Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE MKT LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Amending Its Price List To Specify That a Member Organization May Request That the Exchange Aggregate Its Eligible Activity With Activity of the Member Organization's Affiliates for Purposes of Charges or Credits Based on Volume, 18896-18898 [2015-07969]
Download as PDF
18896
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 67 / Wednesday, April 8, 2015 / Notices
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 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–MIAX–
2015–25, and should be submitted on or
before April 29, 2015.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.10
Brent J. Fields,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015–07961 Filed 4–7–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–74641; File No. SR–
NYSEMKT–2015–20]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE
MKT LLC; Notice of Filing and
Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed
Rule Change Amending Its Price List
To Specify That a Member
Organization May Request That the
Exchange Aggregate Its Eligible
Activity With Activity of the Member
Organization’s Affiliates for Purposes
of Charges or Credits Based on
Volume
April 2, 2015.
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) 1 of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the
‘‘Act’’) 2 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,3
notice is hereby given that on March 25,
2015, NYSE MKT LLC (‘‘NYSE MKT’’ or
the ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission
(the ‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule
change as described in Items I and II
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.
I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Terms of Substance of
the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to amend its
Price List to specify that a member
organization may request that the
Exchange aggregate its eligible activity
10 17
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
U.S.C.78s(b)(1).
2 15 U.S.C. 78a.
3 17 CFR 240.19b–4.
1 15
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17:55 Apr 07, 2015
Jkt 235001
with activity of the member
organization’s affiliates for purposes of
charges or credits based on volume. The
text of the proposed rule change is
available on the Exchange’s Web site at
www.nyse.com, at the principal office of
the Exchange, and at the Commission’s
Public Reference Room.
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 those statements may be examined at
the places specified in Item IV below.
The Exchange has prepared summaries,
set forth in sections A, B, and C below,
of the most significant parts of such
statements.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and the
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
1. Purpose
The Exchange proposes to amend its
Price List to specify that member
organizations may request that the
Exchange aggregate their eligible
activity with activity of member
organization’s affiliates for purposes of
charges or credits based on volume. The
proposed rule change is based on
NASDAQ Stock Market LLC
(‘‘NASDAQ’’) Rule 7027, NASDAQ
Options Market LLC (‘‘NOM’’) Rules at
Chapter XV, and the NASDAQ OMX
PHLX LLC (‘‘PHLX’’) Pricing Schedule.4
As proposed, for purposes of applying
any provision of the Exchange’s Price
List where the charge assessed, or credit
provided, by the Exchange depends on
the volume of a member organization’s
activity, a member organization may
request that the Exchange aggregate its
eligible activity with activity of such
member organization’s affiliates. The
Exchange further proposes that a
member organization requesting
4 Effective December 1, 2014, NASDAQ amended
Rule 7027 to harmonize the treatment of aggregation
of affiliate activity of affiliated members to be
consistent with the rules governing NOM and
PHLX. See Securities Exchange Act Release No.
72966 (Sept. 3, 2014), 79 FR 53473 (Sept. 9, 2014)
(SR–NASDAQ–2014–083). NOM and PHLX also
amended their respective rules to harmonize the
process by which it collects information from its
members for purposes of aggregating member
activity between its equity and options markets. See
Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 72967 (Sept.
2, 2014), 79 FR 53471 (Sept. 9, 2014) (SR–
NASDAQ–2014–082) and 72969 (Sept. 3, 2014), 79
FR 53485 (Sept. 9, 2014) (SR–PHLX–2014–56).
PO 00000
Frm 00091
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
aggregation of eligible affiliate activity
would be required to (1) certify to the
Exchange the affiliate status of member
organizations whose activity it seeks to
aggregate prior to receiving approval for
aggregation, and (2) inform the
Exchange immediately of any event that
causes an entity to cease being an
affiliate. The Exchange would review
available information regarding the
entities and reserves the right to request
additional information to verify the
affiliate status of an entity. As further
proposed, the Exchange would approve
a request, unless it determines that the
certificate is not accurate.5
The Exchange also proposes that if
two or more member organizations
become affiliated on or prior to the
sixteenth day of a month, and submit
the required request for aggregation on
or prior to the twenty-second day of the
month, an approval of the request
would be deemed to be effective as of
the first day of that month. If two or
more member organizations become
affiliated after the sixteenth day of a
month, or submit a request for
aggregation after the twenty second day
of the month, an approval of the request
would be deemed to be effective as of
the first day of the next calendar
month.6 The Exchange believes that this
requirement, which is also similar to
requirements of other exchanges,7
would be a fair and objective way to
apply the aggregation rule to fees and
streamline the billing process.
