出位股票代码大盘点

有些公司的股票代码已经变得和他们的品牌一样家喻户晓，比如谷歌（Google）的股票代码GOOG，哈雷戴维森（Harley Davidson）的代码HOG，美国西南航空公司的（Southwest Airlines）代码LUV——这个代码取自达拉斯的爱田机场（Love Field），也就是西南航空公司的总部所在地。

除了GOOG、HOG和LUV之外，近日又有另一个另类的股票代码XOXO现身纽交所。下面就为大家介绍一下这些另类的交易代码何以得名。

战略酒店与度假公司

Letter perfect

Ticker symbols are more than just a few letters that mark a company's spot on Wall Street. A clever ticker or one high in alphabetical order can really stand out, and it can even make a company change its own name.

Some tickers have become as ubiquitous as their companies' brands, such as Google's GOOG, Harley Davidson's HOG, or Southwest Airlines' LUV (which is actually named for Love Field in Dallas, where the airline is headquartered).

GOOG, HOG, and LUV recently got more company when XOXO hit the New York Stock Exchange. Here's a look at the reasons behind that new symbol -- along with six other tickers that stand out.

Strategic Hotels & Resorts

交易代码：BEE

战略酒店与度假公司（Strategic Hotels & Resorts）在美国开设了多家豪华酒店。你可能会好奇，这家公司为什么要取BEE这么一个八竿子打不着的股票代码。事实上该公司一度使用其首字母缩写SLH作为股票代码。但后来它发现，那个代码让公司泯然于华尔街众人，完全没有卓而不群的效果。

战略酒店与度假公司在美国开设了20多家高档酒店，旗下的酒店品牌有费尔蒙特酒店（Fairmount）、四季酒店（Four Seasons）、洲际酒店（Intercontinental）和丽思卡尔顿酒店（Ritz-Carlton）等。后来该公司重新设计了它的Logo，将其设计成一只蜜蜂，并且将股票代码也改成了BEE。该公司的首席执行官劳伦斯•盖勒表示：“我们旗下的酒店就像蜂房里的蜜蜂一样努力而勤勉，在必要的时候，我们也敢于‘亮刺’。”

不过盖勒还指出，该公司之所以选择了这个代码也是因为B在字母表中的排位较高，会使该公司的代码出现在股市代码表的前列。

古根海姆基金

Symbol: BEE

You might wonder why shares of a major luxury hotel owner would trade under the symbol BEE. Strategic Hotels & Resorts did once operate under the more obvious acronym SLH, but it found it didn't add any value in distinguishing itself on the Street.

The company, which operates over a dozen hotels under the Fairmont, Four Seasons, Intercontinental, and Ritz-Carlton brands, redesigned its logo to that of a bee with a matching ticker. "Just like bees in a hive, Strategic Hotels is industrious, hard working, and willing to use its stinger when necessary," says CEO Laurence Geller.

Geller also noted that the company selected a symbol starting with the letter B to appear higher on ticker lists.

Guggenheim Funds

交易代码：TAN、FAA

当年古根海姆基金（Guggenheim Funds）进入EFT基金界时，也曾试图另辟蹊径，使它的产品看起来与众不同。后来他们发现，取一个能突出重点的股票代码就是个好方法。该公司的一位发言人解释道：“人们谈到基金的时候，只会提到它们的代码，而不是提它的全名。”

基于这一理念，古登海姆为其在纽交所上市的一支太阳能ETF基金取了“TAN”作为股票代码（TAN有晒黑的意思），并为另一支航空股ETF取了“FAA”作为股票代码（FAA与美国联邦航空局的英文缩写相同——译注）。该公司表示，如果某支ETF基金的股票代码起得好，那么在交易员和机构投资人翻阅基金目录的时候，他们就会优先想到这支基金。不过要注意的是，曾经有公司申请使用FBI这种缩写作为股票代码，但遭到拒绝，可见使用政府机构的缩写也不见得总能行得通。

芝士蛋糕工厂

Symbol: TAN and FAA

When it moved into the world of ETFs, Guggenheim Funds was looking for a way to make its products stand out. Focus-driven tickers were the answer. "People refer to funds by their symbols, not their names," a company spokesman explained. "So if it discusses the strategy, it'll then connect to the strategy much more quickly."

