Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing of Amendment Nos. 2 and 3 to Proposed Rule Change Amending the Co-Location Services Offered by the Exchange To Add Certain Access and Connectivity Fees, 96107-96114 [2016-31485]
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 250 / Thursday, December 29, 2016 / Notices
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 the
filing also will be available for
inspection and copying at the principal
office of the Exchange. All comments
received will be posted without change;
the Commission does not edit personal
identifying information from
submissions. You should submit only
information that you wish to make
available publicly. All submissions
should refer to File Number SR–
NYSEArca–2016–167 and should be
submitted on or before January 19, 2017.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.21
Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016–31490 Filed 12–28–16; 8:45 am]
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–79673; File No. SR–
NYSEArca–2016–89]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE
Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing of
Amendment Nos. 2 and 3 to Proposed
Rule Change Amending the CoLocation Services Offered by the
Exchange To Add Certain Access and
Connectivity Fees
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
December 22, 2016.
On August 16, 2016, NYSE Arca, Inc.
(‘‘NYSE Arca’’ or the ‘‘Exchange’’) filed
with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (‘‘Commission’’), pursuant
to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule
1 15
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
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2 17
CFR 240.19b–4.
Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34–
78628 (August 22, 2016), 81 FR 59004 (‘‘Notice’’).
4 The Commission notes that it did receive one
comment letter on a related filing, NYSE–2016–45
(the ‘‘NYSE Companion Filing’’), which is equally
relevant to this filing. See letter to Brent J. Fields,
Secretary, Commission, from John Ramsay, Chief
Market Policy Officer, Investors Exchange LLC
(IEX), dated September 9, 2016.
On September 23, 2016, the NYSE submitted a
response to the IEX letter.
5 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34–
78967 (September 28, 2016), 81 FR 68480.
6 Amendment No. 1 is available on the
Commission’s Web site at https://www.sec.gov/
comments/sr-nysearca-2016-89/nysearca2016891.pdf.
7 See Securities Exchange Act Release 34–79379
(November 22, 2016), 81 FR 86036.
8 See letter to Brent J. Fields, Commission, from
Melissa MacGregor, Managing Director and
Associate General Counsel, SIFMA, dated December
12, 2016; letter to Brent J. Fields, Commission, from
Joe Wald, Chief Executive Officer, Clearpool Group,
dated December 16, 2016; letter to Brent J. Fields,
Secretary, Commission, from John Ramsay, Chief
Market Policy Officer, Investors Exchange LLC
(IEX), dated December 21, 2016. All comments
received by the Commission on the proposed rule
change are available on the Commission’s Web site
at: https://www.sec.gov/comments/sr-nysearca2016-89/nysearca201689.shtml.
3 See
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
21 17
19b–4 thereunder,2 a proposed rule
change to amend the co-location
services offered by the Exchange to: (1)
Provide additional information
regarding the access to various trading
and execution services; connectivity to
market data feeds and testing and
certification feeds; connectivity to Third
Party Systems; and connectivity to
DTCC provided to Users using data
center local area networks; and (2)
establish fees relating to a User’s access
to various trading and execution
services; connectivity to market data
feeds and testing and certification feeds;
connectivity to DTCC; and other
services. The proposed rule change was
published for comment in the Federal
Register on August 26, 2016.3 The
Commission received no comments in
response to the proposed rule change.4
On October 4, 2016, the Commission
extended the time period within which
to approve the proposed rule change,
disapprove the proposed rule change, or
institute proceedings to determine
whether to approve or disapprove the
proposed rule change to November 24,
2016.5
On November 2, 2016, the Exchange
filed Amendment No. 1 to the proposed
rule change.6 On November 29, 2016,
the Commission instituted proceedings
to determine whether to approve or
disapprove the proposed rule change, as
modified by Amendment No. 1.7 In
response to the Order Instituting
Proceedings, the Commission received
additional comment letters regarding
the proposed rule change.8
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96107
On December 9, 2016, the Exchange
filed Amendment No. 2 to the proposed
rule change as described in Items I and
II below, which Items have been
prepared by Exchange. On December 13,
2016 the Exchange filed Amendment
No. 3 to the proposed rule change.9 The
Commission is publishing this notice to
solicit comments on Amendment Nos. 2
and 3 to the proposed rule change from
interested persons.
I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Terms of Substance of
the Proposed Amendments
The Exchange proposes to amend the
co-location services offered by the
Exchange to establish fees relating to
Users’ access to third party trading and
execution services; connectivity to third
party data feeds and testing and
certification feeds; access to clearing;
and other services. In addition, this
proposed rule change reflects changes to
the NYSE Arca Options Fee Schedule
(the ‘‘Options Fee Schedule’’) and,
through its wholly owned subsidiary
NYSE Arca Equities, Inc. (‘‘NYSE Arca
Equities’’), the NYSE Arca Equities
Schedule of Fees and Charges for
Exchange Services (the ‘‘Equities Fee
Schedule’’ and, together with the
Options Fee Schedule, the ‘‘Fee
Schedules’’) related to these co-location
services. This Amendment No. 2 10
supersedes the original filing and
Amendment 1 in their entirety.11 The
The Commission notes that it received an
additional letter on the NYSE Companion Filing.
See letter to Brent J. Fields, Commission, from
Adam C. Cooper, Senior Managing Director and
Chief Legal Officer, Citadel Securities, dated
December 12, 2016. All comments received by the
Commission on the NYSE Companion Filing are
available on the Commission’s Web site at: https://
www.sec.gov/comments/sr-nyse-2016-45/
nyse201645.shtml.
9 The Commission notes that the Exhibit 5 filed
with Amendment No. 2 contained erroneous rule
text and therefore was corrected in Amendment No.
3. Amendment Nos. 2 and 3 are available at https://
www.sec.gov/comments/sr-nysearca-2016-89/
nysearca201689-3.pdf.
10 See supra note 9, noting that Amendment No.
2 was modified in part by Amendment No. 3.
Accordingly, the Commission notes that
Amendment Nos. 2 and 3 together supersede the
original filing, as modified by Amendment No. 1,
in its entirety.
11 The Securities and Exchange Commission
(‘‘Commission’’) has issued an order instituting
proceedings to determine whether to approve or
disapprove the proposed rule change, as modified
by amendments 1 and 2. See Securities Exchange
Act Release No. 79379 (November 22, 2016), 81 FR
86036 (November 29, 2016) (SR–NYSEArca–2016–
89) (the ‘‘November 22 Order’’). In its filing, as
amended by amendment 1, the Exchange proposed
adding to the Fee Schedules (a) a more detailed
description of the connectivity to certain market
data products (the ‘‘Included Data Products’’) that
Users receive with connections to the local area
networks available in the data center; and (b)
connectivity fees for connecting to other market
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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
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
1. Purpose
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
The Exchange proposes to amend the
co-location 12 services offered by the
Exchange to establish fees relating to
Users’ 13 access to third party trading
data products of the Exchange and its affiliates,
New York Stock Exchange LLC and NYSE MKT
LLC (the ‘‘Premium NYSE Data Products’’). In the
November 22 Order, the Commission cites language
from the proposed rule change:
the Exchange also stated that the expectation of
co-location was that normally Users would expect
reduced latencies in . . . receiving market data
from the Exchange by being colocated. Therefore, as
the Exchange states in Amendment No. 2, both
Included Data Products and Premium NYSE Data
Products are ‘directly related to the purpose of colocation.’
Id., at 86040. It goes on to say that, if Included
Data Products and Premium NYSE Data Products
are ‘‘integral to co-located Users for trading on the
Exchange,’’ it was questionable whether obtaining
the information from another source is a viable
alternative. Id. The Exchange disagrees with the
Commission’s description of Included Data
Products and Premium NYSE Data Products as
‘‘integral’’ to Users for trading on the Exchange.
Being related to the purpose of co-location is not
the same as being integral for trading. A User is not
required to receive either Included Data Products or
Premium NYSE Data Products in order to trade on
the Exchange.
12 The Exchange initially filed rule changes
relating to its co-location services with the
Commission in 2010. See Securities Exchange Act
Release No. 63275 (November 8, 2010), 75 FR 70048
(November 16, 2010) (SR–NYSEArca–2010–100)
(the ‘‘Original Co-location Filing’’). The Exchange
operates a data center in Mahwah, New Jersey (the
‘‘data center’’) from which it provides co-location
services to Users.
13 For purposes of the Exchange’s co-location
services, a ‘‘User’’ means any market participant
that requests to receive co-location services directly
from the Exchange. See Securities Exchange Act
Release No. 76010 (September 29, 2015), 80 FR
60197 (October 5, 2015) (SR–NYSEArca–2015–82).
As specified in the Fee Schedules, a User that
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and execution services; connectivity to
third party data feeds and testing and
certification feeds; access to clearing;
and other services.
More specifically, the Exchange
proposes to revise the Fee Schedules to
include:
a. Fees for connectivity to:
• The execution systems of third
party markets and other content service
providers (‘‘Third Party Systems’’);
• data feeds from third party markets
and other content service providers (the
‘‘Third Party Data Feeds’’);
• third party testing and certification
feeds;
• Depository Trust & Clearing
Corporation (‘‘DTCC’’) services; and
b. fees for virtual control circuits
(‘‘VCCs’’) between two Users. VCCs are
unicast connections between two
participants over dedicated
bandwidth.14
The Exchange provides access to
Third Party Systems (‘‘Access’’) and
connectivity to Third Party Data Feeds,
third party testing and certification
feeds, and DTCC (collectively,
‘‘Connectivity’’) as conveniences to
Users. Use of Access or Connectivity is
completely voluntary, and several other
access and connectivity options are
available to a User. As alternatives to
using the Access and Connectivity
provided by the Exchange, a User may
access or connect to such services and
products through another User or
through a connection to an Exchange
access center outside the data center,
third party access center, or third party
vendor. The User may make such
connection through a third party
telecommunication provider, third party
wireless network, the Exchange’s Secure
Financial Transaction Infrastructure
(‘‘SFTI’’) network, or a combination
thereof.
Similarly, the Exchange provides
VCCs as a convenience to Users. Use of
a VCC is completely voluntary. As an
alternative to an Exchange-provided
VCC, a User may connect to another
incurs co-location fees for a particular co-location
service pursuant thereto would not be subject to colocation fees for the same co-location service
charged by the Exchange’s affiliates New York
Stock Exchange LLC (‘‘NYSE LLC’’) and NYSE MKT
LLC (‘‘NYSE MKT and, together with NYSE LLC,
the ‘‘Affiliate SROs’’). See Securities Exchange Act
Release No. 70173 (August 13, 2013), 78 FR 50459
(August 19, 2013) (SR–NYSEArca–2013–80).
