Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange, LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Add Specificity to the Definition of a Professional in the Exchange's Rules, 63252-63257 [2016-22029]
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 178 / Wednesday, September 14, 2016 / Notices
viewed as a new order. This treatment
is consistent with the manner in which
this order type is applied today within
the order Book.
Parent/Child Orders
The Exchange’s treatment of
subordinate orders does not create an
undue burden on intra-market
competition because allowing orders on
the same side of the market to be
counted as a single order is consistent
with the original intent of the
Professional Order designation which is
to count distinct orders and focus on the
number of orders generated.
The Exchange does not believe that
the proposed rule change will impose
an undue burden on inter-market
competition because other exchanges
have adopted similar guidance.17 The
Exchange believes that disparate rules
regarding Professional Order
designation, and a lack of uniform
application of such rules, does not
promote the best regulation and may, in
fact, encourage regulatory arbitrage. The
Exchange believes that it is therefore
prudent and necessary to conform its
rules to that of other options exchanges
for purposes of calculating the threshold
volume of orders to be designated as a
Professional Order. This is particularly
true where the Exchange’s third-party
routing broker-dealers are members of
several exchanges that have rules
requiring Professional Order
designations.
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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 either
solicited or received.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the
Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Because the foregoing proposed rule
change 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, it has
become effective pursuant to section
19(b)(3)(A)(iii) of the Act 18 and
subparagraph (f)(6) of Rule 19b–4
thereunder.19
17 NASDAQ BX, Inc, and NASDAQ Options
Market LLC have similar rules in place for
computing Professional orders. See BX Rules at
chapter I, section 1(49). See NOM Rules at chapter
I, section 1(48).
18 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(a)(iii).
19 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). In addition, Rule 19b–
4(f)(6) requires a self-regulatory organization to give
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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: (i) Necessary or appropriate in
the public interest; (ii) for the protection
of investors; or (iii) otherwise in
furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
If the Commission takes such action, the
Commission shall institute proceedings
to determine whether the proposed rule
should be approved or disapproved.
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 No. SR–
ISEMercury–2016–14, and should be
submitted on or before October 5, 2016.
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:
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.20
Brent J. Fields,
Secretary.
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–
ISEMercury–2016–14 on the subject
line.
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
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 No.
SR–ISEMercury–2016–14. 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
printing in the Commission’s Public
Reference Room, 100 F Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20549 on official
business days between the hours of
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. The Exchange has satisfied this
requirement.
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[FR Doc. 2016–22032 Filed 9–13–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
[Release No. 34–78788; File No. SR–ISE–
2016–19]
Self-Regulatory Organizations;
International Securities Exchange,
LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate
Effectiveness of Proposed Rule
Change To Add Specificity to the
Definition of a Professional in the
Exchange’s Rules
September 8, 2016.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2
notice is hereby given that on August
30, 2016, the International Securities
Exchange, LLC (‘‘ISE’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’)
filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (‘‘SEC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’)
the proposed rule change as described
in Items I, II, and III, below, which Items
have been prepared by the Exchange.
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 the Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to amend
Exchange Rule 100(a)(37C) (Definitions)
to add specificity to the definition of a
Professional with respect to the manner
in which the volume threshold will be
calculated by the Exchange.
The text of the proposed rule change
is available on the Exchange’s Web site
at www.ise.com, at the principal office
20 17
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.
1 15
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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
Exchange 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
Exchange 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
Proposal
1. Purpose
The Exchange proposes to amend the
definition of ‘‘Professional’’ in Rule
100(a)(37C) to specify the manner in
which the Exchange calculates orders to
determine if an order should be treated
as Professional Order.
Background
Exchange Rule 100(a)(37C) currently
states, that the term Professional Order
means an order that is for the account
of a person or entity that is not a Priority
Customer. A Priority Customer means a
person or entity that (i) is not a broker
or dealer in securities, and (ii) does not
place more than 390 orders in listed
options per day on average during a
calendar month for its own beneficial
account(s).3 In order to properly
represent orders entered on the
Exchange, members are required to
indicate whether orders are
‘‘Professional Orders.’’ To comply with
this requirement, members are required
to review their Priority Customers’
activity on at least a quarterly basis to
determine whether orders that are not
for the account of a broker-dealer should
be represented as Priority Customer
Orders or Professional Orders.4
3 Rule
100(a)(37A).
for any customer that had an average of
more than 390 orders per day during any month of
a calendar quarter must be represented as
Professional Orders for the next calendar quarter.
Members will be required to conduct a quarterly
review and make any appropriate changes to the
way in which they are representing orders within
five days after the end of each calendar quarter.
While Members only will be required to review
their accounts on a quarterly basis, if during a
quarter the Exchange identifies a customer for
which orders are being represented as Priority
Customer Orders but that has averaged more than
390 orders per day during a month, the Exchange
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The Exchange accepts orders routed
from other markets that are marked
Professional Orders. The designation of
Professional Order does not result in
any different treatment of such orders
for purposes of Exchange rules
concerning away market protection.
That is, all non-broker or dealer orders,
including those that meet the definition
of Professional Orders, are treated
equally for purposes of Exchange away
market protection rules.5 The Exchange
continues to believe that identifying
Professional Orders based upon the
average number of orders entered in
qualified accounts is an appropriately
objective approach to reasonably
distinguish such persons and entities
from retail investors or market
participants.
The Exchange proposes to count each
Professional Order, regardless of the
options exchange to which the order
was routed in determining Professional
Orders.6
Cancel and Replace
A cancel and replace order is a type
of order that replaces a prior order. The
Exchange believes that the second order
(the replacement order) should be
counted as a new order. Complex
Orders 7 consisting of eight legs or fewer
will be counted as a single order, and
with Complex Orders of nine options 8
legs or more, each leg will count as a
separate order. With respect to ‘‘singlestrike algorithms,’’ which are a series of
cancel and replace orders in an
individual strike which track the Best
Bid and Offer (‘‘BBO’’) or National Best
Bid and Offer (‘‘NBBO’’), these orders
shall be counted as new orders.9 The
Exchange believes that because the
Priority Customer is specifically
instructing the executing broker in the
‘‘single-strike algorithm’’ scenario to
cancel and replace these orders, that
will notify the Member and the Member will be
required to change the manner in which it is
representing the customer’s orders within five days.
