EMA submitted testimony for the record to the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship and Capital Markets., on the “Oversight of America’s Stock Exchanges: Examining Their Role in Our Economy.” Read the testimony here:
EMA Statement on SEC Staff Report on Equity and Options Market Structure Conditions in Early 2021
The SEC staff report correctly notes, “The extreme volatility in meme stocks in January 2021 tested the capacity and resiliency of our securities markets in a way that few could have anticipated.” U.S. exchanges were able to handle those events successfully as a result of meticulous capacity planning, engineering talent system programming and vigorous testing that allow U.S. exchanges to handle extreme market turbulence, providing a forum for investors to manage their risk and in many cases access the cash they needed in the midst of trying times. The EMA hopes that the SEC will focus on strengthening displayed markets and the value of the public quote they provide for investors.
EMA's Letter to SEC Chair Gary Gensler
June 8, 2021
The Honorable Gary Gensler
Chair
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F Street, NE
Washington, DC 20549
Dear Chair Gensler:
On behalf of the Equity Markets Association (“EMA”), congratulations on your confirmation as the 33rd Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. You bring a wealth of market experience across many asset classes at a critical time for the Commission.
Established in 2015, the EMA provides federal policymakers, regulators and investors with in-depth analysis on important issues that impact the U.S. capital markets. Its members, Cboe Global Markets, Nasdaq, and NYSE Group, believe in fair and transparent markets that incentivize capital formation and ensure a robust secondary market for trading securities.
Operating our nation’s equity markets for more than 225 years, U.S. exchanges have developed robust real-time and post-trade regulatory capabilities that make them a vital partner to the Commission in protecting U.S. investors. Exchanges are uniquely positioned to fulfill their obligations as self-regulatory organizations (SROs), enhancing the Commission’s mission to protect investors and foster fair, orderly, and efficient markets in an increasingly complex environment.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States, U.S. equity and options markets and their members have unquestionably demonstrated resiliency by handling historic volatility, message traffic and the repeated activation of market-wide circuit breakers. Our displayed markets — the reference prices for trillions of dollars of equities, options, mutual funds, ETFs, and derivatives — stood strong under severe pressure. Simply stated, our markets continue to instill confidence at a time when investors and issuers are coming to the market in greater numbers than ever.
Meticulous capacity planning, engineering talent and deep client relationships allowed EMA members to handle the huge spikes in message traffic and volume. These outcomes were not by sheer luck; they were the result of intensive planning, system programming and vigorous testing that allowed the U.S. exchanges to handle extreme market turbulence, providing a forum for investors to manage their risk and in many cases access the cash they needed in the midst of trying times. This outcome was also part and parcel of a robust trusted relationship between the markets and the SEC built over many decades.
Markets demand operational and regulatory certainty - regulators should be thoughtful and cautious when changing those rules. As demonstrated over the past year, the U.S. securities markets are not broken, and the overall investor experience is better than ever. Market structure reform raises highly complex regulatory issues. EMA members support incremental and thoughtful improvements to the well-functioning market infrastructure we have today and believe that it would be valuable for the Commission to focus anew on the issues impacting market participants, including newly active retail investors. With nearly 50% of the executions of U.S. equities regularly occurring on trading venues other than exchanges, the essential function of price discovery is increasingly impaired. In addition, the EMA is hopeful that the new Commission will focus on strengthening displayed markets and the value of the public quote they provide for investors.
Recognizing our SRO responsibilities, we look forward to supporting you and the Commission in protecting investors. Specifically, this means continuing to implement a Consolidated Audit Trail that provides the Commission and SROs with data to detect and investigate market manipulation and other securities law violations. This mission must not be thwarted by those arguing to limit SROs’ access to data and ability to regulate industry members, the raisin d’etre of the CAT. We should instead focus on implementing already agreed upon safeguards to limit the collection of and protect personally identifiable information.
The EMA is ready to work with you, your staff and the Commission on proposals that solve problems and advance market structure changes. We look forward to a partnership that enhances transparency and levels the playing field for all trading venues and investors.
Sincerely,
Kevin R. Edgar
Counsel, Equity Markets Association
Counsel, Baker & Hostetler LLP
Statement on the Confirmation of Gary Gensler
The Equity Markets Association congratulates Gary Gensler on his confirmation to serve as the 33rd Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. EMA looks forward to working with Chairman Gensler and his staff to promote a fair and transparent marketplace, which incentivizes capital formation and ensures a robust secondary market for trading securities.
