Browse: Departments Dates Agencies
DOCUMENT ID: [Release No. 34-57923; File No. SR-Phlx-2008-12]
SUBJECT CATEGORY: Self-Regulatory Organizations; Philadelphia Stock Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by Amendment No. 1 Thereto, Relating to an Exemption From Examination Requirements for Off-Floor Traders
DOCUMENT SUMMARY: June 4, 2008.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(``Act''),\1\ and Rule 19b4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that
on April 14, 2008, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, Inc. (``Phlx'' or
``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I, II
and III below, which Items have been prepared substantially by the
Exchange. On May 30, 2008, Phlx filed Amendment No. 1 to the proposed
rule change.\3\ The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit
comments on the proposed rule change, as amended, from interested persons.
\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\2\ 17 CFR 240.19b4.
\3\ Amendment No. 1 supersedes and replaces the original rule filing in its entirety.
I. SelfRegulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed Rule Change
Phlx proposes to amend Phlx Rule 604(e)(iii) to modify the category
of persons subject to an exemption from the requirement that OffFloor
Traders \4\ complete the Series 7 General Securities Registered Representative Examination (``Series 7'').
\4\ Phlx Rule 604(e)(i) defines an offfloor trader as a
``person who is compensated directly or indirectly by a member or
participant organization for which the Exchange is the DEA
[Designated Examining Authority], or any other associated person of
such member or participant organization, and who executes, makes
trading decisions with respect to, or otherwise engages in
proprietary or agency trading of securities, including, but not
limited to, equities, preferred securities, convertible debt securities or options off the floor of the Exchange.''
The text of the proposed rule change is available on Phlx's Web
site at http://www.phlx.com, at Phlx's principal office, and at the Commission's Public Reference Room.
II. SelfRegulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
In its filing with the Commission, Phlx 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. Phlx has prepared summaries, set forth in sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant aspects of such statements. A. SelfRegulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
Phlx Rule 604(e)(i) states that OffFloor Traders must successfully complete the Series 7. Currently, Phlx Rule 604(e)(iii) provides exceptions to the Series 7 requirement for OffFloor Traders. The purpose of the proposed rule change is to modify the category of persons allowed an exemption from the requirement that OffFloor Traders complete the Series 7. Phlx believes this proposed change would better capture the floorbased activities of Former Floor Participants, as defined below, in the exception from the Series 7 requirement, make the administration of the Series 7 requirements for OffFloor Traders more efficient, and improve Phlx's examination and enforcement efforts.
Background. Phlx adopted Rule 604(e) in 1999. At that time, Phlx
stated that it believed the Series 7 requirement would primarily apply
to persons ``associated with limited liability companies (``LLC'') for
the purpose of trading securities off the floor of the Exchange for the
firm's account.'' \5\ These persons are also known as ``Day Traders.''
Phlx stated that these Day Traders ``generally become members of an LLC
to avail themselves of good faith margin provided through the LLC's
Joint Back Office agreement with its clearing agent.'' \6\ In 1999,
equity trading on Phlx took place on a physical trading floor. Persons
who traded on Phlx's equity trading floor were associated with either a
specialist organization, or a floor brokerage organization that
executed orders on an agency basis and were not, by definition, Off
Floor Traders. Therefore, they were not subject to the requirement in Phlx Rule 604(e)(i) to successfully complete the Series 7.
\5\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 41776 (August 20, 1999), 64 FR 47214 (August 30, 1999) (SRPhlx9907).
Phlx eliminated the physical equity trading floor in 2006 and
replaced it with XLE, an electronic equity trading system.\7\ At the
time of the transition to XLE, persons trading on Phlx's equity trading
floor were associated with either a specialist organization or a floor
brokerage organization that executed orders on an agency basis. Those
persons (``Former Floor Participants'') then became participants in
XLE; however, because there was no longer any physical trading floor,
these Former Floor Participants became OffFloor Traders for purposes
of Phlx Rule 604(e)(i) and were, therefore, subject to the Series 7 requirement.
\7\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 54538 (September 28, 2006), 71 FR 59184 (October 6, 2006) (SRPhlx200643).