14 Information flows over existing network
connections in two formats: ‘‘unicast’’ format,
which is a format that allows one-to-one
communication, similar to a phone line, in which
information is sent to and from the Exchange; and
‘‘multicast’’ format, which is a format in which
information is sent one-way from the Exchange to
multiple recipients at once, like a radio broadcast.
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User through a fiber connection (‘‘cross
connect’’).15
Connectivity
Connectivity to Third Party Systems
The Exchange proposes to revise the
Fee Schedules to provide that Users
may obtain connectivity to Third Party
Systems of multiple third party markets
and other content service providers for
a fee. Users connect to Third Party
Systems over the internet protocol
(‘‘IP’’) network, a local area network
available in the data center.16 The
Exchange selects what connectivity to
Third Party Systems to offer in the data
center based on User demand.
In order to obtain access to a Third
Party System, a User enters into an
agreement with the relevant third party
content service provider, pursuant to
which the third party content service
provider charges the User for access to
the Third Party System. The Exchange
then establishes a unicast connection
between the User and the relevant third
party content service provider over the
IP network. The Exchange charges the
User for the connectivity to the Third
Party System. A User only receives, and
is only charged for, access to Third
Party Systems for which it enters into
agreements with the third party content
service provider.
With the exception of the
Intercontinental Exchange (‘‘ICE’’)
feed,17 the Exchange has no ownership
interest in the Third Party Systems.
Establishing a User’s access to a Third
Party System does not give the
Exchange any right to use the Third
Party Systems. Connectivity to a Third
Party System does not provide access or
order entry to the Exchange’s execution
system, and a User’s connection to a
Third Party System is not through the
Exchange’s execution system.18
The Exchange charges a monthly
recurring fee for connectivity to a Third
Party System. Specifically, when a User
15 See Original Co-location Filing, supra note 5,
at 70049 and Securities Exchange Act Release No.
74219 (February 6, 2015), 80 FR 7899 (February 12,
2015) (SR–NYSEArca–2015–03) (notice of filing and
immediate effectiveness of proposed rule change to
include IP network connections and fiber cross
connects between a User’s cabinet and non-User’s
equipment as co-location services) (the ‘‘IP Network
Release’’).
16 See id., at 7899.
17 ICE is owned by the Exchange’s ultimate
parent, Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., and so the
Exchange has an indirect interest in the ICE feeds.
The ICE feeds include both market data and trading
and clearing services, but the Exchange includes it
as a Third Party Data Feed. In order for a User to
receive an ICE feed, ICE must provide authorization
for the User to receive both data and trading and
clearing services.
18 The Exchange has a dedicated network
connection to each of the Third Party Systems.
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requests access to a Third Party System,
it identifies the applicable third party
market or other content service provider
and what bandwidth connection it
requires.
The monthly recurring fee the
Exchange charges Users for unicast
connectivity to each Third Party System
varies by the bandwidth of the
connection, as follows:
Bandwidth of connection
to third party system
Monthly recurring
fee per connection
to third party
system
1 Mb ..............................
3 Mb ..............................
5 Mb ..............................
10 Mb ............................
25 Mb ............................
50 Mb ............................
100 Mb ..........................
200 Mb ..........................
1 Gb ..............................
$200
$400
$500
$800
$1,200
$1,800
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
The Exchange provides connectivity
to the following Third Party Systems:
Americas Trading Group (ATG)
BATS
Boston Options Exchange (BOX)
Chicago Board Options Exchange
(CBOE)
Credit Suisse
International Securities Exchange (ISE)
Nasdaq
National Stock Exchange
NYFIX Marketplace
In addition to the connectivity fees,
the Exchange proposes to add language
to the Fee Schedules stating the
following:
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Pricing for access to the execution systems
of third party markets and other service
providers (Third Party Systems) is for
connectivity only. Connectivity to Third
Party Systems is subject to any technical
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provisioning requirements and authorization
from the provider of the data feed.
Connectivity to Third Party Systems is over
the IP network. Any applicable fees are
charged independently by the relevant third
party content service provider. The Exchange
is not the exclusive method to connect to
Third Party Systems.
Connectivity to Third Party Data Feeds
The Exchange proposes to revise the
Fee Schedules to provide that Users
may obtain connectivity to Third Party
Data Feeds for a fee. The Exchange
receives Third Party Data Feeds from
multiple national securities exchanges
and other content service providers at
its data center. It then provides
connectivity to that data to Users for a
fee. With the exceptions of Global OTC
and NYSE Global Index, Users connect
to Third Party Data Feeds over the IP
network.19
The Exchange notes that charging
Users a monthly fee for connectivity to
Third Party Data Feeds is consistent
with the monthly fee Nasdaq charges its
co-location customers for connectivity
to third party data. For instance, Nasdaq
charges its co-location customers
monthly fees of $1,500 and $4,000 for
connectivity to BATS Y and BATS,
respectively, and of $2,500 for
connectivity to EDGA or EDGX.20
In order to connect to a Third Party
Data Feed, a User enters into a contract
with the relevant third party market or
other content service provider, pursuant
to which the content service provider
charges the User for the Third Party
19 See IP Network Release, supra note 8, at 7899
(‘‘The IP network also provides Users with access
to away market data products.’’). Users can connect
to Global OTC and NYSE Global Index over the IP
network or the Liquidity Center Network (‘‘LCN’’),
a local area network available in the data center.
20 See Nasdaq Stock Market Rule 7034.
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96109
Data Feed. The Exchange receives the
Third Party Data Feed over its fiber
optic network and, after the data
provider and User enter into the
contract and the Exchange receives
authorization from the data provider,
the Exchange re-transmits the data to
the User over the User’s port. The
Exchange charges the User for the
connectivity to the Third Party Data
Feed. A User only receives, and is only
charged for, connectivity to the Third
Party Data Feeds for which it enters into
contracts.
With the exception of the ICE, Global
OTC and NYSE Global Index feeds,21
the Exchange has no affiliation with the
sellers of the Third Party Data Feeds. It
has no right to use the Third Party Data
Feeds other than as a redistributor of the
data. The Third Party Data Feeds do not
provide access or order entry to the
Exchange’s execution system. With the
exception of the ICE feeds, the Third
Party Data Feeds do not provide access
or order entry to the execution systems
of the third party generating the feed.22
The Exchange receives Third Party Data
Feeds via arms-length agreements and it
21 ICE and the Global OTC alternative trading
system are both owned by the Exchange’s ultimate
parent, Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., and so the
Exchange has an indirect interest in the ICE and
Global OTC feeds. The NYSE Global Index feed
includes index and exchange traded product
valuations data, with data drawn from the
Exchange, the Affiliate SROs, and third party
exchanges. Because it includes third party data, the
NYSE Global Index feed is considered a Third Party
Data Feed. As with all Third Party Data Feeds, the
Exchange is not the exclusive method to connect to
the ICE, Global OTC or NYSE Global Index feeds.
22 Unlike other Third Party Data Feeds, the ICE
feeds include both market data and trading and
clearing services. In order to receive the ICE feeds,
a User must receive authorization from ICE to
receive both market data and trading and clearing
services.
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Feed, with the exception that the
monthly recurring feed for SuperFeed
and MSCI varies by the bandwidth of
the connection. Depending on its needs
and bandwidth, a User may opt to
receive all or some of the feeds or
has no inherent advantage over any
other distributor of such data.
The Exchange charges a monthly
recurring fee for connectivity to each
Third Party Data Feed. The monthly
recurring fee is per Third Party Data
services included in a Third Party Data
Feed.
The following table shows the feeds
that connectivity to each Third Party
Data Feed provides, together with the
applicable monthly recurring fee.
Monthly recurring
connectivity fee per
Third Party Data
Feed
Third Party Data Feed
Bats BZX Exchange (BZX) and Bats BYX Exchange (BYX) ......................................................................................................
Bats EDGX Exchange (EDGX) and Bats EDGA Exchange (EDGA) .........................................................................................
Boston Options Exchange (BOX) ................................................................................................................................................
Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) ................................................................................................................................
Chicago Stock Exchange (CHX) .................................................................................................................................................
Euronext .......................................................................................................................................................................................
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ........................................................................................................................
Global OTC ..................................................................................................................................................................................
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) ..................................................................................................................................................
´
Montreal Exchange (MX) .............................................................................................................................................................
MSCI 5 Mb ...................................................................................................................................................................................
MSCI 25 Mb .................................................................................................................................................................................
NASDAQ Stock Market ...............................................................................................................................................................
NASDAQ OMX Global Index Data Service .................................................................................................................................
NASDAQ OMDF ..........................................................................................................................................................................
NASDAQ UQDF& UTDF .............................................................................................................................................................
NYSE Global Index ......................................................................................................................................................................
OTC Markets Group ....................................................................................................................................................................
SR Labs—SuperFeed 500 Mb ....................................................................................................................................................
SR Labs—SuperFeed >500 Mb to 1.25 Gb ................................................................................................................................
SR Labs—SuperFeed >1.25 Gb .................................................................................................................................................
TMX Group ..................................................................................................................................................................................
In addition to the above connectivity
fees, the Exchange proposes to add the
following language to the Fee
Schedules:
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Pricing for data feeds from third party
markets and other content service providers
(Third Party Data Feeds) is for connectivity
only. Connectivity to Third Party Data Feeds
is subject to any technical provisioning
requirements and authorization from the
provider of the data feed. Connectivity to
Third Party Data Feeds is over the IP
network, with the exception that Users can
connect to Global OTC and NYSE Global
Index over the IP network or LCN. Market
data fees are charged independently by the
relevant third party market or content service
provider. The Exchange is not the exclusive
method to connect to Third Party Data Feeds.
Third Party Data Feed providers may
charge redistribution fees, such as
Nasdaq’s Extranet Access Fees and OTC
Markets Group’s Access Fees.23 When
the Exchange receives a redistribution
fee, it passes through the charge to the
User, without change to the fee. The fee
is labeled as a pass-through of a
redistribution fee on the User’s invoice.
23 See NASDAQ Stock Market LLC Rule 7025,
‘‘Extranet Access Fee’’, and OTC Markets Market
Data Distribution Agreement Appendix B, ‘‘Fees’’ at
https://www.otcmarkets.com/content/doc/marketdata-fees-2016.pdf. See also Securities Exchange
Act Release No. 74040 (January 13, 2015), 80 FR
2460 (January 16, 2015) (SR–NASDAQ–2015–003).
