, noting, “Market makers and major liquidity providers are obliged to make markets in those companies, and it’s not healthy for investors or liquidity providers. Candidly, these companies shouldn’t be listed.”  

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, hosting an event at the governor’s mansion beneath banners reading “the bull market is coming home,” highlighted Texas’s evolution as a financial center. The state’s pro-business policies support TXSE’s growth potential. 

As TXSE progresses toward its 2026 launch, Lee maintains its apolitical stance while emphasizing the exchange’s role in revitalizing market competition. With strong institutional backing, experienced leadership, and strategic positioning in the growing southeast quadrant, TXSE appears well-positioned to challenge the traditional dominance of New York’s established bourses while fostering the next generation of financial market professionals.

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