Phlx did not intend for the transition to XLE to require Former
Floor Participants to become subject to the Series 7 requirement, so
Phlx adopted an exception to the Series 7 requirement (``XLE
Participant Exemption'').\8\ The XLE Participant Exemption is available
to those persons who are ``primarily engaged'' in either submitting
orders to XLE, or making trading decisions with respect to trading on
XLE. Phlx intended that the XLE Participant Exemption would cover
Former Floor Participants and maintain the status quo ante; Former
Floor Participants would not be subject to the Series 7 requirement.
Phlx proposes to modify this XLE Participant Exemption as discussed below.
\8\ The XLE Participant Exemption is in the second half of Phlx
Rule 604(e)(iii) and refers to an OffFloor Trader ``who is
primarily engaged in (A) submitting proprietary or agency orders for
execution on XLE, or (B) making trading decisions with respect to trading on XLE.'' Phlx proposes to modify this provision.
Current Situation. Currently, there are approximately 27 persons in
four member organizations that are Former Floor Participants. In order
to determine if a Former Floor Participant qualifies for the XLE
Participant Exemption, first, the Former Floor Participant and then,
Phlx examination staff consider all of the activity performed by a
Former Floor Participant and compare that to trading activity on XLE.
If Phlx determines to bring an enforcement action for noncompliance
with Phlx Rule 604(e), Phlx enforcement staff must successfully allege
that the Former Floor Participant was not ``primarily engaged'' in the
activity stated in the XLE Participant Exemption. Phlx wants to continue to exempt Former Floor
[[Page 33480]]
Participants from the Series 7 requirement but believes a modification
of the XLE Participant Exemption would assist its examination and enforcement efforts regarding the Series 7 requirement.
Proposal. Phlx therefore proposes to modify the exemption to apply
to Market Maker Authorized Traders \9\ (``MMATs'') and OffFloor
Traders who solely handle and/or make trading decisions regarding
agency orders and any bona fide errors \10\ related to those agency
orders (``Agency Brokers''). Phlx believes that the proposal would
maintain an exemption for Former Floor Participants who are OffFloor
Traders but would still require Day Traders to successfully complete the Series 7.\11\
\9\ See Phlx Rule 1(m).
\10\ If an Agency Broker makes an error in executing an order
for its customer, for example purchasing 100 shares of symbol IBC
instead of symbol IBM as instructed by the customer, the Agency
Broker has an error. The method used to correct this error involves
the Agency Broker taking the security purchased in error, 100 shares
of IBC, in its error account (See Phlx Rule 703(c)(vi)), which is a
proprietary account solely for the handling of errors. Then the
Agency Broker purchases the correct security for its customer. The
Agency Broker then must make a proprietary transaction to close out
the position in its error account, in this case a sale of the 100 shares of IBC.
\11\ Phlx believes that, at the time of filing of Amendment No.
1, everyone that would have qualified for the XLE Participant
Exemption would also qualify for the proposed exemption, and no
person other than Former Floor Participants would qualify for the proposed exemption.
MMATs are those persons associated with Market Makers \12\ who
perform the market maker functions for the Market Maker. MMATs
correspond to specialists, the former market makers on the physical
equity trading floor. MMATs are required to register with Phlx and
therefore are easily identified. MMATs, by virtue of their
responsibilities to constantly maintain orders on XLE, focus on trading
on XLE and are not functioning as Day Traders that routinely trade at
multiple venues. Also, because Day Traders trade for their own account,
they would not, by definition, qualify for the exemption for Agency
Brokers. Agency Brokers correspond to former floor brokerage
organizations that handled agency orders while on the former physical
equity trading floor.\13\ Some Agency Brokers, including Former Floor
Participants, may trade primarily on markets other than Phlx and would
therefore not qualify for the XLE Participant Exemption.\14\ Further,
Phlx has proposed Supplementary Material to Phlx Rule 604 which states
that the Series 7 requirement and exemption for MMATs in Phlx Rule
604(e) is independent of the requirements applicable to MMATs in Phlx Rule 171(b)(5).
\12\ See Phlx Rule 1(l).
\13\ Phlx Rule 604(a) requires anyone who conducts a public
business or has duties customarily performed by a Registered
Representative to maintain an effective Series 7 or equivalent
predecessor examination/registration. This provision is independent
of Phlx Rule 604(e)(iii) and not affected by this proposal.
\14\ The proposed exemption at Phlx would not preclude the
effect of the rules regarding the Series 7 at other markets.