EMA Joins Letter to New York's Governor Cuomo Opposing the Stock Transaction Tax
On February 3, 2020, the Equity Markets Association joined 30 organizations in sending a letter to New York’s Governor, Andrew Cuomo, and New York state legislative leaders opposing the the re-imposition of the state’s Stock Transaction Tax (STT). The letter was also sent to the New York State Senate President and the Speaker of the New York State Assembly. EMA cannot express strongly enough the economic harm a STT could have on the state’s retirement savers, investors, businesses and the economy.
EMA Statement on the SEC's Market Data Infrastructure Rulemaking
By hastily approving this plan without seeking industry consensus, the SEC is recklessly pursuing an agenda that will make our markets less fair at precisely the moment when they are most needed to help drive our economic recovery.
Transaction Tax will cost U.S. savers, pensioners and ultimately hurt N.J.
As New Jersey struggles under a large deficit due, in part, to the pandemic, some state legislators believe they have found a path toward fiscal health in a proposed financial transaction tax, or FTT. In reality, this is not a solution to the Garden State’s debilitating deficit. Rather, it’s yet another way to tax Main Street, in New Jersey and beyond. These days, especially, Main Street doesn’t need another tax.
The idea is to tax every trade done at “high quantity” data processors situated in the state. All of the major stock exchanges in the U.S., including Cboe Global Markets, Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange, have data centers in New Jersey, meaning the FTT will tax nearly every transaction in U.S. financial markets — no matter where the trade originates. Indeed, if the aim in New Jersey is to raise “tens of billions” of dollars, then the FTT will ultimately be passed on to Main Street investors, the already overburdened average taxpayers with 401(k) accounts, savings accounts and mortgages.
Our members, which include Nasdaq, NYSE, and Cboe, have an obligation to obtain the best execution at the lowest possible cost. New Jersey’s approach will cost American workers and savers, will disrupt capital markets, and might be illegal. Ramming a tax through the legal process is no slam dunk.
The FTT would also be completely ineffective. Data processors are highly portable, meaning they can theoretically be moved anywhere in the U.S. Their current home in New Jersey is largely the product of an era when proximity to financial centers like New York was important.
Technology has changed that. All of the exchanges already operate multiple data centers. If the FTT were imposed, the ease with which exchanges could move them to a new location essentially means exchanges would be obligated to move their data centers as stewards of effective financial markets. Selecting the state with the lowest cost is part of an exchange’s duty to American investors.
Beyond that, it’s worth considering whether the FTT would work on its own terms. A President Barack Obama-era CBO study found transaction-based taxes to be ineffective as budget deficit reduction mechanisms, as they depend on volume and are, therefore, unpredictable. The fact that this FTT has not been included in the New Jersey state budget for fiscal 2021 is a tacit admission of this fact.
The FTT would likely also hurt New Jersey’s economy. Should these data centers relocate, it would cost the state meaningful jobs. It would also hit New Jersey’s public pension funds by increasing investment management costs, funds which already struggle under an estimated $70 billion in unfunded liabilities.
The FTT is a tax on the rest of the U.S., as well. Most prominently, it would hurt Main Street investors everywhere, especially retirees, who are dependent on market investments for income and returns from pensions and retirement accounts, which will decrease if the cost of trading is elevated. Further, the FTT would increase the cost of trading mortgage-backed securities and raise Treasury benchmark rates. This would likely make mortgage rates steeper for every homebuyer at a time they can ill afford it.
The FTT is far from innovative. It has been tried before — and failed. New York City implemented a financial transaction tax, but did away with it in 1966, even as it endured severe fiscal hardship through the 1970s. It has also been tried repeatedly, without success, outside the U.S. Sweden imposed such a tax twice, and regretted it both times, repealing it after liquidity fell and tax revenues were disappointing. France and Italy attempted it as well. Both saw a marked decrease in trading volumes, and Italy suffered a notable increase in volatility and trading costs as the bid-ask spread widened.
The FTT is a regressive tax that would not work for anyone. It would weaken capital markets, hurt New Jersey’s economy, and harm millions of investors across America who have savings accounts, retirement funds, and mortgages. It has been tried before and has failed to raise anywhere close to projected revenues. The U.S. needs a strong economy to recover from COVID-19, and now is not the time to implement a tax that will ultimately only land another low blow on retirees and American workers.