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The Exchange proposes to add language
to the Fee Schedules accordingly.
The Exchange provides third party
markets or content providers that are
also Users connectivity to their own
Third Party Data Feeds. The Exchange
does not charge Users that are third
party markets or content providers for
connectivity to their own feeds, as in
the Exchange’s experience such parties
generally receive their own feeds for
purposes of diagnostics and testing. The
Exchange proposes to add language to
the Fee Schedules accordingly.
Connectivity to Third Party Testing and
Certification Feeds
The Exchange offers Users
connectivity to third party certification
and testing feeds. Certification feeds are
used to certify that a User conforms to
any of the relevant content service
provider’s requirements for accessing
Third Party Systems or receiving Third
Party Data, while testing feeds provide
Users an environment in which to
conduct tests with non-live data.24 Such
feeds, which are solely used for
certification and testing and do not
24 For example, a User that trades on a third party
exchange may wish to test the exchange’s upcoming
releases and product releases or may wish to test
a new algorithm in a testing environment prior to
making it live.
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$2,000
2,000
1,000
2,000
400
600
500
100
1,500
1,000
500
1,200
2,000
100
100
500
100
1,000
250
800
1,000
2,500
carry live production data, are available
over the IP network.
The Exchange proposes to revise the
Fee Schedules to include connectivity
to third party certification and testing
feeds. The Exchange charges a
connectivity fee of $100 per month per
feed.
The Exchange proposes to add the
following connectivity fees and
language to the Fee Schedules:
Connectivity to third
party certification
and testing feeds.
$100 monthly recurring fee per feed.
The Exchange provides connectivity to
third party testing and certification feeds
provided by third party markets and other
content service providers. Pricing for third
party testing and certification feeds is for
connectivity only. Connectivity to third party
testing and certification feeds is subject to
any technical provisioning requirements and
authorization from the provider of the data
feed. Connectivity to third party testing and
certification feeds is over the IP network.
Any applicable fees are charged
independently by the relevant third party
market or content service provider. The
Exchange is not the exclusive method to
connect to third party testing and
certification feeds.
Connectivity to DTCC
The Exchange provides Users
connectivity to DTCC for clearing, fund
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transfer, insurance, and settlement
services.25 The Exchange proposes to
revise the Fee Schedules to include
connectivity to DTCC. The Exchange
charges a connectivity fee of $500 per
month for connections to DTCC of 5 Mb
and $2,500 for connections of 50 Mb.
Connectivity to DTCC is available over
the IP network.
In order to connect to DTCC, a User
enters into a contract with DTCC,
pursuant to which DTCC charges the
User for the services provided. The
Exchange receives the DTCC feed over
its fiber optic network and, after DTCC
and the User enter into the services
contract and the Exchange receives
authorization from DTCC, the Exchange
provides connectivity to DTCC to the
User over the User’s IP network port.
The Exchange charges the User for the
connectivity to DTCC.
Connectivity to DTCC does not
provide access or order entry to the
Exchange’s execution system, and a
User’s connection to DTCC is not
through the Exchange’s execution
system.
The Exchange proposes to add the
following connectivity fees and
language to the Fee Schedules:
5 Mb connection to
DTCC.
50 Mb connection to
DTCC—.
$500 monthly recurring
fee.
$2,500 monthly recurring
fee.
Pricing for connectivity to DTCC feeds is
for connectivity only. Connectivity to DTCC
feeds is subject to any technical provisioning
requirements and authorization from DTCC.
Connectivity to DTCC feeds is over the IP
network. Any applicable fees are charged
independently by DTCC. The Exchange is not
the exclusive method to connect to DTCC
feeds.
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Virtual Control Circuits
Finally, the Exchange proposes to
revise the Fee Schedules to offer VCCs
between two Users. VCCs are
connections between two points over
dedicated bandwidth using the IP
network. A VCC (previously called a
‘‘peer to peer’’ connection) is a two-way
connection which the two participants
can use for any purpose.
The Exchange bills the User
requesting the VCC, but will not set up
a VCC until the other User confirms that
it wishes to have the VCC set up.
The Exchange proposes to revise the
Fee Schedules to include VCCs between
25 Such connectivity to DTCC is distinct from the
access to shared data services for clearing and
settlement services that a User receives when it
purchases access to the LCN or IP network. The
shared data services allow Users and other entities
with access to the Trading Systems to post files for
settlement and clearing services to access.
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two Users. The fee for VCCs is based on
the bandwidth utilized, as follows:
Type of service
Description
Virtual Control
Circuit between two
Users.
1 Mb
$200 monthly
charge.
3 Mb
$400 monthly
charge.
$500 monthly
charge.
$800 monthly
charge.
$1,200 monthly charge.
$1,800 monthly charge.
$2,500 monthly charge.
5 Mb
10 Mb
25 Mb
50 Mb
100 Mb
Amount of
charge
General
As is the case with all Exchange colocation arrangements, (i) neither a User
nor any of the User’s customers would
be permitted to submit orders directly to
the Exchange unless such User or
customer is a member organization, a
Sponsored Participant or an agent
thereof (e.g., a service bureau providing
order entry services); (ii) use of the colocation services proposed herein would
be completely voluntary and available
to all Users on a non-discriminatory
basis; 26 and (iii) a User would only
incur one charge for the particular colocation service described herein,
regardless of whether the User connects
only to the Exchange or to the Exchange
and one or both of the Affiliate SROs.27
The proposed change is not otherwise
intended to address any other issues
relating to co-location services and/or
related fees, and the Exchange is not
aware of any problems that Users would
have in complying with the proposed
change.
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that the
proposed rule change is consistent with
26 As is currently the case, Users that receive colocation services from the Exchange will not receive
any means of access to the Exchange’s trading and
execution systems that is separate from, or superior
to, that of other Users. In this regard, all orders sent
to the Exchange enter the Exchange’s trading and
execution systems through the same order gateway,
regardless of whether the sender is co-located in the
data center or not. In addition, co-located Users do
not receive any market data or data service product
that is not available to all Users, although Users that
receive co-location services normally would expect
reduced latencies in sending orders to, and
receiving market data from, the Exchange.
27 See SR–NYSEArca–2013–80, supra note 6, at
50459. The Affiliate SROs have also submitted
substantially the same proposed rule change to
propose the changes described herein. See SR–
NYSE–2016–45 and SR–NYSEArca–2016–89.
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96111
Section 6(b) of the Act,28 in general, and
furthers the objectives of Sections
6(b)(5) of the Act,29 in particular,
because it is designed to prevent
fraudulent and manipulative acts and
practices, to promote just and equitable
principles of trade, to foster cooperation
and coordination with persons engaged
in regulating, clearing, settling,
processing information with respect to,
and facilitating transactions in
securities, to remove impediments to,
and perfect the mechanisms of, a free
and open market and a national market
system and, in general, to protect
investors and the public interest and
because it is not designed to permit
unfair discrimination between
customers, issuers, brokers, or dealers.
The Exchange believes that the
proposed changes remove impediments
to, and perfect the mechanisms of, a free
and open market and a national market
system and, in general, protect investors
and the public interest because, by
offering Access and Connectivity, the
Exchange gives each User additional
options for addressing its access and
connectivity needs, responding to User
demand for access and connectivity
options. Providing Access and
Connectivity helps each User tailor its
data center operations to the
requirements of its business operations
by allowing it to select the form and
latency of access and connectivity that
best suits its needs. The Exchange
provides Access and Connectivity as
conveniences to Users. Use of Access or
Connectivity is completely voluntary,
and each User has several other access
and connectivity options available to it.
As alternatives to using the Access and
Connectivity provided by the Exchange,
a User may access or connect to such
services and products through another
User or through a connection to an
Exchange access center outside the data
center, third party access center, or third
party vendor. The User may make such
connection through a third party
telecommunication provider, third party
wireless network, the SFTI network, or
a combination thereof.
The Exchange believes that providing
access to Third Party Systems and
connectivity to Third Party Data Feeds,
third party testing and certification
feeds and DTCC, as well as revising the
Fee Schedules to describe such services,
would remove impediments to, and
perfect the mechanisms of, a free and
open market and a national market
system and, in general, protect investors
and the public interest because the
proposed changes would make the
28 15
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U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
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asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
descriptions of market participants’
access and connectivity options and the
related fees more accessible and
transparent, thereby providing market
participants with clarity as to what
options for connectivity are available to
them and what the related costs are.
Including a description of the access to
Third Party Systems and connectivity to
Third Party Data Feeds that Users
receive is consistent with Nasdaq’s Rule
7034, which includes similar
information.30
In addition, the Exchange believes
that providing connectivity to third
party testing and certification feeds
removes impediments to, and perfects
the mechanisms of, a free and open
market and a national market system
and, in general, protects investors and
the public interest because such feeds
provide Users an environment in which
to conduct tests with non-live data,
including testing for upcoming releases
and product enhancements or the User’s
own software development, and allow
Users to certify conformance to any
applicable technical requirements.
Similarly, the Exchange believes that
providing connectivity to DTCC
removes impediments to, and perfects
the mechanisms of, a free and open
market and a national market system
and, in general, protects investors and
the public interest because it provides
efficient connection to clearing, fund
transfer, insurance, and settlement
services.
The Exchange believes that providing
Users with VCCs removes impediments
to, and perfects the mechanisms of, a
free and open market and a national
market system because VCCs provide
each User with an additional option for
connectivity to another User, helping it
tailor its data center operations to the
requirements of its business operations
by allowing it to select the form of
connectivity that best suits its needs.
The Exchange provides VCCs as a
convenience to Users. Use of a VCC is
completely voluntary. As an alternative
to an Exchange-provided VCC, a User
may connect to another User through a
cross connect.
The Exchange also believes that the
proposed rule change is consistent with
Section 6(b)(4) of the Act,31 in
particular, because it provides for the
30 See Nasdaq Stock Market Rule 7034—Market
Data Connectivity (‘‘Pricing is for connectivity only
and is similar to connectivity fees imposed by other
vendors. The fees are generally based on the
amount of bandwidth needed to accommodate a
particular feed and Nasdaq is not the exclusive
method to get market data connectivity. Market data
fees are charged independently by the Nasdaq Stock
Market and other exchanges.’’).
31 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:41 Dec 28, 2016
Jkt 241001
equitable allocation of reasonable dues,
fees, and other charges among its
members, issuers and other persons
using its facilities and does not unfairly
discriminate between customers,
issuers, brokers or dealers.