See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 57254
(February 1, 2008), 73 FR 7345 (February 7, 2008)
(SR–ISE–2006–26).
5 See Exchange Rules 1901, 1902 and 1903.
6 All order types count toward the 390 orders on
average per day.
7 A Complex Order is any order involving the
simultaneous purchase and/or sale of two or more
different options series in the same underlying
security, for the same account, in a ratio that is
equal to or greater than one-to-three (.333) and less
than or equal to three-to-one (3.00) and for the
purpose of executing a particular investment
strategy. Rule 722(a)(1).
8 Orders that have nine legs, where one leg is a
stock, will be considered one order. Stock orders
shall not count toward the number of legs.
9 Cancel messages do not count as an order.
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this type of activity is akin to market
making in a Priority Customer account
and should be counted, as a new order.
Parent/Child Orders
An order that converts into multiple
subordinate orders to achieve an
execution strategy shall be counted as
one order per side and series, even if the
order is routed away.10 An order that
cancels and replaces a resulting
subordinate order and results in
multiple sides/series shall be counted as
a new order on each side and series. For
purposes of counting Professional
Orders, the manner in which the
Priority Customer submitted the order
and whether the order was on the same
side and series will determine if the
order will count as one order. If one
Priority Customer order on the same
side and series is subsequently brokenup by a broker into multiple orders for
purposes of execution or routed away,
this order will count as one order. The
Exchange believes that the proposed
amendment will provide more certainty
to market participants in determining
the manner in which the Exchange will
compute the number of orders in listed
options per day on average during a
calendar month for its own beneficial
account(s) to determine the Professional
Order designation.
In order to make clear when orders
will count as new orders, the Exchange
offers the following scenarios as
examples.
• The Exchange proposes to count
multiple orders that were submitted by
the member as separate orders as
multiple orders.
• The Exchange proposes to count a
single order submitted by a member,
which was automatically executed in
multiple parts by the trading system, as
one order, because the member did not
intervene to create multiple orders.
Another example is where an order was
entered in the trading system and only
partially filled, the order would count as
one order. The subsequent fills, which
could be multiple executions, would not
count as additional orders in
determining the 390 limit. The manner
in which the order is ultimately
executed, as one order or multiple
orders, should not itself determine
whether the activity qualified as a
Professional Order; also the member did
not intervene in that circumstance.
10 An order which is placed for the beneficial
account(s) of a person or entity that is not a broker
or dealer in securities that is broken into multiple
parts by a broker or dealer or by an algorithm
housed at a broker or dealer or by an algorithm
licensed from a broker or dealer. Strategies include
Complex Orders and volatility orders, for example.
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• The Exchange proposes to count
orders, which result in multiple orders
due to cancel and replacement orders,
as new orders. This is because in this
situation the member did intervene to
create the subsequent orders.
• The Exchange proposes to count an
order submitted by the Priority
Customer as a single order, on the same
side and series, as a single order despite
the fact that a broker broke-up the order
into multiple orders for purposes of
execution.
The Exchange previously issued a
notice which described the manner in
which it believed thresholds should be
computed for determining if an order
qualifies as a Professional Order.11 This
rule supersedes the Exchange’s notice.
The Exchange believes that there has
been industry confusion as to which
orders count toward the 390 contract
threshold. The Exchange’s proposal is
intended to provide clarity and to
continue to promote consistency in the
treatment of orders as Professional
Orders by filing a rule change similar to
other options exchanges.12
Below are some examples of the
calculation of Professional Orders.
Example #1
A Priority Customer has an order to
buy 100 calls at a volatility level of 35.
The order then generates a child order
resulting in a 1.00 bid for 100 options
which is sent to Exchange A. After the
underlying stock price ticks up 2 cents
the child order is then adjusted to
reflect a 35 level volatility which in this
case (50 delta) results in a 1.01 bid sent
to Exchange A replacing the current
1.00 bid.
In determining the number of orders
that attribute to the 390 order count, in
this case, because the child order is
being canceled and replaced in the
‘‘same series’’ this would only count as
one (1) order for purposes of
Professional designation calculation.
Example #2
A Priority Customer has an order to
buy 20k Vega at a 35 volatility level in
symbol XYZ. The order then generates
50 child orders across different strikes.
Throughout the day those 50 orders are
adjusted as the stock moves resulting in
the replacement of child orders to the
tune of 5 times per order (50 x 5
cancels) resulting in 250 total orders
generated to Exchange A.
In determining the number of orders
that attribute to the 390 order count, in
this case, because the child orders
generated are across multiple series it
would be necessary to count all 250
orders
In addition to the above examples, the
Exchange provides the below chart to
demonstrate the manner in which it will
count orders.
Single
Multiple
Single Strike Activity
Priority Customer Order posted to 1 SRO order Book ...........................................................................................
Priority Customer Order posted to Multiple SRO order Books simultaneously ......................................................
Cancel/Replace Activity ...........................................................................................................................................
Cancel/Replace Activity tracking BBO or NBBO .....................................................................................................
x
x
x
........................
.......................
.......................
.......................
x
x
x
x
x
.......................
.......................
.......................
.......................
........................
........................
........................
........................
x
x
x
x
Complex Order Activity (8 option strikes or fewer)
Priority Customer Order posted to 1 SRO order book ............................................................................................
Priority Customer Order posted to Multiple SRO Complex Order books simultaneously ......................................
Cancel/Replace Activity ...........................................................................................................................................
Cancel/Replace Activity tracking BBO or NBBO .....................................................................................................
Complex Order Activity (9 option strikes or greater)
Priority Customer Order posted to 1 SRO order book ............................................................................................
Priority Customer Order posted to Multiple SRO Complex Order Books simultaneously ......................................
Cancel/Replace Activity ...........................................................................................................................................
Cancel/Replace Activity tracking BBO or NBBO .....................................................................................................