The proposed exemption would focus on either the status of or the type of activity performed by the Former Floor Participant, not on the relative amount of activity done on XLE. This should simplify the process for Phlx examination staff because XLE Participants need to register with the Exchange to be a MMAT, so the determination of MMAT status is straightforward. In addition, Phlx staff can examine what type of orders (agency or proprietary) OffFloor Traders handle for net capital purposes and could identify whether OffFloor Traders would qualify for the proposed exemption. Phlx believes that the proposed exemption would enable Phlx staff to more efficiently examine for compliance with Phlx Rule 604(e) and, if necessary, to conduct enforcement activities than the current XLE Participant Exemption. 2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that its proposal is consistent with Section
6(b) of the Act \15\ in general, and furthers the objectives of Section
6(b)(5) of the Act \16\ in particular, in that it is designed to
promote just and equitable principles of trade, to remove impediments
to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and a national
market system, and, in general to protect investors and the public
interest. Phlx believes that modifying the category of persons allowed
an exemption from the requirement that OffFloor Traders complete the
Series 7 will make the administration of the Series 7 requirements for
OffFloor Traders at Phlx more efficient, improve Phlx's examination
and enforcement efforts, and better capture the former floorbased
activities of Former Floor Participants that are excepted from the Series 7 requirement.
\15\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
\16\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
B. SelfRegulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
Phlx does not believe that the proposed rule change will impose any
burden on competition not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
C. SelfRegulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others
No written comments were either solicited or received. III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for Commission Action
Within 35 days of the date of publication of this notice in the
Federal Register or within such longer period (i) as the Commission may
designate up to 90 days of such date if it finds such longer period to
be appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding, or (ii) as to which the Phlx consents, the Commission will:
(A) By order approve such proposed rule change, or
(B) Institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule change should be disapproved.
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule
change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
Electronic Comments
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated authority.\17\
\17\ 17 CFR 200.303(a)(12).
Florence E. Harmon,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. E813157 Filed 61108; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 801001P
SUMMARY: Philadelphia Stock Exchange, Inc.,
DOCUMENT BODY 2: June 4, 2008.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(``Act''),\1\ and Rule 19b4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that
on April 14, 2008, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, Inc. (``Phlx'' or
``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I, II
and III below, which Items have been prepared substantially by the
Exchange. On May 30, 2008, Phlx filed Amendment No. 1 to the proposed
rule change.\3\ The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit
comments on the proposed rule change, as amended, from interested persons.
\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\2\ 17 CFR 240.19b4.
\3\ Amendment No. 1 supersedes and replaces the original rule filing in its entirety.
I. SelfRegulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed Rule Change
Phlx proposes to amend Phlx Rule 604(e)(iii) to modify the category
of persons subject to an exemption from the requirement that OffFloor
Traders \4\ complete the Series 7 General Securities Registered Representative Examination (``Series 7'').
\4\ Phlx Rule 604(e)(i) defines an offfloor trader as a
``person who is compensated directly or indirectly by a member or
participant organization for which the Exchange is the DEA
[Designated Examining Authority], or any other associated person of
such member or participant organization, and who executes, makes
trading decisions with respect to, or otherwise engages in
proprietary or agency trading of securities, including, but not
limited to, equities, preferred securities, convertible debt securities or options off the floor of the Exchange.''
The text of the proposed rule change is available on Phlx's Web
site at http://www.phlx.com, at Phlx's principal office, and at the Commission's Public Reference Room.
II. SelfRegulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
In its filing with the Commission, Phlx 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. Phlx has prepared summaries, set forth in sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant aspects of such statements. A. SelfRegulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
Phlx Rule 604(e)(i) states that OffFloor Traders must successfully complete the Series 7. Currently, Phlx Rule 604(e)(iii) provides exceptions to the Series 7 requirement for OffFloor Traders. The purpose of the proposed rule change is to modify the category of persons allowed an exemption from the requirement that OffFloor Traders complete the Series 7. Phlx believes this proposed change would better capture the floorbased activities of Former Floor Participants, as defined below, in the exception from the Series 7 requirement, make the administration of the Series 7 requirements for OffFloor Traders more efficient, and improve Phlx's examination and enforcement efforts.
Background. Phlx adopted Rule 604(e) in 1999. At that time, Phlx
stated that it believed the Series 7 requirement would primarily apply
to persons ``associated with limited liability companies (``LLC'') for
the purpose of trading securities off the floor of the Exchange for the
firm's account.'' \5\ These persons are also known as ``Day Traders.''
