Reg NMS: Divided We Stand

摘要

Judging from a recent hearing in April, Reg NMS, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposal to modernize U.S. equity trading in the National Market System, is stirring up plenty of controversy. First, the securities industry can't seem to agree on how to define fast markets and slow markets, a distinction that is key to making sure that manual exchanges can interact more effectively with electronic marketplaces. The goal is to provide instantaneous access to quotes and certainty of execution. Potentially, Reg NMS could allow users of electronic markets to circumvent slow markets or manual exchanges to obtain an immediate execution.