The Exchange believes that its
proposal is consistent with Section 6(b)
of the Act,13 in general, and furthers the
objectives of Section 6(b)(5) of the Act,14
in particular, in that it is designed to
promote just and equitable principles of
trade, to remove impediments to and
perfect the mechanism of a free and
open market and a national market
system, and, in general to protect
investors and the public interest, by
promoting the consistent application of
its rules by further defining the manner
in which the Exchange will compute the
number of orders in listed options per
day on average during a calendar month
for its own beneficial account(s) for
purposes of determining the
Professional Order designation.
Furthermore, the Exchange believes that
specifying the manner in which the 390
threshold will be calculated within its
Rules will provide members with
certainty and provide them with insight
as they conduct their own quarterly
reviews for purposes of designating
orders.
The Exchange believes that counting
all orders toward the number of orders,
regardless of the options exchange to
which the order was routed, will
promote the consistent application of its
rules by making clear that all order
types shall be counted as well as all
orders for the purpose of determining
whether the definition of Professional
Order has been met. The Exchange
11 See International Securities Exchange LLC’s
Regulatory Information Circular (2009–179) dated
June 23, 2009.
12 NASDAQ BX, Inc, and NASDAQ Options
Market LLC have similar rules in place for
computing Professional orders. See BX Rules at
Chapter I, Section 1(49). See NOM Rules at Chapter
I, Section 1(48).
13 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
14 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
Singular—counts as a single order
towards the 390 count
Multiple—each order applies towards
the 390 count
The Exchange proposes to implement
this rule on October 3, 2016 to provide
market participants with advance notice
for their quarterly calculations. The
Exchange will issue a Market
Information Circular in advance to
inform market participants of such date.
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2. Statutory Basis
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previously noted in its filing which
created Professional Orders that,
The Exchange believes that identifying
professional account holders based upon the
average number of orders entered for a
beneficial account is an appropriately
objective approach that will reasonably
distinguish such persons and entities from
retail investors. The Exchange proposes the
threshold of 390 orders per day on average
over a calendar month because it believes it
far exceeds the number of orders that are
entered by retail investors in a single day,
while being a sufficiently low number of
orders to cover the professional account
holders that are competing with brokerdealers in the ISE marketplace. In addition,
basing the standard on the number of orders
that are entered in listed options for a
beneficial account(s) assures that
professional account holders cannot
inappropriately avoid the purpose of the rule
by spreading their trading activity over
multiple exchanges, and using an average
number over a calendar month will prevent
gaming of the 390 order threshold.15
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Cancel and Replace
With respect to determining the
Professional Order designation, a cancel
and replace order which replaces a prior
order shall be counted as a second
order. An order that is filled partially or
in its entirety or is a replacement order
that is automatically canceled or
reduced by the number of contracts that
were executed will not count as second
order because it was not replaced. The
Exchange believes that counting the
replacement order as a second order is
consistent with Exchange Rules because
the replacement order is viewed as a
new order with its own unique
identifier.
The Exchange believes that counting
cancel and replace orders with ‘‘singlestrike algorithms,’’ which are a series of
cancel and replace orders in an
individual strike which track the BBO
or NBBO, as new orders is consistent
with the Act because the Priority
Customer is specifically instructing the
executing broker in the ‘‘single-strike
algorithm’’ scenario to cancel and
replace these orders. Tracking the BBO
or NBBO 16 is akin to market making on
the Exchange in a Priority Customer
account and should be counted as new
orders. The Exchange believes that the
Priority Customers order designation
15 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 57254
(February 1, 2008), 73 FR 7345 (February 7, 2008)
(SR–ISE–2006–26).
16 Tracking the BBO or NBBO shall mean any
parent order that consumes any self-regulatory
organization order book data feed, or the OPRA
feed, to generate automated child orders, and move
with, or follow the Bid or Offer of the series in
question.
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should be reserved for a Priority
Customer.
Further, the Exchange’s interpretation
that Complex Orders consisting of eight
legs or fewer will be counted as a single
order, and respecting Complex Orders of
nine options legs or more, each leg will
count as a separate order is consistent
with the Act, because the Exchange
believes that nine or more options legs
is sufficient quantity to justify counting
these orders separately toward the
volume count. The initial purpose of the
rule change was to distinguish retail
investors over market Professionals. The
Exchange believes that typically Priority
Customer Orders will not be as complex
as to have nine legs and therefore using
nine as the threshold reasonably
differentiates Priority Customer Orders
from Professional Orders. The Exchange
believes that nine or more options legs
evidences the distinction between the
trading behavior of a retail investors as
compared to a market Professional that
would engaged in Complex Orders with
nine or more options legs.
Parent/Child Orders
The Exchange’s adoption of the
Professional Order was to treat orders in
listed options per day on average during
a calendar month in his or her own
beneficial account differently from
Priority Customer Orders for purposes
of priority within the order book and
pricing.17 For this reason, the Exchange
is adopting rules concerning the
computation of orders which convert
into multiple subordinate orders for the
purpose of determining the Professional
Order designation. The Exchange’s
proposal to count multiple subordinate
orders that achieve an execution
strategy as one order per side and series
and count an order that cancels and
replaces a resulting subordinate order
and results in multiple sides/series as a
new order is consistent with the Act,
because the Exchange is distinguishing
where the member is actively entering
orders that result in multiple orders and
canceling and replacing orders that
result in multiple orders versus where
the member had no control of the
resulting executions. Allowing orders
on the same side of the market to be
counted as a single order is consistent
with the original intent of the
Professional Order designation. The
same side of market distinction protects
Priority Customers. This practice is
typically the type of transaction Priority
Customers execute versus a Professional
trader. Multiple related orders resulting
from a large order filled in part, or an
17See Exchange Rule 713 and the Exchange’s Fee
Schedule.
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63255
order which is cancelled and replaced
several times are considered part of a
related order. The Exchange does not
desire to count large orders filled in part
as multiple orders because the member
did not intervene in the outcome of the
execution. An order that results in
several separate and unrelated orders
would be counted as multiple orders
because the member intervened in this
circumstance.