The Exchange believes that the
proposed fees changes are consistent
with Section 6(b)(4) of the Act for
multiple reasons. The Exchange
operates in a highly competitive market
in which exchanges offer co-location
services as a means to facilitate the
trading and other market activities of
those market participants who believe
that co-location enhances the efficiency
of their operations. Accordingly, fees
charged for co-location services are
constrained by the active competition
for the order flow of, and other business
from, such market participants. If a
particular exchange charges excessive
fees for co-location services, affected
market participants will opt to terminate
their co-location arrangements with that
exchange, and adopt a possible range of
alternative strategies, including placing
their servers in a physically proximate
location outside the exchange’s data
center (which could be a competing
exchange), or pursuing strategies less
dependent upon the lower exchange-toparticipant latency associated with colocation. Accordingly, the exchange
charging excessive fees would stand to
lose not only co-location revenues but
also the liquidity of the formerly colocated trading firms, which could have
additional follow-on effects on the
market share and revenue of the affected
exchange.
The Exchange believes that the
services and fees proposed herein are
equitably allocated and not unfairly
discriminatory because, in addition to
the services being completely voluntary,
they are available to all Users on an
equal basis (i.e., the same products and
services are available to all Users). All
Users that voluntarily select to receive
access to Third Party Systems,
connectivity to Third Party Data Feeds,
third party testing and certification
feeds and DTCC, or a VCC between
Users would be charged the same
amount for the same services.
The Exchange believes that the
services and fees proposed herein are
reasonable, equitably allocated and not
unfairly discriminatory because the
Exchange provides Access and
Connectivity as conveniences to Users.
Use of Access or Connectivity is
completely voluntary, and each User
has several other access and
connectivity options available to it. As
alternatives to using the Access and
Connectivity provided by the Exchange,
a User may access or connect to such
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services and products through another
User or through a connection to an
Exchange access center outside the data
center, third party access center, or third
party vendor. The User may make such
connection through a third party
telecommunication provider, third party
wireless network, the SFTI network, or
a combination thereof. Users that opt to
use Access or Connectivity would not
receive access or connectivity that is not
available to all Users, as all market
participants that contract with the
relevant market or content provider may
receive access or connectivity.
Similarly, the Exchange provides VCCs
between Users as a convenience to
Users. Use of a VCC is completely
voluntary. As an alternative to an
Exchange-provided VCC, a User may
connect to another User through a cross
connect.
The Exchange believes that the
proposed charges are reasonable,
equitably allocated and not unfairly
discriminatory because the Exchange
offers Access, Connectivity, and VCCs
as conveniences to Users, but in order
to do so must provide, maintain and
operate the data center facility hardware
and technology infrastructure. The
Exchange must handle the installation,
administration, monitoring, support and
maintenance of such services, including
by responding to any production issues.
Since the inception of co-location, the
Exchange has made numerous
improvements to the network hardware
and technology infrastructure and has
established additional administrative
controls. The Exchange has expanded
the network infrastructure to keep pace
with the increased number of services
available to Users, including the
increasing bandwidth required for
Access and Connectivity, including
resilient and redundant feeds. In
addition, in order to provide
connectivity to Third Party Data Feeds,
Third Party Systems, third party testing
and certification feeds and DTCC, the
Exchange must maintain multiple
connections to each Third Party Data
Feed, Third Party System, and DTCC,
allowing the Exchange to provide
resilient and redundant connections;
adapt to any changes made by the
relevant third party; and cover any
applicable fees (other than
redistribution fees) charged by the
relevant third party, such as port fees.
The Exchange believes that charging
separate connectivity fees for Third
Party Data Feeds and access to Third
Party Systems, third party testing and
certification feeds and connectivity to
DTCC is reasonable and not unfairly
discriminatory because, in the
Exchange’s experience, not all Users
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connect to Third Party Data Feeds,
Third Party Systems, third party testing
and certification feeds or DTCC. By
charging only those Users that receive
such connectivity, only the Users that
directly benefit from it support its cost.
In addition, Users are not required to
use any of their bandwidth to connect
to Third Party Data Feeds, third party
testing and certification feeds or DTCC,
or to access Third Party Systems, unless
they wish to do so.
The Exchange believes the fees for
connectivity to Third Party Data Feeds
are reasonable because they allow the
Exchange to defray or cover the costs
associated with offering Users
connectivity to Third Party Data Feeds
while providing Users the convenience
of receiving such Third Party Data Feeds
within co-location, helping them tailor
their data center operations to the
requirements of their business
operations by allowing them to select
the form and latency of connectivity
that best suits their needs. The
Exchange believes that its proposed
charges for connectivity to Third Party
Data Feeds are similar to the
connectivity fees Nasdaq imposes on its
co-location customers. For instance,
Nasdaq charges its co-location
customers monthly fees of $1,500 and
$4,000 for connectivity to BATS Y and
BATS, respectively, and of $2,500 for
connectivity to EDGA or EDGX.32
The Exchange believes that its
connectivity fees for access to Third
Party Systems are reasonable because
they allow the Exchange to defray or
cover the costs associated with offering
such access while providing Users the
convenience of being able to access such
Third Party Systems, helping them
tailor their data center operations to the
requirements of their business
operations by allowing them to select
the form and latency of connectivity
that best suits their needs. Similarly, the
Exchange believes that its fees for
connectivity to DTCC are reasonable
because they allow the Exchange to
defray or cover the costs associated with
offering such access while providing
Users the benefit of an efficient
connection to clearing, fund transfer,
insurance, and settlement services.
The monthly recurring fees the
Exchange charges Users for connectivity
to Third Party Systems, the MSCI and
SuperFeed Third Party Data Feeds, and
DTCC, as well as for VCCs between
Users, vary by the bandwidth of the
connection. The Exchange also believes
such fees are reasonable because the
monthly recurring fee varies by the
bandwidth of the connection, and so is
32 See
Nasdaq Stock Market Rule 7034.
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18:41 Dec 28, 2016
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generally proportional to the bandwidth
required. The Exchange notes that some
of the monthly recurring fees for
connectivity to SuperFeed and DTCC
differ from the fees for the other
connections of the same bandwidth. The
Exchange believes that such difference
in pricing is reasonable, equitably
allocated and not unfairly
discriminatory because, although the
bandwidth may be the same, the
competitive considerations and the
costs the Exchange incurs in providing
such connections and VCCs may differ.
The Exchange also believes that its
connectivity fees for access to third
party testing and certification feeds are
reasonable because they allow the
Exchange to defray or cover the costs
associated with offering such access
while providing Users the benefit of
having an environment in which to
conduct tests with non-live data,
including testing for upcoming releases
and product enhancements or the User’s
own software development, and to
certify conformance to any applicable
technical requirements.
The Exchange believes it is reasonable
that redistribution fees charged by
providers of Third Party Data Feeds are
passed through to the User, without
change to the fee. If not passed through,
the cost of the re-distribution fees would
be factored into the proposed fees for
connectivity to Third Party Data Feeds.
The Exchange believes that passing
through the fees makes them more
transparent to the User, allowing the
User to better assess the cost of the
connectivity to a Third Party Data Feed
by seeing the individual components of
the cost, i.e. the Exchange’s fee and the
redistribution fee.
The Exchange believes that it is
reasonable that it does not charge third
party markets or content providers for
connectivity to their own Third Party
Data Feeds, as in the Exchange’s
experience such parties generally
receive their own feeds for purposes of
diagnostics and testing. The Exchange
believes that it removes impediments to,
and perfects the mechanisms of, a free
and open market and a national market
system and, in general, protects
investors and the public interest to
facilitate such diagnostics and testing.
Finally, the Exchange also believes
that its fees for VCCs between two Users
are reasonable because they allow the
Exchange to defray or cover the costs
associated with offering such VCCs
while providing Users the benefit of an
additional option for connectivity to
another User, helping them tailor their
data center operations to the
requirements of their business
operations by allowing them to select
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96113
the form of connectivity that best suits
their needs. As an alternative to an
Exchange-provided VCC, a User may
connect to another User through a cross
connect.
For the reasons above, the proposed
changes do not unfairly discriminate
between or among market participants
that are otherwise capable of satisfying
any applicable co-location fees,
requirements, terms and conditions
established from time to time by the
Exchange.
For these reasons, the Exchange
believes that the proposal is consistent
with the Act.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Burden on Competition
In accordance with Section 6(b)(8) of
the Act,33 the Exchange believes that the
proposed rule change will not impose
any burden on competition that is not
necessary or appropriate in furtherance
of the purposes of the Act because, in
addition to the proposed services being
completely voluntary, they are available
to all Users on an equal basis (i.e. the
same products and services are available
to all Users).
The Exchange believes that providing
Users with access to Third Party
Systems and connectivity to Third Party
Data Feeds, third party testing and
certification feeds, and DTCC does not
impose any burden on competition that
is not necessary or appropriate in
furtherance of the purposes of the Act
because such Access and Connectivity
satisfies User demand for access and
connectivity options, and each User has
several other access and connectivity
options available to it. As alternatives to
using the Access and Connectivity
provided by the Exchange, a User may
access or connect to such services and
products through another User or
through a connection to an Exchange
access center outside the data center,
third party access center, or third party
vendor. The User may make such
connection through a third party
telecommunication provider, third party
wireless network, the SFTI network, or
a combination thereof. Users that opt to
use Access or Connectivity would not
receive access or connectivity that is not
available to all Users, as all market
participants that contract with the
relevant market or content provider may
receive access or connectivity. In this
way, the proposed changes would
enhance competition by helping Users
tailor their Access and Connectivity to
the needs of their business operations
by allowing them to select the form and
33 15
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U.S.C. 78f(b)(8).
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latency of access and connectivity that
best suits their needs.
Similarly, the Exchange believes that
providing VCCs between Users does not
impose any burden on competition that
is not necessary or appropriate in
furtherance of the purposes of the Act
because providing VCCs satisfies User
demand for an alternative to cross
connects.
The Exchange believes that revising
the Fee Schedules to provide a more
detailed description of the Access and
Connectivity available to Users would
make such descriptions more accessible
and transparent, thereby providing
market participants with clarity as to
what Access and Connectivity is
available to them and what the related
costs are, thereby enhancing
competition by ensuring that all Users
have access to the same information
regarding Access and Connectivity.