Kevin R. Edgar is counsel to the Equity Markets Association and counsel at BakerHostetler LLP.
https://www.roi-nj.com/2020/09/25/opinion/op-ed/transaction-tax-will-cost-u-s-savers-pensioners-and-ultimately-hurt-n-j/
EMA Statement on the Proposed New Jersey Financial Transaction Tax
A financial transaction tax is a recycled idea with a lousy track record – all over the world. It’s short and long-term impacts would incentivize entities to move trading infrastructure out of New Jersey and would destroy the state’s standing as the financial data center of the U.S.
EMA Submits Comment Letter on the SEC's Market Data Infrastructure Proposal
Today, the Equity Markets Association (EMA) shared its concerns about the Securities and Exchange Commission’s “Market Data Infrastructure Proposal.” The comment letter shared with the Commission that U.S. equity and options markets can handle historic volatility, message traffic and the repeated activation of market-wide circuit breakers and contributed to confidence at a time when the markets desperately needed it. EMA members support incremental, thoughtful improvements to the well-functioning market infrastructure we have today, not a rush to make risky and ill-considered changes, the benefits of which are unclear and do not outweigh the harm. The EMA is ready to work with the Commission on proposals that solve problems and advance market structure changes that enhance transparency and level the playing field for all trading venues and investors. The EMA comment letter can be found here: https://www.sec.gov/comments/s7-03-20/s70320-7363898-218807.pdf
EMA Statement on the Transaction Fee Pilot Decision
For the second time in as many weeks, a Federal Court has found the SEC to have exceeded its authority. The Transaction Fee Pilot was a mistake that if put into place would have brought many unknown consequences for the investing public and the companies that list on the exchanges. There are better, less harmful and less costly solutions we can enact to improve our markets.
EMA Statement on DC Circuit Court Ruling
The Equity Markets Association is pleased that the D.C. Circuit court has ruled the Securities and Exchange Commission overreached its powers when it followed a financial lobby in taking up this case. This ruling is a victory for the rule of law and free and fair competition. ~
Equity Markets and the COVID-19 Pandemic Webinar Recording
Equity Markets and the COVID-19 Pandemic Webinar
Link to the Recording
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=i9tZZVHJBYE&feature=emb_logo
June 2 Webinar: Equity Markets and the COVID-19 Pandemic
Tuesday, June 2, 2020
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. EDT
Don’t miss this chance to hear the valuable perspectives of high-profile executives from NYSE, NASDAQ and CBOE Global Markets. We will discuss market operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, the SEC’s regulatory initiatives affecting exchanges, and policy matters of interest.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States, U.S. equity and options markets members have demonstrated that our markets are resilient and can handle historic volatility, message traffic and the repeated activation of market-wide circuit breakers. Please join BakerHostetler and the Equity Markets Association (EMA) for this timely webinar.
To register:
https://www.bakerlaw.com/events/webinar-equity-markets-and-the-covid-19-pandemic
Statement from the Equity Markets Association
Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States, EMA members have demonstrated that our markets are resilient and can handle historic volatility, message traffic and the repeated activation of market-wide circuit breakers. The exchanges, which exist to protect the investing public, have been ordered to revise the currently efficient market system into one that hands over voting power to major financial institutions with conflicting interests. The SEC should not unnecessarily be adding to market risk by introducing eccentric governance changes during times of great volatility. While we welcome a collaborative dialogue to improve the SIP and the operation of our markets, today’s SEC action does little to help retail investors or our economy. ~
Statement from the Equity Markets Association
EMA members create and steward the delivery of a vast majority of U.S. market data, and we welcome a dialogue to improve the SIP, providing we do not disrupt the unparalleled fairness, depth and robust nature of these markets that provide extraordinary benefits to all investors and our economy.
Ferguson op-ed: U.S. stock markets put investors first
The Hill
Public exchanges today offer trading and data services that are more valuable, efficient and resilient than at any time in history and at the lowest cost to investors. Recent suggestions otherwise by exchange critics are unfortunate and overlook several important realities about how our capital markets work today.
Public exchanges today offer trading and data services that are more valuable, efficient and resilient than at any time in history and at the lowest cost to investors. Recent suggestions otherwise by exchange critics are unfortunate and overlook several important realities about how our capital markets work today.
For starters, all capital markets participants are “for profit” — investors, market makers, banks, brokers, venue operators, issuers, traders and everyone else. There is no such thing as a not-for-profit capital markets participant.