The Exchange further proposes to
provide that for purposes of applying
any provision of the Price List where the
charge assessed, or credit provided, by
the Exchange depends upon the volume
of a member organization’s activity,
references to an entity would be deemed
to include the entity and its affiliates
that have been approved for
aggregation.8 The Exchange notes that
its designated market makers (‘‘DMM’’)
are subject to specified pricing on the
Price List. For purposes of the Price List,
a DMM may not aggregate its volume
either with other units within the same
member organization or affiliates of the
member organization operating the
DMM unit. In addition, the Exchange
proposes to provide that member
organizations may not aggregate volume
where the Price List specifies that
aggregation is not permitted.9
5 See
NASDAQ Rule 7027(a)(1).
NASDAQ Rule 7027(a)(2).
7 See supra note 4.
8 See supra note 5.
9 For example, the Price List specifies whether
quoting and trading activity relating to
Supplemental Liquidity Provider activity may be
aggregated.
6 See
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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 67 / Wednesday, April 8, 2015 / Notices
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Finally, the Exchange proposes that
for purposes of the Price List, the term
‘‘affiliate’’ would mean any member
organization under 75% common
ownership or control of that member
organization.10
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that the
proposed rule change is consistent with
Section 6(b) of the Act,11 in general, and
furthers the objectives of Sections
6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5) of the Act,12 in
particular, because it provides for the
equitable allocation of reasonable dues,
fees, and other charges among member
organizations and issuers and other
persons using any facility or system
with [sic] the Exchange operates or
controls and because it is designed to
prevent fraudulent and manipulative
acts and practices, promote just and
equitable principles of trade, remove
impediments to and perfect the
mechanism of a free and open market
and a national market system, and
protect investors and the public interest.
The Exchange further believes that the
proposed rule change is reasonable
because it establishes a manner for the
Exchange to treat affiliated member
organizations for purposes of assessing
charges or credits that are based on
volume. The provision is equitable
because all member organizations
seeking to aggregate their activity are
subject to the same parameters, in
accordance with a standard that
recognizes an affiliation as of the
month’s beginning or close in time to
when the affiliation occurs, provided
the member organization submits a
timely request. Moreover, the proposed
billing aggregation language, which
would lower the Exchange’s
administrative burden, is substantially
similar to aggregation language adopted
by other exchanges.13
The Exchange further notes that the
proposal would serve to reduce
disparity of treatment between member
organizations with regard to the pricing
of different services and reduce any
potential for confusion on how activity
can be aggregated. The Exchange
believes that the proposed rule change
avoids disparate treatment of member
organizations that have divided their
various business activities between
separate corporate entities as compared
to member organizations that operate
those business activities within a single
corporate entity. The Exchange further
notes that the proposed rule change is
10 See
NASDAQ Rule 7027(c).
U.S.C. 78f(b).
12 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5).