The Exchange believes that the
proposed amendment will provide more
certainty to market participants in
determining the computation of the
number of orders in listed options per
day on average during a calendar month
for its own beneficial account(s) to
determine the Professional Order
designation. The Exchange believes that
there is confusion as to which orders
count toward the 390 contract
threshold. The Exchange proposes to
provide clarity to its Rules with specific
guidance as to the computation of
Professional Orders, which it believes
will promote consistency in the
treatment of orders as Professional
orders. The Exchange believes that this
proposed guidance will promote
consistency and permit the proper
calculation of options orders to prevent
members with high volume from
receiving benefits reserved for Priority
Customer Orders. The Professional
Order designation focuses specifically
on the number of orders generated.
Priority is one of the marketplace
advantages provided to Priority
Customer orders on the Exchange.
Priority Customer orders are given
execution priority over non-Customer
orders and quotations of market makers
at the same price. Another marketplace
advantage afforded to Priority Customer
Orders on the Exchange is that members
are generally not assessed transaction
fees for the execution of Priority
Customer Orders. The purpose of these
marketplace advantages is to attract
retail order flow to the Exchange by
leveling the playing field for retail
investors over market Professionals.18
The Exchange believes that permitting
certain types of orders to be counted as
a single order and other types of orders
to be counted as multiple orders is
consistent with the original intent of the
Professional Order designation which
was to continue to provide Priority
Customer accounts with marketplace
advantages and distinguish those
18 Market Professionals have access to
sophisticated trading systems that contain
functionality not available to retail customers,
including things such as continuously updated
pricing models based upon real-time streaming
data, access to multiple markets simultaneously and
order and risk management tools.
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accounts non-Professional retail
investors from the Professionals
accounts some non-broker-dealer
individuals and entities have access to
information and technology that enables
them to Professionally trade listed
options in the same manner as a broker
or dealer in securities.19
Finally, the proposed guidance is
being issued to stem confusion as to the
manner in which options exchanges
compute the Professional Order volume.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Burden on Competition
The Exchange does not believe that
the proposed rule change will impose
any burden on competition not
necessary or appropriate in furtherance
of the purposes of the Act because the
Exchange will uniformly apply the rules
to calculate volume on all members in
determining Professional Orders. The
designation of Professional Orders
would not result in any different
treatment of such orders for purposes of
the Exchange’s Rules concerning order
protection or routing to away exchanges.
The guidance is being issued to stem
confusion as to the manner in which
options exchanges compute the
Professional Order volume.
Counting All Orders
The Exchange believes that counting
all orders entered by a Professional
toward the number of orders, regardless
of the options exchange to which the
order was routed, does not create an
undue burden on intra-market
competition because this proposed rule
change will be consistently applied to
all members in determining Professional
Orders.
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Cancel and Replace
The Exchange believes that its
application of cancel and replace orders
does not create an undue burden on
intra-market competition because this
application is consistent with Exchange
Rules, where the replacement order is
viewed as a new order. This treatment
is consistent with the manner in which
this order type is applied today within
the order Book.
The Exchange’s interpretation that
Complex Orders consisting of eight legs
or fewer will be counted as a single
order, and respecting Complex Orders of
nine legs or more, each leg will count
19 For example, some broker-dealers provided
their Professional customers with multi-screened
trading stations equipped with trading technology
that allows the trader to monitor and place orders
on all six options exchanges simultaneously. These
trading stations also provide compliance filters,
order managements tools, the ability to place orders
in the underlying securities, and market data feeds.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:55 Sep 13, 2016
Jkt 238001
as a separate order does not create an
undue burden on intra-market
competition because the Exchange will
apply this method of calculation
uniformly among its member
organizations.
Parent/Child Orders
The Exchange’s treatment of
subordinate orders does not create an
undue burden on intra-market
competition because allowing orders on
the same side of the market to be
counted as a single order is consistent
with the original intent of the
Professional Order designation which is
to count distinct orders and focus on the
number of orders generated.
The Exchange does not believe that
the proposed rule change will impose
an undue burden on inter-market
competition because other exchanges
have adopted similar guidance.20 The
Exchange believes that disparate rules
regarding Professional Order
designation, and a lack of uniform
application of such rules, does not
promote the best regulation and may, in
fact, encourage regulatory arbitrage. The
Exchange believes that it is therefore
prudent and necessary to conform its
rules to that of other options exchanges
for purposes of calculating the threshold
volume of orders to be designated as a
Professional Order. This is particularly
true where the Exchange’s third-party
routing broker-dealers are members of
several exchanges that have rules
requiring Professional Order
designations.
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: (i) Necessary or appropriate in
the public interest; (ii) for the protection
of investors; or (iii) otherwise in
furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
If the Commission takes such action, the
Commission shall institute proceedings
to determine whether the proposed rule
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 No. SR–ISE–
2016–19 on the subject line.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the
Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Because the foregoing proposed rule
change 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, it has
become effective pursuant to Section
19(b)(3)(A)(iii) of the Act 21 and
subparagraph (f)(6) of Rule 19b–4
thereunder.22
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 No.
SR–ISE–2016–19. 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
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
20 NASDAQ PHLX LLC has a similar rule in place
for computing Professional orders. See Rule
1000(b)(14).
21 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(a)(iii).
22 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). In addition, Rule 19b–
4(f)(6) requires a self-regulatory organization to give
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. The Exchange has satisfied this
requirement.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Comments on the
Proposed Rule Change Received From
Members, Participants, or Others
No written comments were either
solicited or received.
PO 00000
Frm 00091
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E:\FR\FM\14SEN1.SGM
14SEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 178 / Wednesday, September 14, 2016 / Notices
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 No. SR–ISE–2016–
19, and should be submitted on or
before October 5, 2016.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.23
Brent J. Fields,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016–22029 Filed 9–13–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice: 9713]
Notice of 30 Day Public Comment
Period Regarding the National Interest
Determination for Otay Water District’s
Presidential Permit Application
Department of State.
Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
On November 25, 2013, the
Otay Water District applied for a
Presidential Permit from the Department
of State (‘‘State Department’’)
authorizing the construction,
connection, operation, and maintenance
of a cross-border liquid pipeline for the
importation of desalinated seawater at
the international boundary between the
United States and Mexico in San Diego
County, California. On September 2,
2016, after consulting with the public
and interested agencies, the Office of
Environmental Quality and
Transboundary Issues (OES/EQT) at the
State Department and the Otay Water
District issued a final environmental
impact report/environmental impact
statement (EIR/EIS). Background
information related to the application,
including the application and the EIR/
EIS, may be found at: https://
www.state.gov/p/wha/rt/permit/app/
otaypermit/index.htm.
