[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 47 (Thursday, March 10, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13246-13248]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-5442]
[[Page 13246]]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-64036; File No. SR-EDGX-2011-05]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of
Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Relating to
Amendments to the EDGX Exchange, Inc. Fee Schedule
March 4, 2011.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(the ``Act''),\1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given
that on March 1, 2011, the EDGX Exchange, Inc. (the ``Exchange'' or the
``EDGX'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I, II,
and III below, which items have been prepared by the self-regulatory
organization. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit
comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons.
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\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to amend its fees and rebates applicable to
Members \3\ of the Exchange pursuant to EDGX Rule 15.1(a) and (c). All
of the changes described herein are applicable to EDGX Members. The
text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's
Internet Web site at http://www.directedge.com.
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\3\ A Member is any registered broker or dealer, or any person
associated with a registered broker or dealer, that has been
admitted to membership in the Exchange.
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II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
In its filing with the Commission, the self-regulatory organization
included statements concerning the purpose of, and basis for, the
proposed rule change and discussed any comments it received on the
proposed rule change. The text of these statements may be examined at
the places specified in Item IV below. The self-regulatory organization
has prepared summaries, set forth in sections A, B and C below, of the
most significant aspects of such statements.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
1. Purpose
Reduction in Rebate on EDGX for Adding Liquidity
Currently, on EDGX, there is a rebate of $0.0026 per share provided
for adding liquidity in securities at or above $1.00. The Exchange
proposes to reduce this rebate to $0.0023 per share. Conforming changes
are proposed on Flags B, V, Y, 3, and 4 to reflect this reduced rebate.
Changes to the Mega Tier
Currently, Members can qualify for the Mega Tier \4\ and be
provided a $0.0032 rebate per share for liquidity added on EDGX if the
Member on a daily basis, measured monthly, posts 0.75% of the Total
Consolidated Volume (``TCV'') in average daily volume. TCV is defined
as volume reported by all exchanges and trade reporting facilities to
the consolidated transaction reporting plans for Tapes A, B and C
securities.
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\4\ The Exchange notes that a Member can qualify for a Mega Tier
rebate of $0.0033 per share if the Member adds or routes at least
5,000,000 shares of average daily volume prior to 9:30 a.m. or after
4 p.m. (includes all flags except 6) AND adds a minimum of
25,000,000 shares of average daily volume on EDGX in total,
including during both market hours and pre- and post-trading hours.
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First, the Exchange proposes to add clarifying language to the
definition of TCV (in footnote 1) to explain that when TCV is
calculated for Members, it is based on the month prior to the month in
which the fees are calculated. So, when the calculation of TCV is done
for March 2011 billing for February 2011 trading activity, the
appropriate TCV is based on February 2011 figures.
The Exchange also proposes to provide an additional way for a
Member to receive a $0.0032 rebate per share for liquidity added on
EDGX. If a Member, on a daily basis, measured monthly, posts 15,000,000
shares more than their February 2011 average daily volume, provided
that their February 2011 average daily volume equals or exceeds
1,000,000 shares added to EDGX, then the Member will receive a $0.0032
rebate per share.
Proposed Changes Associated With Routing to BATS BYX Exchange
Currently, the BY flag is yielded when an order is routed to BATS
BYX Exchange and removes liquidity using order types ROUC and ROBY, as
defined in Exchange Rules 11.9(b)(3)(a) and (g). The Exchange proposes
to add footnote 10 to the fee schedule to describe that stocks priced
below $1.00 will be charged $0.0010 per share. In addition, the
Exchange proposes to increase the rebate from $0.0003 to $0.0004 when
an order is routed to BATS BYX Exchange and removes liquidity using
order types ROUC and ROBY.
EDGX Exchange proposes to implement these amendments to the
Exchange fee schedule on March 1, 2011.
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent
with the objectives of Section 6 of the Act,\5\ in general, and
furthers the objectives of Section 6(b)(4),\6\ in particular, as it is
designed to provide for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues,
fees and other charges among its members and other persons using its
facilities.
