Options Price Reporting Authority; Notice of Filing of Proposed Amendment to the Plan for Reporting of Consolidated Options Last Sale Reports and Quotation Information To Amend OPRA's Definition of the Term “Nonprofessional”, 48780-48782 [2014-19480]
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48780
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 159 / Monday, August 18, 2014 / Notices
these revenues will be allocated among
the OPRA member exchanges in the
same way that revenues derived from
regular-hours operations are allocated.
The result is that the Plan currently
provides for the allocation of costs of
after-hours trading only to the exchange
or exchanges that are actually operating
during the after-hours period, but for the
allocation of revenues resulting from
fees for access to quotation and last sale
information generated in the course of
after-hours operations to all of the
OPRA member exchanges on the basis
of the relative number of compared
trades in options contracts traded on
each of the OPRA member exchanges in
trading during both regular hours and
outside of regular hours.
OPRA is therefore proposing to revise
the Plan to provide that the costs of
after-hours operations will be aggregated
with the costs of operating the OPRA
System during regular hours of
operation. The consequence of the
revision would be that the aggregated
costs of operating the System during all
hours of operation would be allocated
among all of OPRA’s member
exchanges, regardless of whether any
particular exchange operates its market
outside of regular hours. OPRA believes
that this amendment will better align
the provisions of the Plan relating to the
allocation of costs of after-hours
operations with the provisions of the
Plan relating to the allocation of
revenues derived from after-hours
trading.
OPRA’s Fee Schedule does not
currently provide for fees specifically
for access to OPRA data during periods
of after-hours operations. OPRA believes
that, in order to fairly allocate the
burden of funding OPRA’s after-hours
operations to those persons who choose
to have access to OPRA information
during periods of after-hours operations,
it will be appropriate to establish such
fees rather than increase its current fees,
and OPRA is proposing to add a
sentence in Section 5.4(d) to state
expressly that it may establish such
fees.7 However, OPRA is not proposing
in this filing to amend its Fee Schedule
to establish fees for access to data
generated in after-hours trading.
The text of the proposed amendment
to the OPRA Plan is available at OPRA,
the Commission’s Public Reference
Room, https://opradata.com, and on the
Commission’s Web site at www.sec.gov.
7 OPRA is also proposing in this filing to make
a non-substantive change to Section 5.4(d) to reflect
that the OPRA Fee Schedule is no longer identified
as ‘‘Exhibit B’’ to the OPRA Plan but is publicly
available on the OPRA Web site under the ‘‘Fees’’
tab.
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II. Implementation of the OPRA Plan
Amendment
2013–03 and should be submitted on or
before September 8, 2014.
OPRA will implement the proposed
amendment to the OPRA Plan after this
filing has been approved by the
Commission in accordance with
paragraph (b)(1) of Rule 608 of
Regulation NMS under the Act.
By the Commission.
Kevin M. O’Neill,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014–19476 Filed 8–15–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
III. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to
submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing,
including whether the proposed OPRA
Plan amendment is consistent with the
Act. Comments may be submitted by
any of the following methods:
Electronic Comments
• Use the Commission’s Internet
comment form (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml); or
• Send an email to rule-comments@
sec.gov. Please include File No. SR–
OPRA–2013–03 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
• Send paper comments in triplicate
to Secretary, Securities and Exchange
Commission, 100 F Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20549–1090.
All submissions should refer to File
Number SR–OPRA–2013–03. This file
number should be included on the
subject line if email 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 (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the
submission, all subsequent
amendments, all written statements
with respect to the proposed plan
amendment that are filed with the
Commission, and all written
communications relating to the
proposed plan amendment 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
10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of such
filing also will be available for
inspection and copying at the principal
office of OPRA. 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–OPRA–
PO 00000
Frm 00061
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–72824; File No. SR–OPRA–
2014–03]
Options Price Reporting Authority;
Notice of Filing of Proposed
Amendment to the Plan for Reporting
of Consolidated Options Last Sale
Reports and Quotation Information To
Amend OPRA’s Definition of the Term
‘‘Nonprofessional’’
August 12, 2014.
