“I never thought I was going to be a plumber….but our focus is on improving the ‘plumbing’ of the capital markets.”
Jeff Karcher
Global Managing Director
Texas Stock Exchange | TXSE Group Inc.
… via LinkedIn.
It’s not every day that an executive with decades of Wall Street experience compares his work to fixing pipes.
In a LinkedIn post, the TXSE global managing director pointed to a recent article from The Daily Economy, a publication of the American Institute for Economic Research, which analyzes the upstart exchange’s potential to shake up the capital markets landscape. As the article explains, “Exchanges are the plumbing of capitalism—the place where savings become investment and new industries find their footing.”
Karcher, who spent nine years leading the listings business at the New York Stock Exchange in the southeast, after nearly 30 years in capital markets across business development, research management, and product development roles, said the “well-distilled article” is a good explanation of the establishment of the new exchange.
The Daily Economy notes that “TXSE’s lower listing costs, emphasis on issuer engagement, and alignment with Texas’s pro-business climate make it the most credible new exchange entrant in generations.”
The article cites Texas’s economic heft—roughly $2.7 trillion in annual output representing about one-tenth of the U.S. economy and home to more than a tenth of the nation’s publicly listed companies. “The creation of a new national exchange in Dallas isn’t just a regional milestone—it’s a sign that financial innovation is no longer bound to Manhattan’s geography or culture.”
For more on TXSE, check out Dallas Innovates’ recent conversation with TXSE Strategic Advisor Jeb Hensarling, who told the audience at the 2025 Venture Dallas conference that the exchange’s launch will spur needed competition and smooth the way for companies to go public.
In 10 or 15 years, he predicts, TXSE will become nothing less than an economic center of gravity.
“The history of Texas’ economy continues to be written. There’s a chapter on the Chisholm Trail, there’s a chapter on Spindletop, there’s a chapter on Texas Instruments and the integrated circuit,” Hensarling said. “But one day they’re going to write a chapter, and it’s going to be about the Texas Stock Exchange and how Texas became the center for capital markets in America. And it starts now, because, yes, the bull market is coming home.”
For more of who said what about all things North Texas, check out Every Last Word.
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