The State Department’s review of this
application is based upon Executive
Order 11423 of August 16, 1968, as
amended. As provided in E.O. 11423,
the Department is circulating this
application to relevant federal agencies
for review and comment. Under E.O.
11423, the Department has the
responsibility to determine, taking into
account views from these agencies and
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
23 17
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:55 Sep 13, 2016
Jkt 238001
other stakeholders, whether issuing a
Presidential Permit to Otay Water
District authorizing the construction,
connection, operation, and maintenance
of a cross-border liquid pipeline for the
importation of desalinated seawater
would serve the national interest. That
determination process involves
consideration of many factors, including
foreign policy; environmental, cultural,
and economic impacts; compliance with
applicable law and regulations; and
other issues.
Interested members of the public are
invited to submit written comments
regarding this application. The public
comment period will end 30 days from
the publication of this notice.
Comments are not private. They will be
posted on the site https://
www.regulations.gov. The comments
will not be edited to remove identifying
or contact information, and the State
Department cautions against including
any information that one does not want
publicly disclosed. The State
Department requests that any part
soliciting or aggregating comments
received from other persons for
submission to the State Department
inform those persons that the State
Department will not edit their
comments to remove identifying or
contact information, and that they
should not include any information in
their comments that they do not want
publicly disclosed.
Comments must be submitted no
later than October 14, 2016 at 11:59 p.m.
DATES:
For reasons of efficiency,
the State Department encourages the
electronic submission of comments
through the federal government’s
eRulemaking Portal (https://
www.regulations.gov), enter the Docket
No. DOS–2016–0061, and follow the
prompts to submit a comment. The State
Department also will accept comments
submitted in hard copy by mail and
postmarked no later than October 14,
2016. Please note that standard mail
delivery to the State Department can be
delayed due to security screening. To
submit comments by mail, use the
following address: U.S.-Mexico Border
Affairs Office, Room 3924, Department
of State, 2201 C St. NW., Washington,
DC 20520.
ADDRESSES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Office of Mexican Affairs, Bureau of
Western Hemisphere Affairs, via email
at WHA-BorderAffairs@state.gov; by
phone at 202–647–9894; or by mail at
WHA/MEX—Room 3924, Department of
State, 2201 C St. NW., Washington, DC
20520.
PO 00000
Frm 00092
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
63257
Dated: September 8, 2016.
Colleen A. Hoey,
Director, Office of Mexican Affairs,
Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2016–22094 Filed 9–13–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710–29–P
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice: 9714]
60-Day Notice of Proposed Information
Collection: PEPFAR Program
Expenditures
Notice of request for public
comment.
ACTION:
The Department of State is
seeking Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) approval for the
information collection described below.
In accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, we are
requesting comments on this collection
from all interested individuals and
organizations. The purpose of this
notice is to allow 60 days for public
comment preceding submission of the
collection to OMB.
DATES: The Department will accept
comments from the public up to
November 14, 2016.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
by any of the following methods:
• Web: Persons with access to the
Internet may comment on this notice by
going to www.Regulations.gov. You can
search for the document by entering
‘‘Docket Number: DOS–2016–0048’’ in
the Search field. Then click the
‘‘Comment Now’’ button and complete
the comment form.
• Email: ZaidiIF@state.gov.
• Regular Mail: Send written
comments to: Office of the US Global
AIDS Coordinator and Health
Diplomacy (S/GAC), U.S. Department of
State, SA–22, 1800 G Street NW., Suite
10300, Washington, DC 20006.
• Fax: 202–663–2979.
You must include the DS form number
(if applicable), information collection
title, and the OMB control number in
any correspondence.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Direct requests for additional
information regarding the collection
listed in this notice, including requests
for copies of the proposed collection
instrument and supporting documents,
to Irum Zaidi, 1800 G St. NW., Suite
10300, SA–22, Washington DC 20006,
who may be reached on 202–663–2440
or at ZaidiIF@state.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
• Title of Information Collection:
PEPFAR Program Expenditures.
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\14SEN1.SGM
14SEN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 178 (Wednesday, September 14, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63252-63257]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-22029]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-78788; File No. SR-ISE-2016-19]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange,
LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule
Change To Add Specificity to the Definition of a Professional in the
Exchange's Rules
September 8, 2016.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(``Act''),\1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that
on August 30, 2016, the International Securities Exchange, LLC (``ISE''
or ``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(``SEC'' or ``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in
Items I, II, and III, below, which Items have been prepared by the
Exchange. 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\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of the
Substance of the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to amend Exchange Rule 100(a)(37C)
(Definitions) to add specificity to the definition of a Professional
with respect to the manner in which the volume threshold will be
calculated by the Exchange.
The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's
Web site at www.ise.com, at the principal office
[[Page 63253]]
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 Exchange 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 Exchange 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
The Exchange proposes to amend the definition of ``Professional''
in Rule 100(a)(37C) to specify the manner in which the Exchange
calculates orders to determine if an order should be treated as
Professional Order.
Background
Exchange Rule 100(a)(37C) currently states, that the term
Professional Order means an order that is for the account of a person
or entity that is not a Priority Customer. A Priority Customer means a
person or entity that (i) is not a broker or dealer in securities, and
(ii) does not place more than 390 orders in listed options per day on
average during a calendar month for its own beneficial account(s).\3\
In order to properly represent orders entered on the Exchange, members
are required to indicate whether orders are ``Professional Orders.'' To
comply with this requirement, members are required to review their
Priority Customers' activity on at least a quarterly basis to determine
whether orders that are not for the account of a broker-dealer should
be represented as Priority Customer Orders or Professional Orders.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ Rule 100(a)(37A).
\4\ Orders for any customer that had an average of more than 390
orders per day during any month of a calendar quarter must be
represented as Professional Orders for the next calendar quarter.
