SEC Chairman Jay Clayton Speech  – In April 10, ‘18 speech, SEC Clayton committed to conducting roundtables on the three areas of focus in equity market structure for the Commission: address the challenges associated with liquidity for thinly-traded securities; regulatory approaches to addressing retail fraud; and access to markets & market data

Roundtable Agenda – On October 25 & 26th the SEC will hold a Roundtable on market data and market access that includes 7 panels & 48 presenters w/ discussion generally divided by market data products/services provided by SIPs & those by exchanges (Direct Feeds) LINK

Issues Discussed: Transparency: into the costs to produce the SIP and Direct Feeds and revenues generated and distributed. Governance: The SIP was created under a Reg NMS Plan, therefore the industry does not have voting rights to changes. Conflicts of Interest: Can the conflicts of interest which exist be managed.

Possible Solutions: Competing Consolidator Model; Adding depth to the SIP feeds; Professional verses Non Professional Users.  

See Summary Report here

STA Open Call – November 10, 2016 – Call Notes[1]
Market Data & Our Industry’s Reliance
Presenter: Travis Schwab, Chief Executive Officer, Eventus Systems
Full Replay of Call HERE

Opening Remarks – Jim Toes, STA President & CEO
SEC Equity Market Structure Advisory Committee – EMSAC will hold its next meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 29, which will focus on recommendations from the four subcommittees. STA is drafting a Comment Letter recommending an extension to EMSAC’s charter, set to expire in February 2017. LINK

House Hearing on SEC
SEC Chair Mary Jo White will testify before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday, Nov. 15, focusing on the 2018 budget request. LINK

STA in Washington DC
On Tuesday, Nov. 22, STA will meet with FINRA President & CEO Robert Cook and SEC Commissioners Michael Piwowar and Kara Stein. The leadership change at FINRA provides a unique opportunity to discuss FINRA’s role in our industry. The recent proposals to Order Routing Disclosures, or Institutional 606, will be the focus of our SEC meetings.

Market Data: It’s Role in Transparency & Operational Soundness
Executive Summary
Market data continues to be a well-publicized debate – rising costs, consolidated tape versus direct feeds, market structure impacts, etc. The need for data goes beyond trading and it plays a major role in two industry trends: the demand for transparency and improving operational soundness.

U.S. equity markets are unique compared to other markets in that we have fragmented trading but a unified NBBO with an independent source of data. This uniqueness is beneficial to investors but there is friction around consolidated tape (provided by the SIP; slower) over direct feeds (sold by exchanges; more costly).

There is growing demand from regulators for transparency but there are inconsistencies specifically, when to use the consolidated tape versus direct feed; there is a need for clarity and standardization.

Helpful Links
Business Insider: “There’s a new ‘hot-button’ issue on Wall Street…” LINK

For more information on Eventus, go to eventussystems.com, or @TravisSchwab and @ValidusARM on Twitter.

[1] This brief is meant for informational purposes only and therefore should not be considered legal advice. STA’s goal is to raise awareness and encourage industry dialogue.