Pursuant to Section 11A of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 608 thereunder,2
notice is hereby given that on March 11,
2014, the Options Price Reporting
Authority (‘‘OPRA’’) submitted to the
Securities and Exchange Commission
(‘‘Commission’’) an amendment to the
Plan for Reporting of Consolidated
Options Last Sale Reports and
Quotation Information (‘‘OPRA Plan’’).3
The proposed amendment revises
definition of the term
‘‘Nonprofessional.’’ The Commission is
publishing this notice to solicit
comments from interested persons on
the proposed OPRA Plan amendment.
I. Description and Purpose of the Plan
Amendment
The purpose of the proposed
amendment is to revise OPRA’s
definition of the term
‘‘Nonprofessional.’’
1 15
U.S.C. 78k–1.
CFR 242.608.
3 The OPRA Plan is a national market system plan
approved by the Commission pursuant to Section
11A of the Act and Rule 608 thereunder (formerly
Rule 11Aa3–2). See Securities Exchange Act
Release No. 17638 (March 18, 1981), 22 S.E.C.
Docket 484 (March 31, 1981). The full text of the
OPRA Plan is available at https://
www.opradata.com. The OPRA Plan provides for
the collection and dissemination of last sale and
quotation information on options that are traded on
the participant exchanges. The twelve participants
to the OPRA Plan are BATS Exchange, Inc., BOX
Options Exchange, LLC, Chicago Board Options
Exchange, Incorporated, C2 Options Exchange,
Incorporated, International Securities Exchange,
LLC, Miami International Securities Exchange, LLC,
NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc., NASDAQ OMX PHLX
LLC, NASDAQ Stock Market LLC, NYSE MKT LLC,
NYSE Arca, Inc., and the Topaz Exchange, LLC
(d/b/a ISE Gemini).
2 17
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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 159 / Monday, August 18, 2014 / Notices
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A person may become an OPRA
‘‘Subscriber’’ in one of two ways.4 The
first way is that the person may sign a
‘‘Professional Subscriber Agreement’’
directly with OPRA. In this case, the
person pays fees directly to OPRA on
the basis of the number of the person’s
‘‘devices’’ and/or ‘‘UserIDs.’’
The second way is that the person
may enter into a ‘‘Subscriber
Agreement,’’ not directly with OPRA,
but with an OPRA ‘‘Vendor’’—an entity
that has entered into a ‘‘Vendor
Agreement’’ with OPRA authorizing the
entity to redistribute OPRA Data to third
persons. In this case, OPRA collects fees
from the Vendor with respect to the
receipt of the OPRA Data by the person
entering into the Subscriber Agreement.
If the person qualifies as a
‘‘Nonprofessional Subscriber,’’ OPRA
caps the fee that it charges the Vendor,
and the fees that the person is required
to pay to the Vendor may be less than
they would be if the person is classified
as a ‘‘Professional Subscriber.’’ 5
OPRA’s definition of the term
‘‘Nonprofessional’’ is set out in an
‘‘Addendum for Nonprofessionals’’ that
is attached to its Electronic Form of
Subscriber Agreement and its Hardcopy
Form of Subscriber Agreement. These
two forms, in turn, are Attachments B–
1 and B–2 to OPRA’s form of Vendor
Agreement.6
Paragraph (c) of OPRA’s current
definition of the term
‘‘Nonprofessional’’ specifies that to
qualify as a ‘‘Nonprofessional’’ a person
must not be: ‘‘(i) Registered or qualified
with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, the Commodities Futures
Trading Commission, any state
securities agency, any securities
exchange/association, or any
commodities/futures contract market/
association, (ii) engaged as an
‘‘investment adviser,’’ as that term is
defined in the Investment Advisers Act
of 1940 (whether or not registered or
4 OPRA defines a ‘‘Subscriber,’’ in general, as an
entity or person that receives OPRA Data for the
person’s own use.
