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                    for more details.
 Securities and Exchange Commission [Release No. 34-61605/March 1, 2010]
 I. Background Section 31 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) requires each national securities exchange and national securities association to pay transaction fees to the Commission.[1]
                    
                     Specifically, section 31(b) requires each national securities exchange to pay to the Commission fees based on the aggregate dollar amount of sales of certain securities transacted on the exchange.[2]
                    
                     Section 31(c) requires each national securities association to pay to the Commission fees based on the aggregate dollar amount of sales of certain securities transacted by or through any member of the association other than on an exchange.[3] Sections 31(j)(1) and (3) require the Commission to make annual adjustments to the fee rates applicable under Sections 31(b) and (c) for each of the fiscal years 2003 through 2011, and one final adjustment to fix the fee rates for fiscal year 2012 and beyond.[4]
                    
                     Section 31(j)(2) requires the Commission, in certain circumstances, to make a mid-year adjustment to the fee rates in fiscal years 2002 through 2011.[5]
                    
                     The annual and mid-year adjustments are designed to adjust the fee rates in a given fiscal year so that, when applied to the aggregate dollar volume of sales for the fiscal year, they are reasonably likely to produce total fee collections under Section 31 equal to the “target offsetting collection amount” specified in Section 31(
                    *l*
                    )(1) for that fiscal year.[6]
                    
                     For fiscal year 2010, the target offsetting collection amount is $1,161,000,000.[7] 
 
 II. Determination of the Need for a Mid-Year Adjustment in Fiscal 2010 Under section 31(j)(2) of the Exchange Act, the Commission must make a mid-year adjustment to the fee rates under Sections 31(b) and (c) in fiscal year 2010 if it determines, based on the actual aggregate dollar volume of sales during the first five months of the fiscal year, that the baseline estimate $84,822,877,437,603 is reasonably likely to be 10% (or more) greater or less than the actual aggregate dollar volume of sales for fiscal year 2010.[8]
                    
                     To make this determination, the Commission must estimate the actual aggregate dollar volume of sales for fiscal year 2010. Based on data provided by the national securities exchanges and the national securities association that are subject to section 31,[9]
                    
                     the actual aggregate dollar volume of sales during the first four months of fiscal year 2010 was $19,531,642,600,905.[10]
                    
                     Using these data and a methodology for estimating the aggregate dollar amount of sales for the remainder of fiscal year 2010 (developed after consultation with the Congressional Budget Office and the OMB),[11]
                    
                     the Commission estimates that the aggregate dollar amount of sales for the remainder of fiscal year 2010 to be $43,755,155,427,595. Thus, the Commission estimates that the actual aggregate dollar volume of sales for all of fiscal year 2010 will be $63,286,798,028,500. Because the baseline estimate of $84,822,877,437,603 is more than 10% greater than the $63,286,798,028,500 estimated actual aggregate dollar volume of sales for fiscal year 2010, Section 31(j)(2) of the Exchange Act requires the Commission to issue an order adjusting the fee rates under Sections 31(b) and (c). III. Calculation of the Uniform Adjusted Rate Section 31(j)(2) specifies the method for determining the mid-year adjustment for fiscal 2010. Specifically, the Commission must adjust the rates under sections 31(b) and (c) to a “uniform adjusted rate that, when applied to the revised estimate of the aggregate dollar amount of sales for the remainder of fiscal year 2010, is reasonably likely to produce aggregate fee collections under section 31 (including fees collected during such 5-month period and assessments collected under section 31(d)) that are equal to $1,161,000,000.” [12]
                    
                     In other words, the uniform adjusted rate is determined by subtracting fees collected prior to the effective date of the new rate and assessments collected under section 31(d) during all of fiscal year 2010 from $1,161,000,000, which is the target offsetting collection amount for fiscal year 2010. That difference is then divided by the revised estimate of the aggregate dollar volume of sales for the remainder of the fiscal year following the effective date of the new rate. The Commission estimates that it will collect $598,633,917 in fees for the period prior to the effective date of the mid-year adjustment and $18,611 in assessments on round turn transactions in security futures products during all of fiscal year 2010. Using the methodology referenced in Part II above, the Commission estimates that the aggregate dollar volume of sales for the remainder of fiscal year 2010 following the effective date of the new rate will be $33,260,374,276,849. This amount reflects more recent information on the dollar amount of sales of securities than was available at the time of the setting of the initial fee rate for fiscal year 2010, and indicates a significant reduction in sales. Based on these estimates, and employing the mid-year adjustment mechanism established by statute, the uniform adjusted rate must be adjusted to $16.90 per million of the aggregate dollar amount of sales of securities.[13]
                    