Finally, the Exchange operates in a
highly competitive market in which
exchanges offer co-location services as a
means to facilitate the trading and other
market activities of those market
participants who believe that colocation enhances the efficiency of their
operations. Accordingly, fees charged
for co-location services are constrained
by the active competition for the order
flow of, and other business from, such
market participants. If a particular
exchange charges excessive fees for colocation services, affected market
participants will opt to terminate their
co-location arrangements with that
exchange, and adopt a possible range of
alternative strategies, including placing
their servers in a physically proximate
location outside the exchange’s data
center (which could be a competing
exchange), or pursuing strategies less
dependent upon the lower exchange-toparticipant latency associated with colocation. Accordingly, the exchange
charging excessive fees would stand to
lose not only co-location revenues but
also the liquidity of the formerly colocated trading firms, which could have
additional follow-on effects on the
market share and revenue of the affected
exchange. For the reasons described
above, the Exchange believes that the
proposed rule change reflects this
competitive environment.
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.
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18:41 Dec 28, 2016
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III. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to
submit written data, views and
arguments concerning the foregoing,
including whether the proposed rule
change, as amended by Amendment
Nos. 1, 2, and 3 is consistent with the
Exchange 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–
NYSEArca–2016–89 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–NYSEArca–2016–89. 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
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–NYSEArca–
2016–89, and should be submitted on or
before January 19, 2017.
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For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.34
Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016–31485 Filed 12–28–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–79677; File No. SR–
ISEGemini–2016–17]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; ISE
Gemini, LLC; Notice of Filing of
Proposed Rule Change To Amend
Various Rules in Connection With a
System Migration to Nasdaq INET
Technology
December 22, 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 December
16, 2016, ISE Gemini, LLC (‘‘ISE
Gemini’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission
(‘‘SEC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’) the proposed
rule change as described in Items I and
II 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
various rules in connection with a
system migration to Nasdaq INET
technology.
The text of the proposed rule change
is available on the Exchange’s Web site
at www.ise.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 the
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
34 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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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 250 (Thursday, December 29, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 96107-96114]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-31485]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-79673; File No. SR-NYSEArca-2016-89]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing
of Amendment Nos. 2 and 3 to Proposed Rule Change Amending the Co-
Location Services Offered by the Exchange To Add Certain Access and
Connectivity Fees
December 22, 2016.
On August 16, 2016, NYSE Arca, Inc. (``NYSE Arca'' or the
``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(``Commission''), pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (``Act'') \1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ a
proposed rule change to amend the co-location services offered by the
Exchange to: (1) Provide additional information regarding the access to
various trading and execution services; connectivity to market data
feeds and testing and certification feeds; connectivity to Third Party
Systems; and connectivity to DTCC provided to Users using data center
local area networks; and (2) establish fees relating to a User's access
to various trading and execution services; connectivity to market data
feeds and testing and certification feeds; connectivity to DTCC; and
other services. The proposed rule change was published for comment in
the Federal Register on August 26, 2016.\3\ The Commission received no
comments in response to the proposed rule change.\4\ On October 4,
2016, the Commission extended the time period within which to approve
the proposed rule change, disapprove the proposed rule change, or
institute proceedings to determine whether to approve or disapprove the
proposed rule change to November 24, 2016.\5\
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\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
\3\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34-78628 (August 22,
2016), 81 FR 59004 (``Notice'').
\4\ The Commission notes that it did receive one comment letter
on a related filing, NYSE-2016-45 (the ``NYSE Companion Filing''),
which is equally relevant to this filing. See letter to Brent J.
Fields, Secretary, Commission, from John Ramsay, Chief Market Policy
Officer, Investors Exchange LLC (IEX), dated September 9, 2016.
On September 23, 2016, the NYSE submitted a response to the IEX
letter.
\5\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34-78967 (September
28, 2016), 81 FR 68480.
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On November 2, 2016, the Exchange filed Amendment No. 1 to the
proposed rule change.\6\ On November 29, 2016, the Commission
instituted proceedings to determine whether to approve or disapprove
the proposed rule change, as modified by Amendment No. 1.\7\ In
response to the Order Instituting Proceedings, the Commission received
additional comment letters regarding the proposed rule change.\8\
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\6\ Amendment No. 1 is available on the Commission's Web site at
https://www.sec.gov/comments/sr-nysearca-2016-89/nysearca201689-1.pdf.
\7\ See Securities Exchange Act Release 34-79379 (November 22,
2016), 81 FR 86036.
\8\ See letter to Brent J. Fields, Commission, from Melissa
MacGregor, Managing Director and Associate General Counsel, SIFMA,
dated December 12, 2016; letter to Brent J. Fields, Commission, from
Joe Wald, Chief Executive Officer, Clearpool Group, dated December
16, 2016; letter to Brent J. Fields, Secretary, Commission, from
John Ramsay, Chief Market Policy Officer, Investors Exchange LLC
(IEX), dated December 21, 2016. All comments received by the
Commission on the proposed rule change are available on the
Commission's Web site at: https://www.sec.gov/comments/sr-nysearca-2016-89/nysearca201689.shtml.
The Commission notes that it received an additional letter on
the NYSE Companion Filing. See letter to Brent J. Fields,
Commission, from Adam C. Cooper, Senior Managing Director and Chief
Legal Officer, Citadel Securities, dated December 12, 2016. All
comments received by the Commission on the NYSE Companion Filing are
available on the Commission's Web site at: https://www.sec.gov/comments/sr-nyse-2016-45/nyse201645.shtml.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On December 9, 2016, the Exchange filed Amendment No. 2 to the
proposed rule change as described in Items I and II below, which Items
have been prepared by Exchange. On December 13, 2016 the Exchange filed
Amendment No. 3 to the proposed rule change.\9\ The Commission is
publishing this notice to solicit comments on Amendment Nos. 2 and 3 to
the proposed rule change from interested persons.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ The Commission notes that the Exhibit 5 filed with Amendment
No. 2 contained erroneous rule text and therefore was corrected in
Amendment No. 3. Amendment Nos. 2 and 3 are available at https://www.sec.gov/comments/sr-nysearca-2016-89/nysearca201689-3.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Amendments
The Exchange proposes to amend the co-location services offered by
the Exchange to establish fees relating to Users' access to third party
trading and execution services; connectivity to third party data feeds
and testing and certification feeds; access to clearing; and other
services. In addition, this proposed rule change reflects changes to
the NYSE Arca Options Fee Schedule (the ``Options Fee Schedule'') and,
through its wholly owned subsidiary NYSE Arca Equities, Inc. (``NYSE
Arca Equities''), the NYSE Arca Equities Schedule of Fees and Charges
for Exchange Services (the ``Equities Fee Schedule'' and, together with
the Options Fee Schedule, the ``Fee Schedules'') related to these co-
location services. This Amendment No. 2 \10\ supersedes the original
filing and Amendment 1 in their entirety.\11\ The
[[Page 96108]]
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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ See supra note 9, noting that Amendment No. 2 was modified
in part by Amendment No. 3. Accordingly, the Commission notes that
Amendment Nos. 2 and 3 together supersede the original filing, as
modified by Amendment No. 1, in its entirety.
\11\ The Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') has
issued an order instituting proceedings to determine whether to
approve or disapprove the proposed rule change, as modified by
amendments 1 and 2. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 79379
(November 22, 2016), 81 FR 86036 (November 29, 2016) (SR-NYSEArca-
2016-89) (the ``November 22 Order''). In its filing, as amended by
amendment 1, the Exchange proposed adding to the Fee Schedules (a) a
more detailed description of the connectivity to certain market data
products (the ``Included Data Products'') that Users receive with
connections to the local area networks available in the data center;
and (b) connectivity fees for connecting to other market data
products of the Exchange and its affiliates, New York Stock Exchange
LLC and NYSE MKT LLC (the ``Premium NYSE Data Products''). In the
November 22 Order, the Commission cites language from the proposed
rule change:
the Exchange also stated that the expectation of co-location was
that normally Users would expect reduced latencies in . . .
receiving market data from the Exchange by being colocated.
Therefore, as the Exchange states in Amendment No. 2, both Included
Data Products and Premium NYSE Data Products are `directly related
to the purpose of co-location.'
Id., at 86040. It goes on to say that, if Included Data Products
and Premium NYSE Data Products are ``integral to co-located Users
for trading on the Exchange,'' it was questionable whether obtaining
the information from another source is a viable alternative. Id. The
Exchange disagrees with the Commission's description of Included
Data Products and Premium NYSE Data Products as ``integral'' to
Users for trading on the Exchange. Being related to the purpose of
co-location is not the same as being integral for trading. A User is
not required to receive either Included Data Products or Premium
NYSE Data Products in order to trade on the Exchange.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
1. Purpose
The Exchange proposes to amend the co-location \12\ services
offered by the Exchange to establish fees relating to Users' \13\
access to third party trading and execution services; connectivity to
third party data feeds and testing and certification feeds; access to
clearing; and other services.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\ The Exchange initially filed rule changes relating to its
co-location services with the Commission in 2010. See Securities
Exchange Act Release No. 63275 (November 8, 2010), 75 FR 70048
(November 16, 2010) (SR-NYSEArca-2010-100) (the ``Original Co-
location Filing''). The Exchange operates a data center in Mahwah,
New Jersey (the ``data center'') from which it provides co-location
services to Users.
\13\ For purposes of the Exchange's co-location services, a
``User'' means any market participant that requests to receive co-
location services directly from the Exchange. See Securities
Exchange Act Release No. 76010 (September 29, 2015), 80 FR 60197
(October 5, 2015) (SR-NYSEArca-2015-82). As specified in the Fee
Schedules, a User that incurs co-location fees for a particular co-
location service pursuant thereto would not be subject to co-
location fees for the same co-location service charged by the
Exchange's affiliates New York Stock Exchange LLC (``NYSE LLC'') and
NYSE MKT LLC (``NYSE MKT and, together with NYSE LLC, the
``Affiliate SROs''). See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 70173
(August 13, 2013), 78 FR 50459 (August 19, 2013) (SR-NYSEArca-2013-
80).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
More specifically, the Exchange proposes to revise the Fee
Schedules to include:
a. Fees for connectivity to:
The execution systems of third party markets and other
content service providers (``Third Party Systems'');
data feeds from third party markets and other content
service providers (the ``Third Party Data Feeds'');
third party testing and certification feeds;
Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (``DTCC'')
services; and
b. fees for virtual control circuits (``VCCs'') between two Users.