Phlx stated that these Day Traders ``generally become members of an LLC
to avail themselves of good faith margin provided through the LLC's
Joint Back Office agreement with its clearing agent.'' \6\ In 1999,
equity trading on Phlx took place on a physical trading floor. Persons
who traded on Phlx's equity trading floor were associated with either a
specialist organization, or a floor brokerage organization that
executed orders on an agency basis and were not, by definition, Off
Floor Traders. Therefore, they were not subject to the requirement in Phlx Rule 604(e)(i) to successfully complete the Series 7.
\5\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 41776 (August 20, 1999), 64 FR 47214 (August 30, 1999) (SRPhlx9907).
Phlx eliminated the physical equity trading floor in 2006 and
replaced it with XLE, an electronic equity trading system.\7\ At the
time of the transition to XLE, persons trading on Phlx's equity trading
floor were associated with either a specialist organization or a floor
brokerage organization that executed orders on an agency basis. Those
persons (``Former Floor Participants'') then became participants in
XLE; however, because there was no longer any physical trading floor,
these Former Floor Participants became OffFloor Traders for purposes
of Phlx Rule 604(e)(i) and were, therefore, subject to the Series 7 requirement.
\7\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 54538 (September 28, 2006), 71 FR 59184 (October 6, 2006) (SRPhlx200643).
Phlx did not intend for the transition to XLE to require Former
Floor Participants to become subject to the Series 7 requirement, so
Phlx adopted an exception to the Series 7 requirement (``XLE
Participant Exemption'').\8\ The XLE Participant Exemption is available
to those persons who are ``primarily engaged'' in either submitting
orders to XLE, or making trading decisions with respect to trading on
XLE. Phlx intended that the XLE Participant Exemption would cover
Former Floor Participants and maintain the status quo ante; Former
Floor Participants would not be subject to the Series 7 requirement.
Phlx proposes to modify this XLE Participant Exemption as discussed below.
\8\ The XLE Participant Exemption is in the second half of Phlx
Rule 604(e)(iii) and refers to an OffFloor Trader ``who is
primarily engaged in (A) submitting proprietary or agency orders for
execution on XLE, or (B) making trading decisions with respect to trading on XLE.'' Phlx proposes to modify this provision.
Current Situation. Currently, there are approximately 27 persons in
four member organizations that are Former Floor Participants. In order
to determine if a Former Floor Participant qualifies for the XLE
Participant Exemption, first, the Former Floor Participant and then,
Phlx examination staff consider all of the activity performed by a
Former Floor Participant and compare that to trading activity on XLE.
If Phlx determines to bring an enforcement action for noncompliance
with Phlx Rule 604(e), Phlx enforcement staff must successfully allege
that the Former Floor Participant was not ``primarily engaged'' in the
activity stated in the XLE Participant Exemption. Phlx wants to continue to exempt Former Floor
[[Page 33480]]
Participants from the Series 7 requirement but believes a modification
of the XLE Participant Exemption would assist its examination and enforcement efforts regarding the Series 7 requirement.
Proposal. Phlx therefore proposes to modify the exemption to apply
to Market Maker Authorized Traders \9\ (``MMATs'') and OffFloor
Traders who solely handle and/or make trading decisions regarding
agency orders and any bona fide errors \10\ related to those agency
orders (``Agency Brokers''). Phlx believes that the proposal would
maintain an exemption for Former Floor Participants who are OffFloor
Traders but would still require Day Traders to successfully complete the Series 7.\11\
\9\ See Phlx Rule 1(m).
\10\ If an Agency Broker makes an error in executing an order
for its customer, for example purchasing 100 shares of symbol IBC
instead of symbol IBM as instructed by the customer, the Agency
Broker has an error. The method used to correct this error involves
the Agency Broker taking the security purchased in error, 100 shares
of IBC, in its error account (See Phlx Rule 703(c)(vi)), which is a
proprietary account solely for the handling of errors. Then the
Agency Broker purchases the correct security for its customer. The
Agency Broker then must make a proprietary transaction to close out
the position in its error account, in this case a sale of the 100 shares of IBC.
\11\ Phlx believes that, at the time of filing of Amendment No.