Members will be required to conduct a quarterly review and make any
appropriate changes to the way in which they are representing orders
within five days after the end of each calendar quarter. While
Members only will be required to review their accounts on a
quarterly basis, if during a quarter the Exchange identifies a
customer for which orders are being represented as Priority Customer
Orders but that has averaged more than 390 orders per day during a
month, the Exchange will notify the Member and the Member will be
required to change the manner in which it is representing the
customer's orders within five days. See Securities Exchange Act
Release No. 57254 (February 1, 2008), 73 FR 7345 (February 7, 2008)
(SR-ISE-2006-26).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange accepts orders routed from other markets that are
marked Professional Orders. The designation of Professional Order does
not result in any different treatment of such orders for purposes of
Exchange rules concerning away market protection. That is, all non-
broker or dealer orders, including those that meet the definition of
Professional Orders, are treated equally for purposes of Exchange away
market protection rules.\5\ The Exchange continues to believe that
identifying Professional Orders based upon the average number of orders
entered in qualified accounts is an appropriately objective approach to
reasonably distinguish such persons and entities from retail investors
or market participants.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ See Exchange Rules 1901, 1902 and 1903.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proposal
The Exchange proposes to count each Professional Order, regardless
of the options exchange to which the order was routed in determining
Professional Orders.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ All order types count toward the 390 orders on average per
day.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cancel and Replace
A cancel and replace order is a type of order that replaces a prior
order. The Exchange believes that the second order (the replacement
order) should be counted as a new order. Complex Orders \7\ consisting
of eight legs or fewer will be counted as a single order, and with
Complex Orders of nine options \8\ legs or more, each leg will count as
a separate order. With respect to ``single-strike algorithms,'' which
are a series of cancel and replace orders in an individual strike which
track the Best Bid and Offer (``BBO'') or National Best Bid and Offer
(``NBBO''), these orders shall be counted as new orders.\9\ The
Exchange believes that because the Priority Customer is specifically
instructing the executing broker in the ``single-strike algorithm''
scenario to cancel and replace these orders, that this type of activity
is akin to market making in a Priority Customer account and should be
counted, as a new order.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ A Complex Order is any order involving the simultaneous
purchase and/or sale of two or more different options series in the
same underlying security, for the same account, in a ratio that is
equal to or greater than one-to-three (.333) and less than or equal
to three-to-one (3.00) and for the purpose of executing a particular
investment strategy. Rule 722(a)(1).
\8\ Orders that have nine legs, where one leg is a stock, will
be considered one order. Stock orders shall not count toward the
number of legs.
\9\ Cancel messages do not count as an order.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Parent/Child Orders
An order that converts into multiple subordinate orders to achieve
an execution strategy shall be counted as one order per side and
series, even if the order is routed away.\10\ An order that cancels and
replaces a resulting subordinate order and results in multiple sides/
series shall be counted as a new order on each side and series. For
purposes of counting Professional Orders, the manner in which the
Priority Customer submitted the order and whether the order was on the
same side and series will determine if the order will count as one
order. If one Priority Customer order on the same side and series is
subsequently broken-up by a broker into multiple orders for purposes of
execution or routed away, this order will count as one order. The
Exchange believes that the proposed amendment will provide more
certainty to market participants in determining the manner in which the
Exchange will compute the number of orders in listed options per day on
average during a calendar month for its own beneficial account(s) to
determine the Professional Order designation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ An order which is placed for the beneficial account(s) of a
person or entity that is not a broker or dealer in securities that
is broken into multiple parts by a broker or dealer or by an
algorithm housed at a broker or dealer or by an algorithm licensed
from a broker or dealer. Strategies include Complex Orders and
volatility orders, for example.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In order to make clear when orders will count as new orders, the
Exchange offers the following scenarios as examples.
The Exchange proposes to count multiple orders that were
submitted by the member as separate orders as multiple orders.
The Exchange proposes to count a single order submitted by
a member, which was automatically executed in multiple parts by the
trading system, as one order, because the member did not intervene to
create multiple orders. Another example is where an order was entered
in the trading system and only partially filled, the order would count
as one order. The subsequent fills, which could be multiple executions,
would not count as additional orders in determining the 390 limit. The
manner in which the order is ultimately executed, as one order or
multiple orders, should not itself determine whether the activity
qualified as a Professional Order; also the member did not intervene in
that circumstance.
[[Page 63254]]
The Exchange proposes to count orders, which result in
multiple orders due to cancel and replacement orders, as new orders.
This is because in this situation the member did intervene to create
the subsequent orders.
The Exchange proposes to count an order submitted by the
Priority Customer as a single order, on the same side and series, as a
single order despite the fact that a broker broke-up the order into
multiple orders for purposes of execution.
The Exchange previously issued a notice which described the manner
in which it believed thresholds should be computed for determining if
an order qualifies as a Professional Order.\11\ This rule supersedes
the Exchange's notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ See International Securities Exchange LLC's Regulatory
Information Circular (2009-179) dated June 23, 2009.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange believes that there has been industry confusion as to
which orders count toward the 390 contract threshold. The Exchange's
proposal is intended to provide clarity and to continue to promote
consistency in the treatment of orders as Professional Orders by filing
a rule change similar to other options exchanges.\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\ NASDAQ BX, Inc, and NASDAQ Options Market LLC have similar
rules in place for computing Professional orders. See BX Rules at
Chapter I, Section 1(49). See NOM Rules at Chapter I, Section 1(48).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Below are some examples of the calculation of Professional Orders.
Example #1
A Priority Customer has an order to buy 100 calls at a volatility
level of 35. The order then generates a child order resulting in a 1.00
bid for 100 options which is sent to Exchange A. After the underlying
stock price ticks up 2 cents the child order is then adjusted to
reflect a 35 level volatility which in this case (50 delta) results in
a 1.01 bid sent to Exchange A replacing the current 1.00 bid.
In determining the number of orders that attribute to the 390 order
count, in this case, because the child order is being canceled and
replaced in the ``same series'' this would only count as one (1) order
for purposes of Professional designation calculation.