VCCs are unicast connections between two participants over dedicated
bandwidth.\14\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\ Information flows over existing network connections in two
formats: ``unicast'' format, which is a format that allows one-to-
one communication, similar to a phone line, in which information is
sent to and from the Exchange; and ``multicast'' format, which is a
format in which information is sent one-way from the Exchange to
multiple recipients at once, like a radio broadcast.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange provides access to Third Party Systems (``Access'')
and connectivity to Third Party Data Feeds, third party testing and
certification feeds, and DTCC (collectively, ``Connectivity'') as
conveniences to Users. Use of Access or Connectivity is completely
voluntary, and several other access and connectivity options are
available to a User. As alternatives to using the Access and
Connectivity provided by the Exchange, a User may access or connect to
such services and products through another User or through a connection
to an Exchange access center outside the data center, third party
access center, or third party vendor. The User may make such connection
through a third party telecommunication provider, third party wireless
network, the Exchange's Secure Financial Transaction Infrastructure
(``SFTI'') network, or a combination thereof.
Similarly, the Exchange provides VCCs as a convenience to Users.
Use of a VCC is completely voluntary. As an alternative to an Exchange-
provided VCC, a User may connect to another User through a fiber
connection (``cross connect'').\15\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\15\ See Original Co-location Filing, supra note 5, at 70049 and
Securities Exchange Act Release No. 74219 (February 6, 2015), 80 FR
7899 (February 12, 2015) (SR-NYSEArca-2015-03) (notice of filing and
immediate effectiveness of proposed rule change to include IP
network connections and fiber cross connects between a User's
cabinet and non-User's equipment as co-location services) (the ``IP
Network Release'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Connectivity
Connectivity to Third Party Systems
The Exchange proposes to revise the Fee Schedules to provide that
Users may obtain connectivity to Third Party Systems of multiple third
party markets and other content service providers for a fee. Users
connect to Third Party Systems over the internet protocol (``IP'')
network, a local area network available in the data center.\16\ The
Exchange selects what connectivity to Third Party Systems to offer in
the data center based on User demand.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\16\ See id., at 7899.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In order to obtain access to a Third Party System, a User enters
into an agreement with the relevant third party content service
provider, pursuant to which the third party content service provider
charges the User for access to the Third Party System. The Exchange
then establishes a unicast connection between the User and the relevant
third party content service provider over the IP network. The Exchange
charges the User for the connectivity to the Third Party System. A User
only receives, and is only charged for, access to Third Party Systems
for which it enters into agreements with the third party content
service provider.
With the exception of the Intercontinental Exchange (``ICE'')
feed,\17\ the Exchange has no ownership interest in the Third Party
Systems. Establishing a User's access to a Third Party System does not
give the Exchange any right to use the Third Party Systems.
Connectivity to a Third Party System does not provide access or order
entry to the Exchange's execution system, and a User's connection to a
Third Party System is not through the Exchange's execution system.\18\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\17\ ICE is owned by the Exchange's ultimate parent,
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., and so the Exchange has an indirect
interest in the ICE feeds. The ICE feeds include both market data
and trading and clearing services, but the Exchange includes it as a
Third Party Data Feed. In order for a User to receive an ICE feed,
ICE must provide authorization for the User to receive both data and
trading and clearing services.
\18\ The Exchange has a dedicated network connection to each of
the Third Party Systems.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange charges a monthly recurring fee for connectivity to a
Third Party System. Specifically, when a User
[[Page 96109]]
requests access to a Third Party System, it identifies the applicable
third party market or other content service provider and what bandwidth
connection it requires.
The monthly recurring fee the Exchange charges Users for unicast
connectivity to each Third Party System varies by the bandwidth of the
connection, as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monthly recurring
fee per connection
Bandwidth of connection to third party system to third party
system
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Mb................................................ $200
3 Mb................................................ $400
5 Mb................................................ $500
10 Mb............................................... $800
25 Mb............................................... $1,200
50 Mb............................................... $1,800
100 Mb.............................................. $2,500
200 Mb.............................................. $3,000
1 Gb................................................ $3,500
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange provides connectivity to the following Third Party
Systems:
Americas Trading Group (ATG)
BATS
Boston Options Exchange (BOX)
Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE)
Credit Suisse
International Securities Exchange (ISE)
Nasdaq
National Stock Exchange
NYFIX Marketplace
In addition to the connectivity fees, the Exchange proposes to add
language to the Fee Schedules stating the following:
Pricing for access to the execution systems of third party
markets and other service providers (Third Party Systems) is for
connectivity only. Connectivity to Third Party Systems is subject to
any technical provisioning requirements and authorization from the
provider of the data feed. Connectivity to Third Party Systems is
over the IP network. Any applicable fees are charged independently
by the relevant third party content service provider. The Exchange
is not the exclusive method to connect to Third Party Systems.
Connectivity to Third Party Data Feeds
The Exchange proposes to revise the Fee Schedules to provide that
Users may obtain connectivity to Third Party Data Feeds for a fee. The
Exchange receives Third Party Data Feeds from multiple national
securities exchanges and other content service providers at its data
center. It then provides connectivity to that data to Users for a fee.
With the exceptions of Global OTC and NYSE Global Index, Users connect
to Third Party Data Feeds over the IP network.\19\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\19\ See IP Network Release, supra note 8, at 7899 (``The IP
network also provides Users with access to away market data
products.''). Users can connect to Global OTC and NYSE Global Index
over the IP network or the Liquidity Center Network (``LCN''), a
local area network available in the data center.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange notes that charging Users a monthly fee for
connectivity to Third Party Data Feeds is consistent with the monthly
fee Nasdaq charges its co-location customers for connectivity to third
party data. For instance, Nasdaq charges its co-location customers
monthly fees of $1,500 and $4,000 for connectivity to BATS Y and BATS,
respectively, and of $2,500 for connectivity to EDGA or EDGX.\20\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\20\ See Nasdaq Stock Market Rule 7034.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In order to connect to a Third Party Data Feed, a User enters into
a contract with the relevant third party market or other content
service provider, pursuant to which the content service provider
charges the User for the Third Party Data Feed. The Exchange receives
the Third Party Data Feed over its fiber optic network and, after the
data provider and User enter into the contract and the Exchange
receives authorization from the data provider, the Exchange re-
transmits the data to the User over the User's port. The Exchange
charges the User for the connectivity to the Third Party Data Feed. A
User only receives, and is only charged for, connectivity to the Third
Party Data Feeds for which it enters into contracts.
With the exception of the ICE, Global OTC and NYSE Global Index
feeds,\21\ the Exchange has no affiliation with the sellers of the
Third Party Data Feeds. It has no right to use the Third Party Data
Feeds other than as a redistributor of the data. The Third Party Data
Feeds do not provide access or order entry to the Exchange's execution
system. With the exception of the ICE feeds, the Third Party Data Feeds
do not provide access or order entry to the execution systems of the
third party generating the feed.\22\ The Exchange receives Third Party
Data Feeds via arms-length agreements and it
[[Page 96110]]
has no inherent advantage over any other distributor of such data.
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\21\ ICE and the Global OTC alternative trading system are both
owned by the Exchange's ultimate parent, Intercontinental Exchange,
Inc., and so the Exchange has an indirect interest in the ICE and
Global OTC feeds. The NYSE Global Index feed includes index and
exchange traded product valuations data, with data drawn from the
Exchange, the Affiliate SROs, and third party exchanges. Because it
includes third party data, the NYSE Global Index feed is considered
a Third Party Data Feed. As with all Third Party Data Feeds, the
Exchange is not the exclusive method to connect to the ICE, Global
OTC or NYSE Global Index feeds.
\22\ Unlike other Third Party Data Feeds, the ICE feeds include
both market data and trading and clearing services. In order to
receive the ICE feeds, a User must receive authorization from ICE to
receive both market data and trading and clearing services.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange charges a monthly recurring fee for connectivity to
each Third Party Data Feed. The monthly recurring fee is per Third
Party Data Feed, with the exception that the monthly recurring feed for
SuperFeed and MSCI varies by the bandwidth of the connection. Depending
on its needs and bandwidth, a User may opt to receive all or some of
the feeds or services included in a Third Party Data Feed.
The following table shows the feeds that connectivity to each Third
Party Data Feed provides, together with the applicable monthly
recurring fee.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monthly recurring
connectivity fee
Third Party Data Feed per Third Party
Data Feed
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bats BZX Exchange (BZX) and Bats BYX Exchange (BYX). $2,000
Bats EDGX Exchange (EDGX) and Bats EDGA Exchange 2,000
(EDGA).............................................
Boston Options Exchange (BOX)....................... 1,000
Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE)............... 2,000
Chicago Stock Exchange (CHX)........................ 400
Euronext............................................ 600
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)..... 500
Global OTC.......................................... 100
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)..................... 1,500
Montr[eacute]al Exchange (MX)....................... 1,000
MSCI 5 Mb........................................... 500
MSCI 25 Mb.......................................... 1,200
NASDAQ Stock Market................................. 2,000
NASDAQ OMX Global Index Data Service................ 100
NASDAQ OMDF......................................... 100
NASDAQ UQDF& UTDF................................... 500
NYSE Global Index................................... 100
OTC Markets Group................................... 1,000
SR Labs--SuperFeed 500 Mb........................... 250
SR Labs--SuperFeed >500 Mb to 1.25 Gb............... 800
SR Labs--SuperFeed >1.25 Gb......................... 1,000
TMX Group........................................... 2,500
------------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition to the above connectivity fees, the Exchange proposes
to add the following language to the Fee Schedules:
Pricing for data feeds from third party markets and other
content service providers (Third Party Data Feeds) is for
connectivity only. Connectivity to Third Party Data Feeds is subject
to any technical provisioning requirements and authorization from
the provider of the data feed. Connectivity to Third Party Data
Feeds is over the IP network, with the exception that Users can
connect to Global OTC and NYSE Global Index over the IP network or
LCN. Market data fees are charged independently by the relevant
third party market or content service provider. The Exchange is not
the exclusive method to connect to Third Party Data Feeds.