1, everyone that would have qualified for the XLE Participant
Exemption would also qualify for the proposed exemption, and no
person other than Former Floor Participants would qualify for the proposed exemption.
MMATs are those persons associated with Market Makers \12\ who
perform the market maker functions for the Market Maker. MMATs
correspond to specialists, the former market makers on the physical
equity trading floor. MMATs are required to register with Phlx and
therefore are easily identified. MMATs, by virtue of their
responsibilities to constantly maintain orders on XLE, focus on trading
on XLE and are not functioning as Day Traders that routinely trade at
multiple venues. Also, because Day Traders trade for their own account,
they would not, by definition, qualify for the exemption for Agency
Brokers. Agency Brokers correspond to former floor brokerage
organizations that handled agency orders while on the former physical
equity trading floor.\13\ Some Agency Brokers, including Former Floor
Participants, may trade primarily on markets other than Phlx and would
therefore not qualify for the XLE Participant Exemption.\14\ Further,
Phlx has proposed Supplementary Material to Phlx Rule 604 which states
that the Series 7 requirement and exemption for MMATs in Phlx Rule
604(e) is independent of the requirements applicable to MMATs in Phlx Rule 171(b)(5).
\12\ See Phlx Rule 1(l).
\13\ Phlx Rule 604(a) requires anyone who conducts a public
business or has duties customarily performed by a Registered
Representative to maintain an effective Series 7 or equivalent
predecessor examination/registration. This provision is independent
of Phlx Rule 604(e)(iii) and not affected by this proposal.
\14\ The proposed exemption at Phlx would not preclude the
effect of the rules regarding the Series 7 at other markets.
The proposed exemption would focus on either the status of or the type of activity performed by the Former Floor Participant, not on the relative amount of activity done on XLE. This should simplify the process for Phlx examination staff because XLE Participants need to register with the Exchange to be a MMAT, so the determination of MMAT status is straightforward. In addition, Phlx staff can examine what type of orders (agency or proprietary) OffFloor Traders handle for net capital purposes and could identify whether OffFloor Traders would qualify for the proposed exemption. Phlx believes that the proposed exemption would enable Phlx staff to more efficiently examine for compliance with Phlx Rule 604(e) and, if necessary, to conduct enforcement activities than the current XLE Participant Exemption. 2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that its proposal is consistent with Section
6(b) of the Act \15\ in general, and furthers the objectives of Section
6(b)(5) of the Act \16\ in particular, in that it is designed to
promote just and equitable principles of trade, to remove impediments
to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and a national
market system, and, in general to protect investors and the public
interest. Phlx believes that modifying the category of persons allowed
an exemption from the requirement that OffFloor Traders complete the
Series 7 will make the administration of the Series 7 requirements for
OffFloor Traders at Phlx more efficient, improve Phlx's examination
and enforcement efforts, and better capture the former floorbased
activities of Former Floor Participants that are excepted from the Series 7 requirement.
\15\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
\16\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
B. SelfRegulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
Phlx does not believe that the proposed rule change will impose any
burden on competition not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
C. SelfRegulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others
No written comments were either solicited or received. III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for Commission Action
Within 35 days of the date of publication of this notice in the
Federal Register or within such longer period (i) as the Commission may
designate up to 90 days of such date if it finds such longer period to
be appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding, or (ii) as to which the Phlx consents, the Commission will:
(A) By order approve such proposed rule change, or
(B) Institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule change should be disapproved.
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule
change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
Electronic Comments
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated authority.\17\
\17\ 17 CFR 200.303(a)(12).
Florence E. Harmon,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. E813157 Filed 61108; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 801001P
14 CFR Part 39 40 CFR Part 52 14 CFR Part 71 33 CFR Part 165 50 CFR Part 679 47 CFR Part 73 26 CFR Part 1 40 CFR Part 180 33 CFR Part 117 50 CFR Part 17 44 CFR Part 67 50 CFR Part 648 14 CFR Part 97 33 CFR Part 100 40 CFR Part 63 50 CFR Part 622 44 CFR Part 65 50 CFR Part 660 26 CFR Part 301 39 CFR Part 111 40 CFR Part 300 6 CFR Part 5 40 CFR Part 271 47 CFR Part 64 40 CFR Parts 52 and 81 50 CFR Part 665 44 CFR Part 64 10 CFR Part 50 49 CFR Part 571 47 CFR Part 76