5 OPRA’s Fee Schedule provides that a Vendor
may determine the fee that it pays with respect to
its distribution of current OPRA data to a
Nonprofessional Subscriber in one of two ways:
Either the Vendor may pay OPRA’s flat monthly
Nonprofessional Subscriber Fee (currently $1.25/
month), or the Vendor may count the
Nonprofessional Subscriber’s queries for OPRA data
and pay Usage-based Vendor Fees based on the
actual usage of OPRA data by the Nonprofessional
Subscriber, subject to a cap that OPRA has always
set at the amount of the flat Nonprofessional
Subscriber Fee.
6 These forms are posted on OPRA’s Web site,
www.opradata.com. OPRA most recently amended
its Electronic Form of Subscriber Agreement and its
Hardcopy Form of Subscriber Agreement in File No.
SR–OPRA–2012–03; Release No. 34–67589 (August
2, 2012).
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16:57 Aug 15, 2014
Jkt 232001
qualified under that Act); or (iii)
employed by a bank or other
organization exempt from registration
under Federal and/or state securities
laws to perform functions that would
require you to be so registered or
qualified if you were to perform such
functions for an organization not so
exempt.’’ A narrow literal reading of
this language could lead to the
conclusion that a person who works
outside of the United States as (for
example) a securities broker could
qualify as a ‘‘Nonprofessional,’’ because
the person is not literally described by
clauses (i), (ii) or (iii) of Paragraph (c).
OPRA is not aware of any instances in
which an OPRA Vendor has determined
that Subscribers who work outside the
United States qualify to be
Nonprofessional Subscribers on the
basis of reading the definition of the
term ‘‘Nonprofessional’’ in this
manner.7 However, OPRA believes that
it is appropriate to modify the language
to prevent this reading. OPRA proposes
to accomplish this, essentially, by
adding a phrase at the beginning of
Paragraph (c) to say that the current
language is applicable to persons who
work in the United States and adding a
sentence to Paragraph (c) to say that
‘‘For a natural person who works
outside of the United States, a
‘Professional’ is a natural person who
performs the same functions as someone
who would be considered a
‘Professional’ in the United States.’’
OPRA believes that the changes that it
is proposing in its definition of the term
‘‘Nonprofessional’’ will add clarity to
the definition and make clear that it is
intended to generate equivalent results
both inside and outside the United
States.
The text of the proposed amendment
to the OPRA Plan is available at OPRA,
the Commission’s Public Reference
Room, https://opradata.com, and on the
Commission’s Web site at www.sec.gov.
II. Implementation of the OPRA Plan
Amendment
OPRA is proposing to post revised
versions of its Electronic Form of
Subscriber Agreement and its Hardcopy
Form of Subscriber Agreement on its
Web site, and to require Vendors to use
the revised versions on a going-forward
basis, as soon as this filing has been
approved by the Commission in
accordance with paragraph (b)(1) of
Rule 608 of Regulation NMS under the
7 OPRA is aware that the definition of the term
‘‘Nonprofessional Subscriber’’ used by the
Consolidated Tape Association (‘‘CTA’’), which is
substantively identical to OPRA’s definition in
almost all respects, prevents a similar literal reading
of its definition.
PO 00000
Frm 00062
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
48781
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. If
OPRA becomes aware that a Vendor has
been misclassifying Subscribers who
work outside the United States as
Nonprofessional Subscribers on the
basis of a literal reading of the current
language of the Addendum for
Nonprofessionals, OPRA will bring the
matter to the attention of the Vendor
and require the Vendor to use the
revised Subscriber Agreements and to
reclassify the affected Subscribers.
III. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to
submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing,
including whether the proposed OPRA
Plan amendment is consistent with the
Act. Comments may be submitted by
any of the following methods:
Electronic Comments
• Use the Commission’s Internet
comment form (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml); or
• Send an email to rule-comments@
sec.gov. Please include File No. SR–
OPRA–2014–03 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
• Send paper comments in triplicate
to Secretary, Securities and Exchange
Commission, 100 F Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20549–1090.
All submissions should refer to File
Number SR–OPRA–2014–03. This file
number should be included on the
subject line if email 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 (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the
submission, all subsequent
amendments, all written statements
with respect to the proposed plan
amendment that are filed with the
Commission, and all written
communications relating to the
proposed plan amendment 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
10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of such
filing also will be available for
inspection and copying at the principal
office of OPRA. All comments received
will be posted without change; the
Commission does not edit personal
identifying information from
submissions. You should submit only
E:\FR\FM\18AUN1.SGM
18AUN1
48782
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 159 / Monday, August 18, 2014 / Notices
information that you wish to make
available publicly. All submissions
should refer to File Number SR–OPRA–
2014–03 and should be submitted on or
before September 8, 2014.
By the Commission.
Kevin M. O’Neill,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014–19480 Filed 8–15–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–72825; File No. SR–OPRA–
2014–04]
Options Price Reporting Authority;
Notice of Filing and Immediate
Effectiveness of Proposed Amendment
to the Plan for Reporting of
Consolidated Options Last Sale
Reports and Quotation Information To
Amend OPRA’s Fee Schedule To
Establish Fees for After-Hours
Operations
August 12, 2014.
Pursuant to Section 11A of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 608 thereunder,2
notice is hereby given that on April 3,
2014, the Options Price Reporting
Authority (‘‘OPRA’’) submitted to the
Securities and Exchange Commission
(‘‘Commission’’) an amendment to the
Plan for Reporting of Consolidated
Options Last Sale Reports and
Quotation Information (‘‘OPRA Plan’’).3
The proposed amendment establishes a
category of fees for access to OPRA data
during periods of after-hours operations.
The Commission is publishing this
notice to solicit comments from
interested persons on the proposed
OPRA Plan amendment.
1 15
U.S.C. 78k–1.
CFR 242.608.
3 The OPRA Plan is a national market system plan
approved by the Commission pursuant to Section
11A of the Act and Rule 608 thereunder (formerly
Rule 11Aa3–2). See Securities Exchange Act
Release No. 17638 (March 18, 1981), 22 S.E.C.
Docket 484 (March 31, 1981). The full text of the
OPRA Plan is available at https://
www.opradata.com. The OPRA Plan provides for
the collection and dissemination of last sale and
quotation information on options that are traded on
the participant exchanges. The twelve participants
to the OPRA Plan are BATS Exchange, Inc., BOX
Options Exchange, LLC, Chicago Board Options
Exchange, Incorporated, C2 Options Exchange,
Incorporated, International Securities Exchange,
LLC, Miami International Securities Exchange, LLC,
NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc., NASDAQ OMX PHLX
LLC, NASDAQ Stock Market LLC, NYSE MKT LLC,
NYSE Arca, Inc., and the Topaz Exchange, LLC
(d/b/a ISE Gemini).
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
2 17
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I. Description and Purpose of the Plan
Amendment
The purpose of the proposed
amendment is to amend the OPRA Fee
Schedule to include fees for access to
data that OPRA disseminates as a result
of trading on the markets of one or more
OPRA member exchanges during hours
outside of OPRA’s regular hours of
operations (‘‘after-hours’’ operations).
One of OPRA’s member exchanges has
indicated that it is planning to initiate
trading during hours outside of OPRA’s
regular hours of operations and to
request OPRA to operate during the
after-hours period when its market is
open for trading. No exchange has
previously made such a request, and as
a result OPRA currently does not
operate outside of its regular hours of
operations.
