NYSE, Archipelago to Merge

Separating those two functions "has to be a positive from an investor standpoint," he says.

The only concern about the split is whether the exchange or the regulatory body will control listing standards in the future, McGurn says.

The NYSE regulatory division currently governs listing standards, says Ray Pellecchia, a spokesman for the exchange. "I don't see any indication that we're going to do anything differently" after the separation of the regulatory and exchange functions, he says.

The move into electronic trading is part of the ongoing modernization of the NYSE that's been forced upon it by competitors and investors, says McGurn.

"Dick Grasso won a lot of plaudits for keeping the horse and buggy whip system alive," he says. "This [deal] probably pushes them the final step along the way" toward modernization