When today’s for-profit national securities exchanges were still member-owned, it was the broker members who retained the profits exchanges earned, enabling the exchanges to remain technically “not-for-profit.”
But then and today, public exchanges remain the most heavily regulated and transparent participants in our capital markets. They are required to compete with over 50 alternative trading systems, more commonly known as dark pools, which are all run by financial institutions and on which 40 percent of equities trading occurs.
In contrast to public exchanges, dark pools are subject to lighter regulation and can discriminate among customers by negotiating undisclosed fee arrangements with each of them.
This complex, fragmented market structure is a result of the Regulation National Market System (Reg NMS), not exchanges’ ownership structure. Reg NMS precipitated the need for market participants to demand greater access to information and connectivity at faster and faster speeds.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) introduced Reg NMS with the stated goal of creating greater competition for exchanges and other trading venues at the behest of investors seeking lower costs to trade. It also promoted the use of automated trading systems at the expense of manual open outcry trading floors.
This has forced exchanges to evolve and modernize. But this also required significant systemic and technological changes. Becoming listed entities in their own right enabled exchanges to access the capital markets — like any other for-profit entity — to make the technology investments to compete and deliver the services their clients demand.
Reg NMS was successful in its goal. We now have more than 13 equities exchanges competing aggressively for both listings and trading market-share. This competition is what constrains prices for the well-funded trading firms that buy proprietary data.
The exchanges compete not only for consumers of analytical, data and index products, but for the order flow that is the very lifeblood of their existence.
Adding to this landscape, they also compete against their own clients — large investment banks and broker dealers, who through these Reg NMS changes are even better able to act as quasi exchanges by matching the buy and sell orders received from their clients without sending them to an exchange.
In this more-fragmented market, data and access are critically important. Price discovery and trade execution are more efficient today because of public exchanges’ investments in technology, not in spite of them.
Lit quotes — posted by liquidity providers on public exchanges — are the raw material that allow every market participant to trade with confidence. They even power the dark pools, which rely on displayed quotes from the public exchanges to match buyers and sellers on their internal trading platforms.
The reality is transaction costs for investors are the lowest they’ve ever been. They also enjoy instant access to robust real-time market data on their smartphones, for free.
This is no accident; it’s the result of significant investment by exchanges to ensure ”The Tape” is of the highest quality and speed, all while the cost to investors has declined.
Given that the majority of retail trades are executed in the dark pools, shouldn’t the SEC focus its attention there rather than on a corner of the market that is already the most transparent and heavily regulated?
The path recently proposed will push more and more trading onto the dark pools, and that will lead to a significant erosion of market quality as the percentage of the market represented by lit quotes declines.
The answer to strengthening the quality of our free market is in free-market principles, not government price-fixing. If exchanges are turned into public utilities, then competition decreases, and investors will ultimately lose.
Furthermore, there is no evidence that government price-fixing will have any impact on individual investors, particularly when it does not appear that the prices will be fixed everywhere a trade can happen, data can be sold or technology services can be provided.
Selective overregulation of exchanges, through pilots or otherwise, without consideration of the other 40 percent of the market where transactions occur is more likely to simply be an additional boost to the record profits of big Wall Street firms and unregulated third-party data providers who are looking for government intervention to minimize their costs. Exchanges believe customers are best suited to control costs in a competitive environment.
Today, the fees that exchanges charge for data services are reasonable. In fact, our collective revenues are one one-tenth of the $12 billion in revenues collected by thid-party data providers who take exchange data and resell it to market participants at significant markups.
According to the dark pools, we should put our faith in them. We can’t see what’s happening there, so we’ll just have to trust them.
Free markets operate best when providers compete in a transparent environment. The well-funded institutions would benefit from government price controls, but in the end, the individual investor pays the price for stifled competition.
Former Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-N.J.) is the executive director of the Equity Markets Association, a cooperative whose membership includes the Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange. He is a senior advisor of Baker Hostetler.
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/408998-us-stock-markets-put-investors-first
The Stock Market is in Good Hands
Mike Ferguson and Mike Williams
Equity Markets Association
In this op-ed, Mike Ferguson and Mike Williams at the Equity Markets Association argue that a recent transparency initiative shows that stock market infrastructure is in good hands.
The association was founded by Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, and NASDAQ.