OPRA’s Fee Schedule does not
currently provide for fees specifically
for access to OPRA data during periods
of after-hours operations. OPRA believes
that, in order to fairly allocate the
burden of funding OPRA’s after-hours
operations to those persons who choose
to have access to OPRA information
during periods of after-hours operations,
it is appropriate, rather than to increase
its current fees, to establish fees
specifically for receipt of OPRA
information disseminated during afterhours operations.
The after-hours service fees that
OPRA is proposing are shown in Exhibit
I. In general, with the exception of the
Usage-based Vendor Fee and the VoiceSynthesized Market Data Service Fee—
which are described below—the
proposed after-hours service fees are
established at approximately twenty
percent of their counterparts for regular
hours. For example, the after-hours
Professional Subscriber Device-Based
Fee is proposed to be $5.00 per device,
compared to $27.00 per device for the
regular hours Professional Subscriber
Device-Based Fee, and the after-hours
Nonprofessional Subscriber Fee is
proposed to be $0.25 per
nonprofessional, compared to $1.25 per
nonprofessional for the regular hours
Nonprofessional Subscriber Fee.
The proposed after-hours Usage-based
Vendor Fees are the same as the Usagebased Vendor Fees during regular hours.
The Usage-based Vendor Fees are on a
‘‘per quote’’ basis for either ‘‘quote
packets’’ or ‘‘options chains,’’ and a
quote packet or options chain
disseminated during after-hours
operations would include the same
amount of information as one
disseminated during regular hours.
Footnote 8 to the Fee Schedule is
amended to apply the same ‘‘cap’’
PO 00000
Frm 00063
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
concept to after-hours Usage-based
Vendor Fees that currently applies
during regular hours, so that these fees
are capped at $5.00 per device for
Professional Subscribers and at $.25 for
nonprofessional subscribers. Footnote 5
to the Fee Schedule is revised to state
an ‘‘Enterprise Rate Nonprofessional
Subscriber Fee’’ for after-hours service
of $75,000 per month.
The Voice-Synthesized Market Data
Service Fee for after-hours service is
proposed at the same rate as the Usagebased Vendor Fee, as is the case for
regular hours service.
OPRA is not proposing an ‘‘Enterprise
Fee’’ alternative at this time for the
after-hours Non-Display Application
Fee. OPRA believes that Professional
Subscribers are unlikely to be interested
in an Enterprise Rate alternative for the
after-hours Non-Display Application
Fee. However, OPRA is prepared to
implement an Enterprise Fee alternative
for this fee if it becomes apparent that
there is any interest in it.
Footnote 12 to the OPRA Fee
Schedule provides an example to
illustrate the statement in the
‘‘Description’’ of the Non-Display
Application Fee that the fee ‘‘includes
device-based fees with respect to the
servers or other devices that comprise
the trading engine, up to the amount’’ of
the Non-Display Application Fee. OPRA
is proposing to revise the example so
that it utilizes the 2014 regular hours
Professional Subscriber Device-based
Fee of $27.00 (instead of the nowobsolete 2012 Professional Subscriber
Device-based Fee of $25.00), and
provides a parallel example for the afterhours fee using the after-hours ‘‘per
installation’’ fee and the proposed afterhours Professional Subscriber Devicebased Fee of $5.00.
OPRA is not establishing an afterhours Control Service Fee or a
Television Fee at this time. OPRA does
not currently have any authorized
control service providers, and believes
that the control service provider
program is not likely to be of interest
during after-hours operations. Similarly,
OPRA does not anticipate that any
Vendor is likely to be interested in
providing television display of afterhours OPRA information. In each case,
however, OPRA is prepared to make the
service available if it becomes apparent
that there is any interest in it.
Similarly, OPRA believes that
Vendors are unlikely to be interested in
an after-hours Enterprise Fee for the
Hosted Solution Fee. However, OPRA is
prepared to implement an Enterprise
Fee alternative for this fee if it becomes
apparent that there is any interest in it.