Example #2
A Priority Customer has an order to buy 20k Vega at a 35 volatility
level in symbol XYZ. The order then generates 50 child orders across
different strikes. Throughout the day those 50 orders are adjusted as
the stock moves resulting in the replacement of child orders to the
tune of 5 times per order (50 x 5 cancels) resulting in 250 total
orders generated to Exchange A.
In determining the number of orders that attribute to the 390 order
count, in this case, because the child orders generated are across
multiple series it would be necessary to count all 250 orders
In addition to the above examples, the Exchange provides the below
chart to demonstrate the manner in which it will count orders.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Single Multiple
--------------------------------------------------------
Single Strike Activity
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Priority Customer Order posted to 1 x ...............
SRO order Book.......................
Priority Customer Order posted to x ...............
Multiple SRO order Books
simultaneously.......................
Cancel/Replace Activity............... x ...............
Cancel/Replace Activity tracking BBO ............... x
or NBBO..............................
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr---------------------------------
Complex Order Activity (8 option strikes or fewer)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Priority Customer Order posted to 1 x ...............
SRO order book.......................
Priority Customer Order posted to x ...............
Multiple SRO Complex Order books
simultaneously.......................
Cancel/Replace Activity............... x ...............
Cancel/Replace Activity tracking BBO x ...............
or NBBO..............................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Complex Order Activity (9 option strikes or greater)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Priority Customer Order posted to 1 ............... x
SRO order book.......................
Priority Customer Order posted to ............... x
Multiple SRO Complex Order Books
simultaneously.......................
Cancel/Replace Activity............... ............... x
Cancel/Replace Activity tracking BBO ............... x
or NBBO..............................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Singular--counts as a single order towards the 390 count
Multiple--each order applies towards the 390 count
The Exchange proposes to implement this rule on October 3, 2016 to
provide market participants with advance notice for their quarterly
calculations. The Exchange will issue a Market Information Circular in
advance to inform market participants of such date.
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that its proposal is consistent with Section
6(b) of the Act,\13\ in general, and furthers the objectives of Section
6(b)(5) of the Act,\14\ in particular, in that it is designed to
promote just and equitable principles of trade, to remove impediments
to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and a national
market system, and, in general to protect investors and the public
interest, by promoting the consistent application of its rules by
further defining the manner in which the Exchange will compute the
number of orders in listed options per day on average during a calendar
month for its own beneficial account(s) for purposes of determining the
Professional Order designation. Furthermore, the Exchange believes that
specifying the manner in which the 390 threshold will be calculated
within its Rules will provide members with certainty and provide them
with insight as they conduct their own quarterly reviews for purposes
of designating orders.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
\14\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange believes that counting all orders toward the number of
orders, regardless of the options exchange to which the order was
routed, will promote the consistent application of its rules by making
clear that all order types shall be counted as well as all orders for
the purpose of determining whether the definition of Professional Order
has been met. The Exchange
[[Page 63255]]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
previously noted in its filing which created Professional Orders that,
The Exchange believes that identifying professional account
holders based upon the average number of orders entered for a
beneficial account is an appropriately objective approach that will
reasonably distinguish such persons and entities from retail
investors. The Exchange proposes the threshold of 390 orders per day
on average over a calendar month because it believes it far exceeds
the number of orders that are entered by retail investors in a
single day, while being a sufficiently low number of orders to cover
the professional account holders that are competing with broker-
dealers in the ISE marketplace. In addition, basing the standard on
the number of orders that are entered in listed options for a
beneficial account(s) assures that professional account holders
cannot inappropriately avoid the purpose of the rule by spreading
their trading activity over multiple exchanges, and using an average
number over a calendar month will prevent gaming of the 390 order
threshold.\15\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\15\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 57254 (February 1,
2008), 73 FR 7345 (February 7, 2008) (SR-ISE-2006-26).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cancel and Replace
With respect to determining the Professional Order designation, a
cancel and replace order which replaces a prior order shall be counted
as a second order. An order that is filled partially or in its entirety
or is a replacement order that is automatically canceled or reduced by
the number of contracts that were executed will not count as second
order because it was not replaced. The Exchange believes that counting
the replacement order as a second order is consistent with Exchange
Rules because the replacement order is viewed as a new order with its
own unique identifier.
The Exchange believes that counting cancel and replace orders with
``single-strike algorithms,'' which are a series of cancel and replace
orders in an individual strike which track the BBO or NBBO, as new
orders is consistent with the Act because the Priority Customer is
specifically instructing the executing broker in the ``single-strike
algorithm'' scenario to cancel and replace these orders. Tracking the
BBO or NBBO \16\ is akin to market making on the Exchange in a Priority
Customer account and should be counted as new orders. The Exchange
believes that the Priority Customers order designation should be
reserved for a Priority Customer.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\16\ Tracking the BBO or NBBO shall mean any parent order that
consumes any self-regulatory organization order book data feed, or
the OPRA feed, to generate automated child orders, and move with, or
follow the Bid or Offer of the series in question.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Further, the Exchange's interpretation that Complex Orders
consisting of eight legs or fewer will be counted as a single order,
and respecting Complex Orders of nine options legs or more, each leg
will count as a separate order is consistent with the Act, because the
Exchange believes that nine or more options legs is sufficient quantity
to justify counting these orders separately toward the volume count.
The initial purpose of the rule change was to distinguish retail
investors over market Professionals. The Exchange believes that
typically Priority Customer Orders will not be as complex as to have
nine legs and therefore using nine as the threshold reasonably
differentiates Priority Customer Orders from Professional Orders. The
Exchange believes that nine or more options legs evidences the
distinction between the trading behavior of a retail investors as
compared to a market Professional that would engaged in Complex Orders
with nine or more options legs.