13 See supra note 4.
11 15
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:55 Apr 07, 2015
reasonable and is designed to remove
impediments to and perfect the
mechanism of a free and open market by
harmonizing the manner by which the
Exchanges permits member
organizations to aggregate volume with
other exchanges. In particular, the
Exchange notes that NASDAQ, PHLX
and BX all have the same standard that
the Exchange is proposing to adopt.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Burden on Competition
In accordance with Section 6(b)(8) of
the Act,14 the Exchange does not believe
that the proposed rule change will
impose any burden on intermarket or
intramarket competition that is not
necessary or appropriate in furtherance
of the purposes of the Act. As stated
above, the proposed rule change, which
applies equally to all member
organizations, is intended to reduce the
Exchange’s administrative burden in
applying volume price discounts for
firms which have requested aggregation
with that of an affiliate member
organization, and is substantially
similar to rules adopted by other
exchanges. Because the market for order
execution and routing is extremely
competitive, member organizations may
readily opt to disfavor the Exchange if
they believe that alternatives offer them
better value. The Exchange does not
believe the proposed changes will
impair the ability of member
organizations or competing order
execution venues to maintain their
competitive standing in the financial
markets.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Comments on the
Proposed Rule Change Received From
Members, Participants, or Others
No written comments were solicited
or received with respect to the proposed
rule change.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the
Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Because the foregoing rule does not (i)
significantly affect the protection of
investors or the public interest; (ii)
impose any significant burden on
competition; and (iii) become operative
for 30 days from the date on which it
was filed, or such shorter time as the
Commission may designate if consistent
with the protection of investors and the
public interest, provided that the selfregulatory organization has given the
Commission written notice of its intent
to file the proposed rule change at least
five business days prior to the date of
filing of the proposed rule change or
such shorter time as designated by the
Commission,15 the proposed rule
change has become effective pursuant to
Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act 16 and
Rule 19b–4(f)(6) thereunder.17
At any time within 60 days of the
filing of the 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. If the
Commission takes such action, the
Commission will institute proceedings
to determine whether the proposed rule
change should be approved or
disapproved.
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 (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml); or
• Send an email to rule-comments@
sec.gov. Please include File Number SR–
NYSEMKT–2015–20 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
• Send paper comments in triplicate
to Brent J. Fields, Secretary, Securities
and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street
NE., Washington, DC 20549–1090.
All submissions should refer to File
Number SR–NYSEMKT–2015–20. 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 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
15 The
Exchange has fulfilled this requirement.
U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
17 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6).
16 15
14 15
Jkt 235001
PO 00000
U.S.C. 78f(b)(8).
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
18897
E:\FR\FM\08APN1.SGM
08APN1
18898
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 67 / Wednesday, April 8, 2015 / Notices
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 the
filing will also be available for
inspection and copying at the NYSE’s
principal office and on its Internet Web
site at www.nyse.com. 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–
NYSEMKT–2015–20 and should be
submitted on or before April 29, 2015.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.18
Brent J. Fields,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015–07969 Filed 4–7–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Investment Company Act Release No.
31546; File No. 812–13683]
John Hancock Exchange-Traded Fund
Trust, et al.; Notice of Application
April 2, 2015.
Securities and Exchange
Commission (‘‘Commission’’).
ACTION: Notice of an application for an
order under section 6(c) of the
Investment Company Act of 1940 (the
‘‘Act’’) for an exemption from sections
2(a)(32), 5(a)(1), 22(d), and 22(e) of the
Act and rule 22c–1 under the Act, under
sections 6(c) and 17(b) of the Act for an
exemption from sections 17(a)(1) and
17(a)(2) of the Act, and under section
12(d)(1)(J) of the Act for an exemption
from sections 12(d)(1)(A) and
12(d)(1)(B) of the Act.
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
AGENCY:
Summary of Application: Applicants
request an order that would permit (a)
series of certain open-end management
investment companies to issue shares
(‘‘Shares’’) redeemable in large
aggregations only (‘‘Creation Units’’); (b)
secondary market transactions in Shares
to occur at negotiated market prices
rather than at net asset value (‘‘NAV’’);
(c) certain series to pay redemption
proceeds, under certain circumstances,
more than seven days after the tender of
Shares for redemption; (d) certain
affiliated persons of the series to deposit
securities into, and receive securities
from, the series in connection with the
18 17
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:55 Apr 07, 2015
Jkt 235001
purchase and redemption of Creation
Units; (e) certain registered management
investment companies and unit
investment trusts outside of the same
group of investment companies as the
series to acquire Shares; and (f) certain
series to perform creations and
redemptions of Creation Units in-kind
in a master-feeder structure.
Applicants: John Hancock ExchangeTraded Fund Trust (‘‘Trust’’), John
Hancock Advisers, LLC and John
Hancock Investment Management
Services, LLC (together, ‘‘John
Hancock’’), and John Hancock Funds,
LLC.
Filing Dates: The application was
filed on August 21, 2009, and amended
on August 27, 2010, August 29, 2011,
November 6, 2014, and March 17, 2015.