E:\FR\FM\18AUN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 159 (Monday, August 18, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48780-48782]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-19480]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-72824; File No. SR-OPRA-2014-03]
Options Price Reporting Authority; Notice of Filing of Proposed
Amendment to the Plan for Reporting of Consolidated Options Last Sale
Reports and Quotation Information To Amend OPRA's Definition of the
Term ``Nonprofessional''
August 12, 2014.
Pursuant to Section 11A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(``Act'') \1\ and Rule 608 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that
on March 11, 2014, the Options Price Reporting Authority (``OPRA'')
submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') an
amendment to the Plan for Reporting of Consolidated Options Last Sale
Reports and Quotation Information (``OPRA Plan'').\3\ The proposed
amendment revises definition of the term ``Nonprofessional.'' The
Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments from
interested persons on the proposed OPRA Plan amendment.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1.
\2\ 17 CFR 242.608.
\3\ The OPRA Plan is a national market system plan approved by
the Commission pursuant to Section 11A of the Act and Rule 608
thereunder (formerly Rule 11Aa3-2). See Securities Exchange Act
Release No. 17638 (March 18, 1981), 22 S.E.C. Docket 484 (March 31,
1981). The full text of the OPRA Plan is available at https://www.opradata.com. The OPRA Plan provides for the collection and
dissemination of last sale and quotation information on options that
are traded on the participant exchanges. The twelve participants to
the OPRA Plan are BATS Exchange, Inc., BOX Options Exchange, LLC,
Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated, C2 Options Exchange,
Incorporated, International Securities Exchange, LLC, Miami
International Securities Exchange, LLC, NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc., NASDAQ
OMX PHLX LLC, NASDAQ Stock Market LLC, NYSE MKT LLC, NYSE Arca,
Inc., and the Topaz Exchange, LLC (d/b/a ISE Gemini).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Description and Purpose of the Plan Amendment
The purpose of the proposed amendment is to revise OPRA's
definition of the term ``Nonprofessional.''
[[Page 48781]]
A person may become an OPRA ``Subscriber'' in one of two ways.\4\
The first way is that the person may sign a ``Professional Subscriber
Agreement'' directly with OPRA. In this case, the person pays fees
directly to OPRA on the basis of the number of the person's ``devices''
and/or ``UserIDs.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ OPRA defines a ``Subscriber,'' in general, as an entity or
person that receives OPRA Data for the person's own use.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The second way is that the person may enter into a ``Subscriber
Agreement,'' not directly with OPRA, but with an OPRA ``Vendor''--an
entity that has entered into a ``Vendor Agreement'' with OPRA
authorizing the entity to redistribute OPRA Data to third persons. In
this case, OPRA collects fees from the Vendor with respect to the
receipt of the OPRA Data by the person entering into the Subscriber
Agreement. If the person qualifies as a ``Nonprofessional Subscriber,''
OPRA caps the fee that it charges the Vendor, and the fees that the
person is required to pay to the Vendor may be less than they would be
if the person is classified as a ``Professional Subscriber.'' \5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ OPRA's Fee Schedule provides that a Vendor may determine the
fee that it pays with respect to its distribution of current OPRA
data to a Nonprofessional Subscriber in one of two ways: Either the
Vendor may pay OPRA's flat monthly Nonprofessional Subscriber Fee
(currently $1.25/month), or the Vendor may count the Nonprofessional
Subscriber's queries for OPRA data and pay Usage-based Vendor Fees
based on the actual usage of OPRA data by the Nonprofessional
Subscriber, subject to a cap that OPRA has always set at the amount
of the flat Nonprofessional Subscriber Fee.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
OPRA's definition of the term ``Nonprofessional'' is set out in an
``Addendum for Nonprofessionals'' that is attached to its Electronic
Form of Subscriber Agreement and its Hardcopy Form of Subscriber
Agreement. These two forms, in turn, are Attachments B-1 and B-2 to
OPRA's form of Vendor Agreement.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ These forms are posted on OPRA's Web site, www.opradata.com.
OPRA most recently amended its Electronic Form of Subscriber
Agreement and its Hardcopy Form of Subscriber Agreement in File No.