“Some critics have recently called into question the effectiveness of our market,” they write. “And to be sure, we are not immune to imperfections. But we are proud to be an industry that mandates specific processes for continual review, investment, and improvement.”
American investors today benefit from an efficient, well-regulated and easily accessible financial system that is both trusted and respected globally.
This means that all investors—from sophisticated financial institutions to average American workers with 401(k) accounts—can now transact in securities more easily and cheaply, using far better information, than ever before.
Some critics have recently called into question the effectiveness of our market. And to be sure, we are not immune to imperfections. But we are proud to be an industry that mandates specific processes for continual review, investment, and improvement. And we can demonstrate these investments and improvements in tangible ways.
For example, a major transparency initiative last month by a committee of U.S. stock exchanges and FINRA revealed that the public and the financial industry is paying less for up-to-the-second stock market data than they were a decade ago, even as data quality, availability, and speed have increased.
The headlines in Bloomberg News and elsewhere appropriately focused on the declining data fees, which corrects the record on claims by some Wall Street firms that market data costs are uniformly rising, or too high. Indeed, the data show that the total cost of consolidated market data distributed by the securities information processors that supply vital market information have actually decreased over the last decade when accounting for inflation.
That’s good news, but there’s more.
The Equity Markets Association, which represents two of the largest regulated exchanges, also believes the transparency initiative itself deserves more attention, as it sheds light on the critical data infrastructure that gives investors protection and confidence—at little to no cost to retail investors, and at a low cost to the securities industry.
First, a brief primer on the securities information processors. The SIPs, as they are known, provide a consolidated feed of real-time quotes from U.S. exchanges and real-time trades across all U.S. exchanges and non-exchange markets. This uniquely American service, overseen by the SEC, consolidates all quotes and trades into easily consumable data feeds, which are distributed to the investing public through brokers, the media, and resellers of financial information. Most of the general investing public has benefitted from the SIPs at no cost.
As required by SEC rule, the exchanges and FINRA operate the SIPs. Participating exchanges and FINRA are self-regulatory organizations with strict legal obligations, enforced by the SEC, to comply with SEC rules on market data dissemination, including requirements on the fair and equitable allocation of fees for this data. To meet their regulatory and compliance obligations, the exchanges and FINRA oversee the operation of the SIPs.
The consumers and re-distributors of this data, many of them representatives of securities firms, participate in the governance of the SIPs through a strong advisory committee representing the sell side and buy side communities. While we strongly believe these firms do have a critical role in governance of the SIPs, it’s important to also note that exchanges and FINRA have regulatory obligation to comply with SEC requirements regarding consolidated data. The securities firms do not.
Some securities firms desire more power in governing this critical infrastructure. Other market participants have criticized the governance structure of the SIPs, asserting that advisory committee members, notwithstanding the absence of legal obligations to comply with SEC requirements regarding consolidated market data, should have an equal vote to the exchanges and FINRA who do bear regulatory risk for the SIPs.
The Equity Markets Association welcomes heightened public discussion and awareness of the SIPs. But we think the SEC was wise in having this critical market infrastructure be run by entities that have the legal and regulatory obligations to meet the rigorous requirements under SEC rules. The broader investing public’s interest is channeled through the SEC, which oversees the SIPs, creating an important check on regulated exchanges, FINRA and non-regulated firms alike.
Critics have claimed that the exchanges have no incentive to improve or invest in the SIP, because these market feeds compete with the exchanges' proprietary data businesses. This suggestion ignores the substantial improvements the exchanges, as SIP operators, have made to the SIPs. As with all sectors that rely on information, massive advances in data technology and analytics in recent years have transformed the financial markets, sparking innovation, competition, and increasing demand for data. The SIPs—both the CTA/CQ Operating Committee and the UTP Operating Committee—have responded to this demand by increasing the speed, capacity, and resiliency of their data feeds.
When market participants sought more transparency about SIP operations, the exchanges and FINRA responded with ramped up public disclosure detailing governance meetings, performance metrics, pricing schedules, and technical specifications. Last month's transparency announcement added current and historical revenue to the mix of enhanced disclosures, which showed that overall SIP revenues have decreased over the last decade despite a massive increase in volume running through the feeds.
We are committed to pushing for continual improvements of the SIPs. They are a vital part of our markets and regulated exchanges and FINRA take their public duty seriously. But let's also acknowledge that U.S. market participants are getting a continuously more valuable product, faster, at lower cost, amid growing information flow. It’s working.