                     The aggregate dollar amount of sales of securities subject to Section 31 fees is illustrated in Appendix A. IV. Effective Date of the Uniform Adjusted Rate Section 31(j)(4)(B) of the Exchange Act provides that a mid-year adjustment shall take effect on April 1 of the fiscal year in which such rate applies. Therefore, the exchanges and the national securities association that are subject to section 31 fees must pay fees under sections 31(b) and (c) at the uniform adjusted rate of $16.90 per million for sales of securities transacted on April 1, 2010, and thereafter until the annual adjustment for fiscal 2011 is effective. V. Conclusion Accordingly, pursuant to Section 31 of the Exchange Act,[14] It is hereby ordered that 
                    *each*
                     of the fee rates under sections 31(b) and (c) of the Exchange Act shall be $16.90 per $1,000,000 of the aggregate dollar amount of sales of securities subject to these sections effective April 1, 2010. By the Commission. Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary.
 ` A. Baseline Estimate of the Aggregate Dollar Amount of Sales First, calculate the average daily dollar amount of sales (ADS) for each month in the sample (January 2000-January 2010). The data obtained from the exchanges and FINRA are presented in Table A. The monthly aggregate dollar amount of sales from all exchanges and FINRA is contained in column C. Next, calculate the change in the natural logarithm of ADS from month-to-month. The average monthly change in the logarithm of ADS over the entire sample is 0.004 and the standard deviation 0.125. Assume the monthly percentage change in ADS follows a random walk. The expected monthly percentage growth rate of ADS is 1.2 percent. Now, use the expected monthly percentage growth rate to forecast total dollar volume. For example, one can use the ADS for January 2010 ($245,357,654,413) to forecast ADS for February 2010 ($248,264,845,054 = $245,357,654,413 × 1.012).[15]
                        