Parent/Child Orders
The Exchange's adoption of the Professional Order was to treat
orders in listed options per day on average during a calendar month in
his or her own beneficial account differently from Priority Customer
Orders for purposes of priority within the order book and pricing.\17\
For this reason, the Exchange is adopting rules concerning the
computation of orders which convert into multiple subordinate orders
for the purpose of determining the Professional Order designation. The
Exchange's proposal to count multiple subordinate orders that achieve
an execution strategy as one order per side and series and count an
order that cancels and replaces a resulting subordinate order and
results in multiple sides/series as a new order is consistent with the
Act, because the Exchange is distinguishing where the member is
actively entering orders that result in multiple orders and canceling
and replacing orders that result in multiple orders versus where the
member had no control of the resulting executions. Allowing orders on
the same side of the market to be counted as a single order is
consistent with the original intent of the Professional Order
designation. The same side of market distinction protects Priority
Customers. This practice is typically the type of transaction Priority
Customers execute versus a Professional trader. Multiple related orders
resulting from a large order filled in part, or an order which is
cancelled and replaced several times are considered part of a related
order. The Exchange does not desire to count large orders filled in
part as multiple orders because the member did not intervene in the
outcome of the execution. An order that results in several separate and
unrelated orders would be counted as multiple orders because the member
intervened in this circumstance.
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\17\See Exchange Rule 713 and the Exchange's Fee Schedule.
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The Exchange believes that the proposed amendment will provide more
certainty to market participants in determining the computation of the
number of orders in listed options per day on average during a calendar
month for its own beneficial account(s) to determine the Professional
Order designation. The Exchange believes that there is confusion as to
which orders count toward the 390 contract threshold. The Exchange
proposes to provide clarity to its Rules with specific guidance as to
the computation of Professional Orders, which it believes will promote
consistency in the treatment of orders as Professional orders. The
Exchange believes that this proposed guidance will promote consistency
and permit the proper calculation of options orders to prevent members
with high volume from receiving benefits reserved for Priority Customer
Orders. The Professional Order designation focuses specifically on the
number of orders generated.
Priority is one of the marketplace advantages provided to Priority
Customer orders on the Exchange. Priority Customer orders are given
execution priority over non-Customer orders and quotations of market
makers at the same price. Another marketplace advantage afforded to
Priority Customer Orders on the Exchange is that members are generally
not assessed transaction fees for the execution of Priority Customer
Orders. The purpose of these marketplace advantages is to attract
retail order flow to the Exchange by leveling the playing field for
retail investors over market Professionals.\18\ The Exchange believes
that permitting certain types of orders to be counted as a single order
and other types of orders to be counted as multiple orders is
consistent with the original intent of the Professional Order
designation which was to continue to provide Priority Customer accounts
with marketplace advantages and distinguish those
[[Page 63256]]
accounts non-Professional retail investors from the Professionals
accounts some non-broker-dealer individuals and entities have access to
information and technology that enables them to Professionally trade
listed options in the same manner as a broker or dealer in
securities.\19\
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\18\ Market Professionals have access to sophisticated trading
systems that contain functionality not available to retail
customers, including things such as continuously updated pricing
models based upon real-time streaming data, access to multiple
markets simultaneously and order and risk management tools.
\19\ For example, some broker-dealers provided their
Professional customers with multi-screened trading stations equipped
with trading technology that allows the trader to monitor and place
orders on all six options exchanges simultaneously. These trading
stations also provide compliance filters, order managements tools,
the ability to place orders in the underlying securities, and market
data feeds.
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Finally, the proposed guidance is being issued to stem confusion as
to the manner in which options exchanges compute the Professional Order
volume.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will
impose any burden on competition not necessary or appropriate in
furtherance of the purposes of the Act because the Exchange will
uniformly apply the rules to calculate volume on all members in
determining Professional Orders. The designation of Professional Orders
would not result in any different treatment of such orders for purposes
of the Exchange's Rules concerning order protection or routing to away
exchanges. The guidance is being issued to stem confusion as to the
manner in which options exchanges compute the Professional Order
volume.
Counting All Orders
The Exchange believes that counting all orders entered by a
Professional toward the number of orders, regardless of the options
exchange to which the order was routed, does not create an undue burden
on intra-market competition because this proposed rule change will be
consistently applied to all members in determining Professional Orders.
Cancel and Replace
The Exchange believes that its application of cancel and replace
orders does not create an undue burden on intra-market competition
because this application is consistent with Exchange Rules, where the
replacement order is viewed as a new order. This treatment is
consistent with the manner in which this order type is applied today
within the order Book.
The Exchange's interpretation that Complex Orders consisting of
eight legs or fewer will be counted as a single order, and respecting
Complex Orders of nine legs or more, each leg will count as a separate
order does not create an undue burden on intra-market competition
because the Exchange will apply this method of calculation uniformly
among its member organizations.
Parent/Child Orders
The Exchange's treatment of subordinate orders does not create an
undue burden on intra-market competition because allowing orders on the
same side of the market to be counted as a single order is consistent
with the original intent of the Professional Order designation which is
to count distinct orders and focus on the number of orders generated.
The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will
impose an undue burden on inter-market competition because other
exchanges have adopted similar guidance.\20\ The Exchange believes that
disparate rules regarding Professional Order designation, and a lack of
uniform application of such rules, does not promote the best regulation
and may, in fact, encourage regulatory arbitrage. The Exchange believes
that it is therefore prudent and necessary to conform its rules to that
of other options exchanges for purposes of calculating the threshold
volume of orders to be designated as a Professional Order. This is
particularly true where the Exchange's third-party routing broker-
dealers are members of several exchanges that have rules requiring
Professional Order designations.
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\20\ NASDAQ PHLX LLC has a similar rule in place for computing
Professional orders. See Rule 1000(b)(14).
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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 either solicited or received.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Because the foregoing proposed rule change 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, it has become
effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A)(iii) of the Act \21\ and
subparagraph (f)(6) of Rule 19b-4 thereunder.\22\
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\21\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(a)(iii).
\22\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6). In addition, Rule 19b-4(f)(6)
requires a self-regulatory organization to give 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.
The Exchange has satisfied this requirement.
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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: (i)
Necessary or appropriate in the public interest; (ii) for the
protection of investors; or (iii) otherwise in furtherance of the
purposes of the Act. If the Commission takes such action, the
Commission shall institute proceedings to determine whether the
proposed rule 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 No. SR-ISE-2016-19 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 No. SR-ISE-2016-19. 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
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
[[Page 63257]]
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 No. SR-ISE-2016-19, and should be submitted on or before October
5, 2016.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\23\
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\23\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Brent J. Fields,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-22029 Filed 9-13-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P