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\5\ 15 U.S.C. 78f.
\6\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
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The Exchange believes that the reduced rebate of $0.0023 per share
for adding liquidity on EDGX is an equitable allocation of reasonable
dues, fees, and other charges as the additional revenue that results
from the lower rebate enables the Exchange to cover increased
infrastructure and administrative expenses. In addition, the rebate is
competitive with rebates offered by Nasdaq and NYSE Arca ($0.0020 and
$0.0021 per share, respectively).
The Exchange believes that the fee associated with the BY flag
($0.0010 per share) for stocks priced below $1 represents an equitable
allocation of reasonable dues, fees, and other charges since it
reflects a pass through of the BATS fee for removing liquidity. EDGX
believes that it is reasonable and equitable to pass on these fees to
its members.
The proposed increased rebate when an order is routed to BATS BYX
Exchange and removes liquidity (from $0.0003 to $0.0004 per share) is
designed to incentivize Members to use this routing strategy to
increase volume on EDGX. Such increased volume increases potential
revenue to the Exchange, and would allow the Exchange to spread its
administrative and infrastructure costs over a greater number of
shares, leading to lower per share costs. These lower per share costs
would allow the Exchange to pass on the savings to Members in the form
of an increased rebate. The increased liquidity also benefits all
investors by deepening EDGX's liquidity pool, supporting the quality of
price
[[Page 13247]]
discovery, promoting market transparency and improving investor
protection.
This proposed rate represents a discount over the pass through rate
of $0.0003 per share currently provided. The Exchange also believes
that this fee structure is an equitable allocation of reasonable dues,
fees, and other charges in that it applies uniformly to all Members and
the increased rebate for removing liquidity from BATS is consistent
with the processing of similar routing strategies by EDGX's
competitors.\7\
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\7\ See BATS fee schedule: Discounted Destination Specific
Routing (``One Under'') to NYSE, NYSE ARCA and NASDAQ. See
Securities Exchange Act Release No. 62858, 75 FR 55838 (September
14, 2010) (SR-BATS-2010-023) (modifying the BATS fee schedule in
order to amend the fees for its BATS + NYSE Arca destination
specific routing option to continue to offer a ``one under'' pricing
model).
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The Exchange believes that adding an additional way to qualify for
the Mega Tier also represents an equitable allocation of reasonable
dues, fees, and other charges since higher rebates are directly
correlated with more stringent criteria.
The Mega Tier rebates of $0.0033/$0.0032 per share have the most
stringent criteria associated with them, and are $0.0002/$0.0001
greater than the Ultra Tier rebate ($0.0031 per share) and $0.0003/
$0.0002 greater than the Super Tier rebate ($0.0030 per share).
For example, based on average TCV for January 2011 (8.0 billion),
in order for a Member to qualify for the Mega Tier rebate of $0.0033,
the Member would have to add or route at least 5,000,000 shares of
average daily volume during pre and post-trading hours and add a
minimum of 25,000,000 shares of average daily volume on EDGX in total,
including during both market hours and pre and post-trading hours. The
criteria for this tier is the most stringent as fewer Members generally
trade during pre and post-trading hours because of the limited time
parameters associated with these trading sessions. The Exchange
believes that this higher rebate awarded to Members would incent
liquidity during these trading sessions. Such increased volume
increases potential revenue to the Exchange, and would allow the
Exchange to spread its administrative and infrastructure costs over a
greater number of shares, leading to lower per share costs. These lower
per share costs would allow the Exchange to pass on the savings to
Members in the form of a higher rebate.