Hearing or Notification of Hearing: An
order granting the requested relief will
be issued unless the Commission orders
a hearing. Interested persons may
request a hearing by writing to the
Commission’s Secretary and serving
applicants with a copy of the request,
personally or by mail. Hearing requests
should be received by the Commission
by 5:30 p.m. on April 27, 2015, and
should be accompanied by proof of
service on applicants, in the form of an
affidavit or, for lawyers, a certificate of
service. Pursuant to rule 0–5 under the
Act, hearing requests should state the
nature of the writer’s interest, any facts
bearing upon the desirability of a
hearing on the matter, the reason for the
request, and the issues contested.
Persons who wish to be notified of a
hearing may request notification by
writing to the Commission’s Secretary.
ADDRESSES: The Commission: Secretary,
U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission, 100 F Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20549–1090;
Applicants: 601 Congress Street, Boston,
MA 02210–2805.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Christine Y. Greenlees, Senior Counsel
at (202) 551–6879, or David P. Bartels,
Branch Chief, at (202) 551–6821
(Division of Investment Management,
Chief Counsel’s Office).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
following is a summary of the
application. The complete application
may be obtained via the Commission’s
Web site by searching for the file
number, or for an applicant using the
Company name box, at https://
www.sec.gov/search/search.htm or by
calling (202) 551–8090.
Applicants’ Representations
1. The Trust is a business trust
organized under the laws of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The
PO 00000
Frm 00093
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Trust is registered under the Act as an
open-end management investment
company and will offer multiple series.
2. John Hancock Advisers, LLC will
be the investment adviser to the Initial
Fund (defined below). Each of John
Hancock Advisers, LLC and John
Hancock Investment Management
Services, LLC is registered as an
investment adviser under the
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the
‘‘Advisers Act’’). Any other Adviser
(defined below) will also be registered
as an investment adviser under the
Advisers Act. The Adviser may enter
into sub-advisory agreements with one
or more investment advisers to act as
sub-advisers to particular Funds (each,
a ‘‘Sub-Adviser’’). Any Sub-Adviser will
either be registered under the Advisers
Act or will not be required to register
thereunder.
3. The Trust will enter into a
distribution agreement with one or more
distributors, including John Hancock
Funds, LLC. Each distributor will act as
distributor and principal underwriter
(‘‘Distributor’’) of one or more of the
Funds. Each Distributor will be a
broker-dealer registered under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the
‘‘Exchange Act’’). The Distributor of any
Fund may be an affiliated person or an
affiliated person of an affiliated person
of that Fund’s Adviser and/or SubAdviser(s). The Distributor will not be
affiliated with any Exchange (defined
below).
4. Applicants request that the order
apply to the initial series of the Trust
described in the application (‘‘Initial
Fund’’), and any additional series of the
Trust, and any other open-end
management investment company or
series thereof, that may be created in the
future (‘‘Future Funds’’), each of which
will operate as an exchanged-traded
fund (‘‘ETF’’) and will track a specified
index comprised of domestic or foreign
equity and/or fixed income securities
(each, an ‘‘Underlying Index’’). Any
Future Fund will (a) be advised by John
Hancock Advisers, LLC, John Hancock
Investment Management Services, LLC,
or an entity controlling, controlled by,
or under common control with John
Hancock Advisers, LLC or John Hancock
Investment Management Services, LLC
(each, an ‘‘Adviser’’) and (b) comply
with the terms and conditions of the
application. The Initial Fund and Future
Funds, together, are the ‘‘Funds.’’ 1
1 All existing entities that intend to rely on the
requested order have been named as applicants.
Any other existing or future entity that
subsequently relies on the order will comply with
the terms and conditions of the order. A Fund of
Funds (as defined below) may rely on the order
E:\FR\FM\08APN1.SGM
08APN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 67 (Wednesday, April 8, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18896-18898]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-07969]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-74641; File No. SR-NYSEMKT-2015-20]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE MKT LLC; Notice of Filing and
Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Amending Its Price List
To Specify That a Member Organization May Request That the Exchange
Aggregate Its Eligible Activity With Activity of the Member
Organization's Affiliates for Purposes of Charges or Credits Based on
Volume
April 2, 2015.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) \1\ of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 (the ``Act'') \2\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\3\ notice is hereby
given that on March 25, 2015, NYSE MKT LLC (``NYSE MKT'' or the
``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I and II
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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 15 U.S.C.78s(b)(1).
