BATS Global Markets (BATS) formally filed a petition for rulemaking on market structure reform with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and issued a call-to-action to the industry, urging participants to engage in a constructive dialogue to improve the already healthy U.S. equity market for all investors.
“We certainly have strong thoughts on how to improve the highly efficient, fair and transparent U.S. equity market and the opinions of all participants are critical if there is to be true regulatory reform”
The petition was filed on January 21st and published to the SEC’s website January 29th. In an open letter to the industry in early January, BATS CEO Joe Ratterman and President Chris Concannon announced the company’s proposal to drive regulatory reform that would primarily:
1. Reduce potentially excessive incentives to provide liquidity in the most active securities.
2. Empower institutional and retail investors by providing them more - and better quality - information regarding the manner in which their orders are handled.
“We certainly have strong thoughts on how to improve the highly efficient, fair and transparent U.S. equity market and the opinions of all participants are critical if there is to be true regulatory reform,” Mr. Ratterman said. “We urge everyone in the industry to engage in a formal, constructive dialogue with the SEC in order to drive incremental improvements for all investors.”
Under the BATS proposal, the company estimates that market-wide savings may exceed $850 million annually for those accessing exchange liquidity in the 200 most actively traded U.S. stocks.
Industry participants who support any, all or none of the proposals from BATS are asked to file their comments with the SEC by sending a letter or email that references BATS Petition 4-680 to rule-comments@sec.gov.