Another way a Member can qualify for the Mega Tier (with a rebate
of $0.0032 per share) would be to post 0.75% of TCV. Based on average
TCV for January 2011 (8.0 billion), this would be 60 million shares on
EDGX. A second method, proposed in this filing, to qualify for the
rebate of $0.0032 per share would be to post 15,000,000 shares more
than the Member's February 2011 average daily volume, provided that the
Member's February 2011 average daily volume equals or exceeds 1,000,000
shares added to EDGX. The Exchange believes that requiring Members to
post 15,000,000 shares more than a February 2011 baseline average daily
volume encourages Members to add increasing amounts of liquidity to
EDGX each month. Such increased volume increases potential revenue to
the Exchange, and would allow the Exchange to spread its administrative
and infrastructure costs over a greater number of shares, leading to
lower per share costs. These lower per share costs would allow the
Exchange to pass on the savings to Members in the form of a higher
rebate. The increased liquidity also benefits all investors by
deepening EDGX's liquidity pool, offering additional flexibility for
all investors to enjoy cost savings, supporting the quality of price
discovery, promoting market transparency and improving investor
protection. Volume-based rebates such as the one proposed herein have
been widely adopted in the cash equities markets, and are equitable
because they are open to all members on an equal basis and provide
discounts that are reasonably related to the value to an exchange's
market quality associated with higher levels of market activity, such
as higher levels of liquidity provision and introduction of higher
volumes of orders into the price and volume discovery processes.
In order to qualify for the Ultra Tier, which has less stringent
criteria than the Mega Tier, the Member would have to post 0.50% of
TCV. Based on average TCV for January 2011 (8.0 billion shares), this
would be 40 million shares on EDGX.
Finally, the Super Tier has the least stringent criteria of the
tiers mentioned above. In order for a Member to qualify for this
rebate, the Member would have to post at least 10 million shares on
EDGX. As stated above, these rebates also result, in part, from lower
administrative and other costs associated with higher volume.
The Exchange notes that it operates in a highly competitive market
in which market participants can readily direct order flow to competing
venues if they deem fee levels at a particular venue to be excessive.
The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure
designed to incent market participants to direct their order flow to
the Exchange. The Exchange believes that the proposed rates are
equitable in that they apply uniformly to all Members. The Exchange
believes the fees and credits remain competitive with those charged by
other venues and therefore continue to be reasonable and equitably
allocated to Members.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
The proposed rule change does not impose any burden on competition
that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of
the Act.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants or Others
The Exchange has not solicited, and does not intend to solicit,
comments on this proposed rule change. The Exchange has not received
any unsolicited written comments from members or other interested
parties.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
The foregoing rule change has become effective pursuant to Section
19(b)(3) of the Act \8\ and Rule 19b-4(f)(2) \9\ thereunder. At any
time within 60 days of the filing of such proposed rule change, the
Commission summarily may temporarily suspend such rule change if it
appears to the Commission that such action is necessary or appropriate
in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or otherwise
in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
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\8\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
\9\ 17 CFR 19b-4(f)(2).
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IV. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule
change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of
the following methods:
Electronic Comments
Use the Commission's Internet comment form (http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or
Send an e-mail to [email protected]. Please include
File Number SR-EDGX-2011-05 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
Send paper comments in triplicate to Elizabeth M. Murphy,
Secretary,
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Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC
20549-1090.
All submissions should refer to File Number SR-EDGX-2011-05. This file
number should be included on the subject line if e-mail is used. To
help the Commission process and review your comments more efficiently,
please use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on
the Commission's Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the submission,\10\ all subsequent amendments,
all written statements with respect to the proposed rule change that
are filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating
to the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person,
other than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance
with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for Web site
viewing and printing in the Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F
Street, NE., Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between
the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of the filing also will be
available for inspection and copying at the principal office of the
Exchange. All comments received will be posted without change; the
Commission does not edit personal identifying information from
submissions. You should submit only information that you wish to make
available publicly. All submissions should refer to File Number SR-
EDGX-2011-05 and should be submitted on or before March 31, 2011.
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\10\ The text of the proposed rule change is available on
Exchange's Web site at http://www.directedge.com, on the
Commission's Web site at http://www.sec.gov, at EDGX, and at the
Commission's Public Reference Room.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\11\
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\11\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Cathy H. Ahn,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-5442 Filed 3-9-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P