EMA releases whitepaper on importance of market data to investors, regulators
The market data used by professional and nonprofessional investors – as well as by federal regulators – is a critical component to the transparency of U.S. equity markets, according to a new report by the Equity Markets Association (EMA), an industry association representing the interests of U.S. exchanges.
In a whitepaper issued for federal policymakers, the EMA report provides an overview of market data’s role in the U.S. capital markets, including identifying different types of market data, the role of consolidated Security Information Processor (SIP) market data, and the responsibility for and governance of SIPs.
The full report, “The Importance of Market Data to the U.S. Equity Markets,” can be accessed by clicking here.
EMA was established in 2015 to provide federal policymakers, regulators and investors with in-depth policy analysis on important issues that impact the U.S. equity markets. Founded by Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., which operates the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Group of exchanges, NASDAQ, EMA promotes federal policies that safeguard a transparent marketplace, incentivize capital formation and ensure a robust secondary market for securities trading.
Previous published EMA reports include “The Anatomy of a Trade,” designed to provide policymakers with visibility into how trades are executed, from retail investors trading through online services to market makers. Stacey Cunningham, chief operating officer of the NYSE Group, and Frank Hatheway, NASDAQ’s chief economist, led separate discussions earlier this year for the staffs of the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee on the mechanics of how trade orders are executed.
EMA is led by co-directors former Rep. Mike Ferguson and Mike Williams. Ferguson leads the federal policy practice at Baker Hostetler LLP. Williams is the founder of The Williams Group.
EMA hosts congressional staff briefing on ‘Anatomy of a Trade’
Leading the discussion of the Equity Markets Association congressional staff briefing were Frank Hatheway of NASDAQ (left) and Stacey Cunningham of the NYSE Group.
A fair and transparent marketplace open to all investors is key to ensuring companies can access the capital they need to expand their businesses and create jobs, two market officials said Wednesday at a congressional staff briefing.
The briefing was hosted by the Equity Markets Association, on which Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., the parent company of NYSE Group, and NASDAQ are founding members. More than 5,000 companies are publicly traded on the EMA members’ exchanges.
Click here to download the PowerPoint distributed to congressional staff during the briefing for staff of the House Financial Services Committee and staff of lawmakers who serve on the committee. The briefing, “Anatomy of a Trade,” was designed to provide staff with visibility into how trades are executed, from retail investors trading through online services to market makers.
Stacey Cunningham, chief operating officer of the NYSE Group, and Frank Hatheway, NASDAQ’s chief economist, led the discussion into the mechanics of how trade orders are executed.
“We’re all fundamentally in the trust business,” Hatheway said. “Stock markets should work for all investors, and you shouldn’t have to be sophisticated to benefit from them.”
Cunningham said it’s incumbent on the exchanges to be transparent and educate consumers – as well as federal policymakers – to ensure investors can effectively participate in the market.
Michael Williams (left) and former Congressman Mike Ferguson participated in the Equity Markets Association congressional staff briefing. Ferguson and Williams serve as EMA co-directors.
“Because of the complex systems involved in trading equities, it’s important that we educate consumers,” Cunningham said. “Transparency and openness helps to protect investors, especially those who may not have specialized knowledge.”
EMA co-directors former Congressman Mike Ferguson and Michael Williams also participated in the briefing.
In additional to providing congressional staff with an overview of U.S. equity markets, the briefing also focused on market participants, regulatory structure and how trade orders are executed.
This was the first of a series of EMA-hosted briefings for congressional staff. Additional briefings will focus on the role of a self-regulatory organization, market data, the impact of a financial transaction tax and cybersecurity issues.
EMA founders urge Congress to oppose adding non-SROs as voting members of NMS plans
The two founding members of the Equity Markets Association urged key congressional leaders to oppose legislation that would add non-Self-Regulatory Organizations as voting members of National Market Systems plans.
The Equity Markets Association was established in 2015 to provide federal policymakers, regulators and investors with in-depth analysis on important issues that impact the U.S. equity markets. Its founders, Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. and NASDAQ, wrote to House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling and Rep. Maxine Waters, the top Democrat on the committee, about legislation that would change how NMS plans operate.
Also signing the letter were the Chicago Board Options Exchange, Inc., the Chicago Stock Exchange, Inc., the International Securities Exchange, Inc., and the Options Clearing Corporation.