By that logic, a Guggenheim ETF for solar energy shows up as TAN on the NYSE, while an ETF in air travel lists as FAA. The company said that cleverly named ETFs will come quicker to traders' and institutional investors' minds as they sift through lists of funds. But note this: Symbols such as FBI have been rejected in the past, so using a government agency's acronym doesn't always fly.

The Cheesecake Factory

交易代码：CAKE

这个代码可以让人迅速联想起这家公司的名字，以及它最出名的产品。因此，芝士蛋糕工厂（The Cheesecake Factory）认为这个代码是展示自己的一种“有趣且好记”的方式。另外，芝士蛋糕工厂赖以成名的芝士蛋糕乃是CEO大卫•奥佛顿已故的母亲伊芙琳的杰作。因此这个股票代码也有向这位老太太致敬的意思。

芝士蛋糕工厂的一位发言人坦承道，他们的股票代码的确会让新股民们觉得好笑，但它确实会牢牢印在他们的脑子里。

布林克国际公司

Symbol: CAKE

Aware of the immediate association with both its corporate name and its most established product, The Cheesecake Factory thought CAKE would be a "fun, memorable way" to represent itself. It also pays tribute to the legacy of Chairman and CEO David Overton's late mother, Evelyn, the mastermind behind the brand's eponymous dessert.

A Cheesecake Factory spokesperson acknowledged that the ticker may amuse newcomers but said that it does stick in their minds.

Brinker International

交易代码：EAT

上世纪90年代初，Chili’s汉堡连锁店的所有人诺尔曼•布林克（已故）给他的公司起了一个新名字，同时他也希望为他的公司取一个新的股票代码，好与他那日益壮大的餐饮帝国相称。时任总裁的罗恩•麦克道格尔负责了起名事宜，为此他找来了好几家广告公司和一家外部的企业形象设计公司共同参谋，还举办了一场内部的征名竞争。在所有的三个字母组合的备选代码中，EAT这个言简意赅的组合最终胜出，成为不二之选。

和战略酒店与度假公司一样，布林克国际公司的一位发言人也表示，该公司之所以选择了EAT作为代码，也是考虑到了它在字母表上的排位较高，同时与公司的核心业务有关之故。

OM集团

Symbol: EAT

When Chili's late owner Norman Brinker was rechristening his company in the early '90s, he wanted a ticker symbol that would reflect his growing restaurant empire. Then-president and CEO Ron McDougall led the selection effort, enlisting ad agencies, an external corporate identity firm, and an internal contest. Of all the three-letter combinations available, EAT won out as the obvious choice.

As with Strategic Hotels' symbol, a Brinker spokesperson said the company chose the ticker because it was alphabetically high on listings while still relating to its core business.

OM Group

交易代码：OMG

OMG（意为“噢，我的天哪！”——译注）这个代码如果用在一个专门迎合青春期少女的零售店身上倒是很合适。但是OM集团却是一家主打金属业务的化学材料公司。你八成不会把这家公司与某个小女生的尖叫声联系在一起吧。

OM集团的名字来自一起并购，并购的双方各贡献一字，即为OM，加上一个表示集团（Group）的G字，就构成了本文介绍的唯一一个以公司首字母缩写组成的代码，但它广为人知显然另有原因。OM集团的发言人称，该公司也考虑过如何使OMG这句口头语的流行性为其所用，但这位发言人坦承这并不是一件简单的事。

OM集团的员工很喜欢买一些恰好印有“OMG”字样的小玩意儿，但是他们也发现很难在搜索引擎上找到自己的公司。显然，交易代码如果过于朗朗上口也是要付出一些代价的。

（译者：大海）

Symbol: OMG

The ticker OMG sounds like a great fit for a retailer catering to tweener girls, but metal-based chemical company OM Group deals in materials you probably don't want to associate with someone shouting, "OMG!"

OM's name comes from a merger that combined the first letters of each party to form "OM." Add "Group," and you have our only acronym of the batch -- but one better known for other reasons. An OM spokesman said the company has considered how to take advantage of OMG's popularity but admitted it's having a hard time finding a way.

OM Group employees are known to buy tchotchkes with OMG coincidentally printed on them, but they're finding it harder to find their own company on search engines. Clearly, the benefits of a catchy ticker symbol are not without some sacrifice.