Third Party Data Feed providers may charge redistribution fees,
such as Nasdaq's Extranet Access Fees and OTC Markets Group's Access
Fees.\23\ When the Exchange receives a redistribution fee, it passes
through the charge to the User, without change to the fee. The fee is
labeled as a pass-through of a redistribution fee on the User's
invoice. The Exchange proposes to add language to the Fee Schedules
accordingly.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\23\ See NASDAQ Stock Market LLC Rule 7025, ``Extranet Access
Fee'', and OTC Markets Market Data Distribution Agreement Appendix
B, ``Fees'' at https://www.otcmarkets.com/content/doc/market-data-fees-2016.pdf. See also Securities Exchange Act Release No. 74040
(January 13, 2015), 80 FR 2460 (January 16, 2015) (SR-NASDAQ-2015-
003).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange provides third party markets or content providers that
are also Users connectivity to their own Third Party Data Feeds. The
Exchange does not charge Users that are third party markets or content
providers for connectivity to their own feeds, as in the Exchange's
experience such parties generally receive their own feeds for purposes
of diagnostics and testing. The Exchange proposes to add language to
the Fee Schedules accordingly.
Connectivity to Third Party Testing and Certification Feeds
The Exchange offers Users connectivity to third party certification
and testing feeds. Certification feeds are used to certify that a User
conforms to any of the relevant content service provider's requirements
for accessing Third Party Systems or receiving Third Party Data, while
testing feeds provide Users an environment in which to conduct tests
with non-live data.\24\ Such feeds, which are solely used for
certification and testing and do not carry live production data, are
available over the IP network.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\24\ For example, a User that trades on a third party exchange
may wish to test the exchange's upcoming releases and product
releases or may wish to test a new algorithm in a testing
environment prior to making it live.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange proposes to revise the Fee Schedules to include
connectivity to third party certification and testing feeds. The
Exchange charges a connectivity fee of $100 per month per feed.
The Exchange proposes to add the following connectivity fees and
language to the Fee Schedules:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Connectivity to third party certification $100 monthly recurring fee
and testing feeds. per feed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange provides connectivity to third party testing and
certification feeds provided by third party markets and other
content service providers. Pricing for third party testing and
certification feeds is for connectivity only. Connectivity to third
party testing and certification feeds is subject to any technical
provisioning requirements and authorization from the provider of the
data feed. Connectivity to third party testing and certification
feeds is over the IP network. Any applicable fees are charged
independently by the relevant third party market or content service
provider. The Exchange is not the exclusive method to connect to
third party testing and certification feeds.
Connectivity to DTCC
The Exchange provides Users connectivity to DTCC for clearing, fund
[[Page 96111]]
transfer, insurance, and settlement services.\25\ The Exchange proposes
to revise the Fee Schedules to include connectivity to DTCC. The
Exchange charges a connectivity fee of $500 per month for connections
to DTCC of 5 Mb and $2,500 for connections of 50 Mb. Connectivity to
DTCC is available over the IP network.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\25\ Such connectivity to DTCC is distinct from the access to
shared data services for clearing and settlement services that a
User receives when it purchases access to the LCN or IP network. The
shared data services allow Users and other entities with access to
the Trading Systems to post files for settlement and clearing
services to access.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In order to connect to DTCC, a User enters into a contract with
DTCC, pursuant to which DTCC charges the User for the services
provided. The Exchange receives the DTCC feed over its fiber optic
network and, after DTCC and the User enter into the services contract
and the Exchange receives authorization from DTCC, the Exchange
provides connectivity to DTCC to the User over the User's IP network
port. The Exchange charges the User for the connectivity to DTCC.
Connectivity to DTCC does not provide access or order entry to the
Exchange's execution system, and a User's connection to DTCC is not
through the Exchange's execution system.
The Exchange proposes to add the following connectivity fees and
language to the Fee Schedules:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 Mb connection to DTCC................... $500 monthly recurring fee.
50 Mb connection to DTCC--................ $2,500 monthly recurring
fee.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pricing for connectivity to DTCC feeds is for connectivity only.
Connectivity to DTCC feeds is subject to any technical provisioning
requirements and authorization from DTCC. Connectivity to DTCC feeds
is over the IP network. Any applicable fees are charged
independently by DTCC. The Exchange is not the exclusive method to
connect to DTCC feeds.
Virtual Control Circuits
Finally, the Exchange proposes to revise the Fee Schedules to offer
VCCs between two Users. VCCs are connections between two points over
dedicated bandwidth using the IP network. A VCC (previously called a
``peer to peer'' connection) is a two-way connection which the two
participants can use for any purpose.
The Exchange bills the User requesting the VCC, but will not set up
a VCC until the other User confirms that it wishes to have the VCC set
up.
The Exchange proposes to revise the Fee Schedules to include VCCs
between two Users. The fee for VCCs is based on the bandwidth utilized,
as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type of service Description Amount of charge
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Virtual Control Circuit between 1 Mb $200 monthly
two Users. charge.
3 Mb $400 monthly
charge.
5 Mb $500 monthly
charge.
10 Mb $800 monthly
charge.
25 Mb $1,200 monthly
charge.
50 Mb $1,800 monthly
charge.
100 Mb $2,500 monthly
charge.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
General
As is the case with all Exchange co-location arrangements, (i)
neither a User nor any of the User's customers would be permitted to
submit orders directly to the Exchange unless such User or customer is
a member organization, a Sponsored Participant or an agent thereof
(e.g., a service bureau providing order entry services); (ii) use of
the co-location services proposed herein would be completely voluntary
and available to all Users on a non-discriminatory basis; \26\ and
(iii) a User would only incur one charge for the particular co-location
service described herein, regardless of whether the User connects only
to the Exchange or to the Exchange and one or both of the Affiliate
SROs.\27\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\26\ As is currently the case, Users that receive co-location
services from the Exchange will not receive any means of access to
the Exchange's trading and execution systems that is separate from,
or superior to, that of other Users. In this regard, all orders sent
to the Exchange enter the Exchange's trading and execution systems
through the same order gateway, regardless of whether the sender is
co-located in the data center or not. In addition, co-located Users
do not receive any market data or data service product that is not
available to all Users, although Users that receive co-location
services normally would expect reduced latencies in sending orders
to, and receiving market data from, the Exchange.
\27\ See SR-NYSEArca-2013-80, supra note 6, at 50459. The
Affiliate SROs have also submitted substantially the same proposed
rule change to propose the changes described herein. See SR-NYSE-
2016-45 and SR-NYSEArca-2016-89.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The proposed change is not otherwise intended to address any other
issues relating to co-location services and/or related fees, and the
Exchange is not aware of any problems that Users would have in
complying with the proposed change.
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent
with Section 6(b) of the Act,\28\ in general, and furthers the
objectives of Sections 6(b)(5) of the Act,\29\ in particular, because
it is designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and
practices, to promote just and equitable principles of trade, to foster
cooperation and coordination with persons engaged in regulating,
clearing, settling, processing information with respect to, and
facilitating transactions in securities, to remove impediments to, and
perfect the mechanisms of, a free and open market and a national market
system and, in general, to protect investors and the public interest
and because it is not designed to permit unfair discrimination between
customers, issuers, brokers, or dealers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\28\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
\29\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange believes that the proposed changes remove impediments
to, and perfect the mechanisms of, a free and open market and a
national market system and, in general, protect investors and the
public interest because, by offering Access and Connectivity, the
Exchange gives each User additional options for addressing its access
and connectivity needs, responding to User demand for access and
connectivity options. Providing Access and Connectivity helps each User
tailor its data center operations to the requirements of its business
operations by allowing it to select the form and latency of access and
connectivity that best suits its needs. The Exchange provides Access
and Connectivity as conveniences to Users. Use of Access or
Connectivity is completely voluntary, and each User has several other
access and connectivity options available to it. As alternatives to
using the Access and Connectivity provided by the Exchange, a User may
access or connect to such services and products through another User or
through a connection to an Exchange access center outside the data
center, third party access center, or third party vendor. The User may
make such connection through a third party telecommunication provider,
third party wireless network, the SFTI network, or a combination
thereof.
The Exchange believes that providing access to Third Party Systems
and connectivity to Third Party Data Feeds, third party testing and
certification feeds and DTCC, as well as revising the Fee Schedules to
describe such services, would remove impediments to, and perfect the
mechanisms of, a free and open market and a national market system and,
in general, protect investors and the public interest because the
proposed changes would make the
[[Page 96112]]
descriptions of market participants' access and connectivity options
and the related fees more accessible and transparent, thereby providing
market participants with clarity as to what options for connectivity
are available to them and what the related costs are. Including a
description of the access to Third Party Systems and connectivity to
Third Party Data Feeds that Users receive is consistent with Nasdaq's
Rule 7034, which includes similar information.\30\
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\30\ See Nasdaq Stock Market Rule 7034--Market Data Connectivity
(``Pricing is for connectivity only and is similar to connectivity
fees imposed by other vendors. The fees are generally based on the
amount of bandwidth needed to accommodate a particular feed and
Nasdaq is not the exclusive method to get market data connectivity.
Market data fees are charged independently by the Nasdaq Stock
Market and other exchanges.'').
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In addition, the Exchange believes that providing connectivity to
third party testing and certification feeds removes impediments to, and
perfects the mechanisms of, a free and open market and a national
market system and, in general, protects investors and the public
interest because such feeds provide Users an environment in which to
conduct tests with non-live data, including testing for upcoming
releases and product enhancements or the User's own software
development, and allow Users to certify conformance to any applicable
technical requirements.
Similarly, the Exchange believes that providing connectivity to
DTCC removes impediments to, and perfects the mechanisms of, a free and
open market and a national market system and, in general, protects
investors and the public interest because it provides efficient
connection to clearing, fund transfer, insurance, and settlement
services.
The Exchange believes that providing Users with VCCs removes
impediments to, and perfects the mechanisms of, a free and open market
and a national market system because VCCs provide each User with an
additional option for connectivity to another User, helping it tailor
its data center operations to the requirements of its business
operations by allowing it to select the form of connectivity that best
suits its needs. The Exchange provides VCCs as a convenience to Users.
Use of a VCC is completely voluntary. As an alternative to an Exchange-
provided VCC, a User may connect to another User through a cross
connect.
The Exchange also believes that the proposed rule change is
consistent with Section 6(b)(4) of the Act,\31\ in particular, because
it provides for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees, and
other charges among its members, issuers and other persons using its
facilities and does not unfairly discriminate between customers,
issuers, brokers or dealers.
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\31\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
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The Exchange believes that the proposed fees changes are consistent
with Section 6(b)(4) of the Act for multiple reasons. The Exchange
operates in a highly competitive market in which exchanges offer co-
location services as a means to facilitate the trading and other market
activities of those market participants who believe that co-location
enhances the efficiency of their operations. Accordingly, fees charged
for co-location services are constrained by the active competition for
the order flow of, and other business from, such market participants.