\2\ 15 U.S.C. 78a.
\3\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to amend its Price List to specify that a
member organization may request that the Exchange aggregate its
eligible activity with activity of the member organization's affiliates
for purposes of charges or credits based on volume. The text of the
proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's Web site at
www.nyse.com, at the principal office of the Exchange, and at the
Commission's Public Reference Room.
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 those statements may be examined at
the places specified in Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared
summaries, set forth in sections A, B, and C below, of the most
significant parts of such statements.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and the
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
1. Purpose
The Exchange proposes to amend its Price List to specify that
member organizations may request that the Exchange aggregate their
eligible activity with activity of member organization's affiliates for
purposes of charges or credits based on volume. The proposed rule
change is based on NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (``NASDAQ'') Rule 7027,
NASDAQ Options Market LLC (``NOM'') Rules at Chapter XV, and the NASDAQ
OMX PHLX LLC (``PHLX'') Pricing Schedule.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ Effective December 1, 2014, NASDAQ amended Rule 7027 to
harmonize the treatment of aggregation of affiliate activity of
affiliated members to be consistent with the rules governing NOM and
PHLX. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 72966 (Sept. 3, 2014),
79 FR 53473 (Sept. 9, 2014) (SR-NASDAQ-2014-083). NOM and PHLX also
amended their respective rules to harmonize the process by which it
collects information from its members for purposes of aggregating
member activity between its equity and options markets. See
Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 72967 (Sept. 2, 2014), 79 FR
53471 (Sept. 9, 2014) (SR-NASDAQ-2014-082) and 72969 (Sept. 3,
2014), 79 FR 53485 (Sept. 9, 2014) (SR-PHLX-2014-56).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As proposed, for purposes of applying any provision of the
Exchange's Price List where the charge assessed, or credit provided, by
the Exchange depends on the volume of a member organization's activity,
a member organization may request that the Exchange aggregate its
eligible activity with activity of such member organization's
affiliates. The Exchange further proposes that a member organization
requesting aggregation of eligible affiliate activity would be required
to (1) certify to the Exchange the affiliate status of member
organizations whose activity it seeks to aggregate prior to receiving
approval for aggregation, and (2) inform the Exchange immediately of
any event that causes an entity to cease being an affiliate. The
Exchange would review available information regarding the entities and
reserves the right to request additional information to verify the
affiliate status of an entity. As further proposed, the Exchange would
approve a request, unless it determines that the certificate is not
accurate.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ See NASDAQ Rule 7027(a)(1).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange also proposes that if two or more member organizations
become affiliated on or prior to the sixteenth day of a month, and
submit the required request for aggregation on or prior to the twenty-
second day of the month, an approval of the request would be deemed to
be effective as of the first day of that month. If two or more member
organizations become affiliated after the sixteenth day of a month, or
submit a request for aggregation after the twenty second day of the
month, an approval of the request would be deemed to be effective as of
the first day of the next calendar month.\6\ The Exchange believes that
this requirement, which is also similar to requirements of other
exchanges,\7\ would be a fair and objective way to apply the
aggregation rule to fees and streamline the billing process.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ See NASDAQ Rule 7027(a)(2).
\7\ See supra note 4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange further proposes to provide that for purposes of
applying any provision of the Price List where the charge assessed, or
credit provided, by the Exchange depends upon the volume of a member
organization's activity, references to an entity would be deemed to
include the entity and its affiliates that have been approved for
aggregation.\8\ The Exchange notes that its designated market makers
(``DMM'') are subject to specified pricing on the Price List. For
purposes of the Price List, a DMM may not aggregate its volume either
with other units within the same member organization or affiliates of
the member organization operating the DMM unit. In addition, the
Exchange proposes to provide that member organizations may not
aggregate volume where the Price List specifies that aggregation is not
permitted.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ See supra note 5.
\9\ For example, the Price List specifies whether quoting and
trading activity relating to Supplemental Liquidity Provider
activity may be aggregated.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 18897]]
Finally, the Exchange proposes that for purposes of the Price List,
the term ``affiliate'' would mean any member organization under 75%
common ownership or control of that member organization.\10\
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\10\ See NASDAQ Rule 7027(c).