SR-OPRA-2012-03; Release No. 34-67589 (August 2, 2012).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paragraph (c) of OPRA's current definition of the term
``Nonprofessional'' specifies that to qualify as a ``Nonprofessional''
a person must not be: ``(i) Registered or qualified with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission,
any state securities agency, any securities exchange/association, or
any commodities/futures contract market/association, (ii) engaged as an
``investment adviser,'' as that term is defined in the Investment
Advisers Act of 1940 (whether or not registered or qualified under that
Act); or (iii) employed by a bank or other organization exempt from
registration under Federal and/or state securities laws to perform
functions that would require you to be so registered or qualified if
you were to perform such functions for an organization not so exempt.''
A narrow literal reading of this language could lead to the conclusion
that a person who works outside of the United States as (for example) a
securities broker could qualify as a ``Nonprofessional,'' because the
person is not literally described by clauses (i), (ii) or (iii) of
Paragraph (c).
OPRA is not aware of any instances in which an OPRA Vendor has
determined that Subscribers who work outside the United States qualify
to be Nonprofessional Subscribers on the basis of reading the
definition of the term ``Nonprofessional'' in this manner.\7\ However,
OPRA believes that it is appropriate to modify the language to prevent
this reading. OPRA proposes to accomplish this, essentially, by adding
a phrase at the beginning of Paragraph (c) to say that the current
language is applicable to persons who work in the United States and
adding a sentence to Paragraph (c) to say that ``For a natural person
who works outside of the United States, a `Professional' is a natural
person who performs the same functions as someone who would be
considered a `Professional' in the United States.'' OPRA believes that
the changes that it is proposing in its definition of the term
``Nonprofessional'' will add clarity to the definition and make clear
that it is intended to generate equivalent results both inside and
outside the United States.
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\7\ OPRA is aware that the definition of the term
``Nonprofessional Subscriber'' used by the Consolidated Tape
Association (``CTA''), which is substantively identical to OPRA's
definition in almost all respects, prevents a similar literal
reading of its definition.
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The text of the proposed amendment to the OPRA Plan is available at
OPRA, the Commission's Public Reference Room, https://opradata.com, and
on the Commission's Web site at www.sec.gov.
II. Implementation of the OPRA Plan Amendment
OPRA is proposing to post revised versions of its Electronic Form
of Subscriber Agreement and its Hardcopy Form of Subscriber Agreement
on its Web site, and to require Vendors to use the revised versions on
a going-forward basis, as soon as this filing has been approved by the
Commission in accordance with paragraph (b)(1) of Rule 608 of
Regulation NMS under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. If OPRA
becomes aware that a Vendor has been misclassifying Subscribers who
work outside the United States as Nonprofessional Subscribers on the
basis of a literal reading of the current language of the Addendum for
Nonprofessionals, OPRA will bring the matter to the attention of the
Vendor and require the Vendor to use the revised Subscriber Agreements
and to reclassify the affected Subscribers.
III. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed OPRA
Plan amendment is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by
any of the following methods:
Electronic Comments
Use the Commission's Internet comment form (https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or
Send an email to rule-comments@sec.gov. Please include
File No. SR-OPRA-2014-03 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
Send paper comments in triplicate to Secretary, Securities
and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549-1090.
All submissions should refer to File Number SR-OPRA-2014-03. This file
number should be included on the subject line if email 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 (https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all
written statements with respect to the proposed plan amendment that are
filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating to
the proposed plan amendment 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 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of such filing also will be
available for inspection and copying at the principal office of OPRA.
All comments received will be posted without change; the Commission
does not edit personal identifying information from submissions. You
should submit only
[[Page 48782]]
information that you wish to make available publicly. All submissions
should refer to File Number SR-OPRA-2014-03 and should be submitted on
or before September 8, 2014.
By the Commission.
Kevin M. O'Neill,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-19480 Filed 8-15-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