If a particular exchange charges excessive fees for co-location
services, affected market participants will opt to terminate their co-
location arrangements with that exchange, and adopt a possible range of
alternative strategies, including placing their servers in a physically
proximate location outside the exchange's data center (which could be a
competing exchange), or pursuing strategies less dependent upon the
lower exchange-to-participant latency associated with co-location.
Accordingly, the exchange charging excessive fees would stand to lose
not only co-location revenues but also the liquidity of the formerly
co-located trading firms, which could have additional follow-on effects
on the market share and revenue of the affected exchange.
The Exchange believes that the services and fees proposed herein
are equitably allocated and not unfairly discriminatory because, in
addition to the services being completely voluntary, they are available
to all Users on an equal basis (i.e., the same products and services
are available to all Users). All Users that voluntarily select to
receive access to Third Party Systems, connectivity to Third Party Data
Feeds, third party testing and certification feeds and DTCC, or a VCC
between Users would be charged the same amount for the same services.
The Exchange believes that the services and fees proposed herein
are reasonable, equitably allocated and not unfairly discriminatory
because the Exchange provides Access and Connectivity as conveniences
to Users. Use of Access or Connectivity is completely voluntary, and
each User has several other access and connectivity options available
to it. As alternatives to using the Access and Connectivity provided by
the Exchange, a User may access or connect to such services and
products through another User or through a connection to an Exchange
access center outside the data center, third party access center, or
third party vendor. The User may make such connection through a third
party telecommunication provider, third party wireless network, the
SFTI network, or a combination thereof. Users that opt to use Access or
Connectivity would not receive access or connectivity that is not
available to all Users, as all market participants that contract with
the relevant market or content provider may receive access or
connectivity. Similarly, the Exchange provides VCCs between Users as a
convenience to Users. Use of a VCC is completely voluntary. As an
alternative to an Exchange-provided VCC, a User may connect to another
User through a cross connect.
The Exchange believes that the proposed charges are reasonable,
equitably allocated and not unfairly discriminatory because the
Exchange offers Access, Connectivity, and VCCs as conveniences to
Users, but in order to do so must provide, maintain and operate the
data center facility hardware and technology infrastructure. The
Exchange must handle the installation, administration, monitoring,
support and maintenance of such services, including by responding to
any production issues. Since the inception of co-location, the Exchange
has made numerous improvements to the network hardware and technology
infrastructure and has established additional administrative controls.
The Exchange has expanded the network infrastructure to keep pace with
the increased number of services available to Users, including the
increasing bandwidth required for Access and Connectivity, including
resilient and redundant feeds. In addition, in order to provide
connectivity to Third Party Data Feeds, Third Party Systems, third
party testing and certification feeds and DTCC, the Exchange must
maintain multiple connections to each Third Party Data Feed, Third
Party System, and DTCC, allowing the Exchange to provide resilient and
redundant connections; adapt to any changes made by the relevant third
party; and cover any applicable fees (other than redistribution fees)
charged by the relevant third party, such as port fees.
The Exchange believes that charging separate connectivity fees for
Third Party Data Feeds and access to Third Party Systems, third party
testing and certification feeds and connectivity to DTCC is reasonable
and not unfairly discriminatory because, in the Exchange's experience,
not all Users
[[Page 96113]]
connect to Third Party Data Feeds, Third Party Systems, third party
testing and certification feeds or DTCC. By charging only those Users
that receive such connectivity, only the Users that directly benefit
from it support its cost. In addition, Users are not required to use
any of their bandwidth to connect to Third Party Data Feeds, third
party testing and certification feeds or DTCC, or to access Third Party
Systems, unless they wish to do so.
The Exchange believes the fees for connectivity to Third Party Data
Feeds are reasonable because they allow the Exchange to defray or cover
the costs associated with offering Users connectivity to Third Party
Data Feeds while providing Users the convenience of receiving such
Third Party Data Feeds within co-location, helping them tailor their
data center operations to the requirements of their business operations
by allowing them to select the form and latency of connectivity that
best suits their needs. The Exchange believes that its proposed charges
for connectivity to Third Party Data Feeds are similar to the
connectivity fees Nasdaq imposes on its co-location customers. For
instance, Nasdaq charges its co-location customers monthly fees of
$1,500 and $4,000 for connectivity to BATS Y and BATS, respectively,
and of $2,500 for connectivity to EDGA or EDGX.\32\
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\32\ See Nasdaq Stock Market Rule 7034.
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The Exchange believes that its connectivity fees for access to
Third Party Systems are reasonable because they allow the Exchange to
defray or cover the costs associated with offering such access while
providing Users the convenience of being able to access such Third
Party Systems, helping them tailor their data center operations to the
requirements of their business operations by allowing them to select
the form and latency of connectivity that best suits their needs.
Similarly, the Exchange believes that its fees for connectivity to DTCC
are reasonable because they allow the Exchange to defray or cover the
costs associated with offering such access while providing Users the
benefit of an efficient connection to clearing, fund transfer,
insurance, and settlement services.
The monthly recurring fees the Exchange charges Users for
connectivity to Third Party Systems, the MSCI and SuperFeed Third Party
Data Feeds, and DTCC, as well as for VCCs between Users, vary by the
bandwidth of the connection. The Exchange also believes such fees are
reasonable because the monthly recurring fee varies by the bandwidth of
the connection, and so is generally proportional to the bandwidth
required. The Exchange notes that some of the monthly recurring fees
for connectivity to SuperFeed and DTCC differ from the fees for the
other connections of the same bandwidth. The Exchange believes that
such difference in pricing is reasonable, equitably allocated and not
unfairly discriminatory because, although the bandwidth may be the
same, the competitive considerations and the costs the Exchange incurs
in providing such connections and VCCs may differ.
The Exchange also believes that its connectivity fees for access to
third party testing and certification feeds are reasonable because they
allow the Exchange to defray or cover the costs associated with
offering such access while providing Users the benefit of having an
environment in which to conduct tests with non-live data, including
testing for upcoming releases and product enhancements or the User's
own software development, and to certify conformance to any applicable
technical requirements.
The Exchange believes it is reasonable that redistribution fees
charged by providers of Third Party Data Feeds are passed through to
the User, without change to the fee. If not passed through, the cost of
the re-distribution fees would be factored into the proposed fees for
connectivity to Third Party Data Feeds. The Exchange believes that
passing through the fees makes them more transparent to the User,
allowing the User to better assess the cost of the connectivity to a
Third Party Data Feed by seeing the individual components of the cost,
i.e. the Exchange's fee and the redistribution fee.
The Exchange believes that it is reasonable that it does not charge
third party markets or content providers for connectivity to their own
Third Party Data Feeds, as in the Exchange's experience such parties
generally receive their own feeds for purposes of diagnostics and
testing. The Exchange believes that it removes impediments to, and
perfects the mechanisms of, a free and open market and a national
market system and, in general, protects investors and the public
interest to facilitate such diagnostics and testing.
Finally, the Exchange also believes that its fees for VCCs between
two Users are reasonable because they allow the Exchange to defray or
cover the costs associated with offering such VCCs while providing
Users the benefit of an additional option for connectivity to another
User, helping them tailor their data center operations to the
requirements of their business operations by allowing them to select
the form of connectivity that best suits their needs. As an alternative
to an Exchange-provided VCC, a User may connect to another User through
a cross connect.
For the reasons above, the proposed changes do not unfairly
discriminate between or among market participants that are otherwise
capable of satisfying any applicable co-location fees, requirements,
terms and conditions established from time to time by the Exchange.
For these reasons, the Exchange believes that the proposal is
consistent with the Act.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
In accordance with Section 6(b)(8) of the Act,\33\ the Exchange
believes that the proposed rule change will not impose any burden on
competition that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the
purposes of the Act because, in addition to the proposed services being
completely voluntary, they are available to all Users on an equal basis
(i.e. the same products and services are available to all Users).
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\33\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(8).
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The Exchange believes that providing Users with access to Third
Party Systems and connectivity to Third Party Data Feeds, third party
testing and certification feeds, and DTCC does not impose any burden on
competition that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the
purposes of the Act because such Access and Connectivity satisfies User
demand for access and connectivity options, and each User has several
other access and connectivity options available to it. As alternatives
to using the Access and Connectivity provided by the Exchange, a User
may access or connect to such services and products through another
User or through a connection to an Exchange access center outside the
data center, third party access center, or third party vendor. The User
may make such connection through a third party telecommunication
provider, third party wireless network, the SFTI network, or a
combination thereof. Users that opt to use Access or Connectivity would
not receive access or connectivity that is not available to all Users,
as all market participants that contract with the relevant market or
content provider may receive access or connectivity. In this way, the
proposed changes would enhance competition by helping Users tailor
their Access and Connectivity to the needs of their business operations
by allowing them to select the form and
[[Page 96114]]
latency of access and connectivity that best suits their needs.
Similarly, the Exchange believes that providing VCCs between Users
does not impose any burden on competition that is not necessary or
appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act because providing
VCCs satisfies User demand for an alternative to cross connects.
The Exchange believes that revising the Fee Schedules to provide a
more detailed description of the Access and Connectivity available to
Users would make such descriptions more accessible and transparent,
thereby providing market participants with clarity as to what Access
and Connectivity is available to them and what the related costs are,
thereby enhancing competition by ensuring that all Users have access to
the same information regarding Access and Connectivity.
Finally, the Exchange operates in a highly competitive market in
which exchanges offer co-location services as a means to facilitate the
trading and other market activities of those market participants who
believe that co-location enhances the efficiency of their operations.
Accordingly, fees charged for co-location services are constrained by
the active competition for the order flow of, and other business from,
such market participants. If a particular exchange charges excessive
fees for co-location services, affected market participants will opt to
terminate their co-location arrangements with that exchange, and adopt
a possible range of alternative strategies, including placing their
servers in a physically proximate location outside the exchange's data
center (which could be a competing exchange), or pursuing strategies
less dependent upon the lower exchange-to-participant latency
associated with co-location. Accordingly, the exchange charging
excessive fees would stand to lose not only co-location revenues but
also the liquidity of the formerly co-located trading firms, which
could have additional follow-on effects on the market share and revenue
of the affected exchange. For the reasons described above, the Exchange
believes that the proposed rule change reflects this competitive
environment.
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. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views and
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule
change, as amended by Amendment Nos. 1, 2, and 3 is consistent with the
Exchange 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-NYSEArca-2016-89 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-NYSEArca-2016-89. 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 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-NYSEArca-2016-89, and should be
submitted on or before January 19, 2017.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\34\
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\34\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-31485 Filed 12-28-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P