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2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent
with Section 6(b) of the Act,\11\ in general, and furthers the
objectives of Sections 6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5) of the Act,\12\ in
particular, because it provides for the equitable allocation of
reasonable dues, fees, and other charges among member organizations and
issuers and other persons using any facility or system with [sic] the
Exchange operates or controls and because it is designed to prevent
fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, promote just and
equitable principles of trade, remove impediments to and perfect the
mechanism of a free and open market and a national market system, and
protect investors and the public interest.
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\11\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
\12\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5).
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The Exchange further believes that the proposed rule change is
reasonable because it establishes a manner for the Exchange to treat
affiliated member organizations for purposes of assessing charges or
credits that are based on volume. The provision is equitable because
all member organizations seeking to aggregate their activity are
subject to the same parameters, in accordance with a standard that
recognizes an affiliation as of the month's beginning or close in time
to when the affiliation occurs, provided the member organization
submits a timely request. Moreover, the proposed billing aggregation
language, which would lower the Exchange's administrative burden, is
substantially similar to aggregation language adopted by other
exchanges.\13\
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\13\ See supra note 4.
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The Exchange further notes that the proposal would serve to reduce
disparity of treatment between member organizations with regard to the
pricing of different services and reduce any potential for confusion on
how activity can be aggregated. The Exchange believes that the proposed
rule change avoids disparate treatment of member organizations that
have divided their various business activities between separate
corporate entities as compared to member organizations that operate
those business activities within a single corporate entity. The
Exchange further notes that the proposed rule change is reasonable and
is designed to remove impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a
free and open market by harmonizing the manner by which the Exchanges
permits member organizations to aggregate volume with other exchanges.
In particular, the Exchange notes that NASDAQ, PHLX and BX all have the
same standard that the Exchange is proposing to adopt.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
In accordance with Section 6(b)(8) of the Act,\14\ the Exchange
does not believe that the proposed rule change will impose any burden
on intermarket or intramarket competition that is not necessary or
appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. As stated above,
the proposed rule change, which applies equally to all member
organizations, is intended to reduce the Exchange's administrative
burden in applying volume price discounts for firms which have
requested aggregation with that of an affiliate member organization,
and is substantially similar to rules adopted by other exchanges.
Because the market for order execution and routing is extremely
competitive, member organizations may readily opt to disfavor the
Exchange if they believe that alternatives offer them better value. The
Exchange does not believe the proposed changes will impair the ability
of member organizations or competing order execution venues to maintain
their competitive standing in the financial markets.
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\14\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(8).
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C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others
No written comments were solicited or received with respect to the
proposed rule change.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Because the foregoing rule does not (i) significantly affect the
protection of investors or the public interest; (ii) impose any
significant burden on competition; and (iii) become operative for 30
days from the date on which it was filed, or such shorter time as the
Commission may designate if consistent with the protection of investors
and the public interest, provided that the self-regulatory organization
has given the Commission written notice of its intent to file the
proposed rule change at least five business days prior to the date of
filing of the proposed rule change or such shorter time as designated
by the Commission,\15\ the proposed rule change has become effective
pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act \16\ and Rule 19b-4(f)(6)
thereunder.\17\
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\15\ The Exchange has fulfilled this requirement.
\16\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
\17\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6).
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At any time within 60 days of the filing of the 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. If the Commission
takes such action, the Commission will institute proceedings to
determine whether the proposed rule change should be approved or
disapproved.
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 (https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or
Send an email to rule-comments@sec.gov. Please include
File Number SR-NYSEMKT-2015-20 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
Send paper comments in triplicate to Brent J. Fields,
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20549-1090.
All submissions should refer to File Number SR-NYSEMKT-2015-20. 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 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
[[Page 18898]]
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 the filing will also be available
for inspection and copying at the NYSE's principal office and on its
Internet Web site at www.nyse.com. 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-NYSEMKT-2015-20 and should be submitted on or before
April 29, 2015.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\18\
Brent J. Fields,
Secretary.
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\18\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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[FR Doc. 2015-07969 Filed 4-7-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P