                         Multiply by the number of trading days in February 2010 (19) to obtain a forecast of the total dollar volume for the month ($4,717,032,056,030). Repeat 
                        ( print page 9966)
                        the method to generate forecasts for subsequent months. The forecasts for total dollar volume are in column G of Table A. The following is a more formal (mathematical) description of the procedure: 1. Divide each month's total dollar volume (column C) by the number of trading days in that month (column B) to obtain the average daily dollar volume (ADS, column D). 2. For each month t, calculate the change in ADS from the previous month as Δt
                         = log (ADSt
                        /ADSt-1), where log (x) denotes the natural logarithm of x. 3. Calculate the mean and standard deviation of the series {Δ1, Δ2,* * *, Δ120
                        }. These are given by μ = 0.004 and σ = 0.125, respectively. 4. Assume that the natural logarithm of ADS follows a random walk, so that Δs
                         and Δt
                         are statistically independent for any two months s and t. 5. Under the assumption that Δt
                         is normally distributed, the expected value of ADSt
                        /ADSt-1
                         is given by exp (μ + σ2
                        /2), or on average ADSt
                         = 1.012 × ADSt-1. 6. For February 2010, this gives a forecast ADS of 1.012 × $245,357,654,413 = $248,264,845,054. Multiply this figure by the 19 trading days in February 2010 to obtain a total dollar volume forecast of $4,717,032,056,030. 7. For March 2010, multiply the February 2010 ADS forecast by 1.012 to obtain a forecast ADS of $251,206,482,379. Multiply this figure by the 23 trading days in March 2010 to obtain a total dollar volume forecast of $5,777,749,094,716. 8. Repeat this procedure for subsequent months. B. Using the forecasts from A to calculate the new fee rate 1. Determine the aggregate dollar volume of sales between 10/1/09 and 1/14/10 to be $16,715,256,569,641. Multiply this amount by the fee rate of $25.70 per million dollars in sales during this period and get $429,582,094 in actual fees collected during 10/1/09 and 1/14/10. Determine the actual and projected aggregate dollar volume of sales between 1/15/10 and 3/31/10 to be $13,311,167,182,011. Multiply this amount by the fee rate of $12.70 per million dollars in sales during this period and get an estimate of $169,051,823 in actual and projected fees collected during 1/15/10 and 3/31/10. 2. Estimate the amount of assessments on security futures products collected during 10/1/09 and 9/30/10 to be $18,611 by summing the amounts collected through January 2010 of $5,684 with projections of a 1.2% monthly increase in subsequent months. 3. Determine the projected aggregate dollar volume of sales between 4/1/10 and 9/30/10 to be $33,260,374,276,849. 4. The rate necessary to collect the target $1,161,000,000 in fee revenues is then calculated as: ($1,161,000,000−$429,582,094 −$169,051,823−$18,611) ÷ $33,260,374,276,849 = 0.0000169080. 5. Round the result to the seventh decimal point, yielding a rate of 0.0000169000 (or $16.90 per million). Table A—Estimation of Baseline of the Aggregate Dollar Amount of Sales
[Methodology developed in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget and the Congressional Budget Office]
**Fee rate calculation**a. Baseline estimate of the aggregate dollar amount of sales, 10/1/09 to 1/14/10 ($Millions)
16,715,257b. Baseline estimate of the aggregate dollar amount of sales, 1/15/00 to 3/31/10 ($Millions)
13,311,167c. Baseline estimate of the aggregate dollar amount of sales, 4/1/00 to 9/30/10 ($Millions)
33,260,374d. Estimated collections in assessmests on security futures products in FY 2010 ($Millions)
0.019e. Implied fee rate (($1,161,000,000−0.0000257 × a−0.0000127 × b−d)/c)
$16.90**Data**
 Month
Number of trading days in month
Aggregate dollar amount of sales
Average daily dollar amount of sales (ADS)
Change in LN of ADS
Forecast ADS
Forecast aggregate
                                 dollar amount of sales(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
(F)
(G)Jan-00
20
3,057,831,397,113
152,891,569,856
−Feb-00
20
2,973,119,888,063
148,655,994,403
−0.028Mar-00
23
4,135,152,366,234
179,789,233,315
0.190Apr-00
19
3,174,694,525,687
167,099,185,562
−0.073May-00
22
2,649,273,207,318
120,421,509,424
−0.328Jun-00
22
2,883,513,997,781
131,068,818,081
0.085Jul-00
20
2,804,753,395,361
140,237,669,768
0.068Aug-00
23
2,720,788,395,832
118,295,147,645
−0.170Sep-00
20
2,930,188,809,012
146,509,440,451
0.214Oct-00
22
3,485,926,307,727
158,451,195,806
0.078Nov-00
21
2,795,778,876,887
133,132,327,471
−0.174Dec-00
20
2,809,917,349,851
140,495,867,493
0.054Jan-01
21
3,143,501,125,244
149,690,529,774
0.063Feb-01
19
2,372,420,523,286
124,864,238,068
−0.181Mar-01
22
2,554,419,085,113
116,109,958,414
−0.073Apr-01
20
2,324,349,507,745
116,217,475,387
0.001May-01
22
2,353,179,388,303
106,962,699,468
−0.083Jun-01
21
2,111,922,113,236
100,567,719,678
−0.062Jul-01
21
2,004,384,034,554
95,446,858,788
−0.052Aug-01
23
1,803,565,337,795
78,415,884,252
−0.197Sep-01
15
1,573,484,946,383
104,898,996,426
0.291Oct-01
23
2,147,238,873,044
93,358,211,871
−0.117Nov-01
21
1,939,427,217,518
92,353,677,025
−0.011Dec-01
20
1,921,098,738,113
96,054,936,906
0.039Jan-02
21
2,149,243,312,432
102,344,919,640
0.063Feb-02
19
1,928,830,595,585
101,517,399,768
−0.008Mar-02
20
2,002,216,374,514
100,110,818,726
−0.014Apr-02
22
2,062,101,866,506
93,731,903,023
−0.066May-02
22
1,985,859,756,557
90,266,352,571
−0.038Jun-02
20
1,882,185,380,609
94,109,269,030
0.042Jul-02
22
2,349,564,490,189
106,798,385,918
0.126( print page 9967)Aug-02
22
1,793,429,904,079
81,519,541,095
−0.270Sep-02
20
1,518,944,367,204
75,947,218,360
−0.071Oct-02
23
2,127,874,947,972
92,516,302,086
0.197Nov-02
20
1,780,816,458,122
89,040,822,906
−0.038Dec-02
21
1,561,092,215,646
74,337,724,555
−0.180Jan-03
21
1,723,698,830,414
82,080,896,686
0.099Feb-03
19
1,411,722,405,357
74,301,179,229
−0.180Mar-03
21
1,699,581,267,718
80,932,441,320
0.085Apr-03
21
1,759,751,025,279
83,797,667,870
0.035May-03
21
1,871,390,985,678
89,113,856,461
0.062Jun-03
21
2,122,225,077,345
101,058,337,016
0.126Jul-03
22
2,100,812,973,956
95,491,498,816
−0.057Aug-03
21
1,766,527,686,224
84,120,366,011
−0.127Sep-03
21
2,063,584,421,939
98,265,924,854
0.155Oct-03
23
2,331,850,083,022
101,384,786,218
0.031Nov-03
19
1,903,726,129,859
100,196,112,098
−0.012Dec-03
22
2,066,530,151,383
93,933,188,699
−0.065Jan-04
20
2,390,942,905,678
119,547,145,284
0.241Feb-04
19
2,177,765,594,701
114,619,241,826
−0.042Mar-04
23
2,613,809,754,550
113,643,858,893
−0.009Apr-04
21
2,418,663,760,191
115,174,464,771
0.013May-04
20
2,259,243,404,459
112,962,170,223
−0.019Jun-04
21
2,112,826,072,876
100,610,765,375
−0.116Jul-04
21
2,209,808,376,565
105,228,970,313
0.045Aug-04
22
2,033,343,354,640
92,424,697,938
−0.130Sep-04
21
1,993,803,487,749
94,943,023,226
0.027Oct-04
21
2,414,599,088,108
114,980,908,958
0.191Nov-04
21
2,577,513,374,160
122,738,732,103
0.065Dec-04
22
2,673,532,981,863
121,524,226,448
−0.010Jan-05
20
2,581,847,200,448
129,092,360,022
0.060Feb-05
19
2,532,202,408,589
133,273,810,978
0.032Mar-05
22
3,030,474,897,226
137,748,858,965
0.033Apr-05
21
2,906,386,944,434
138,399,378,306
0.005May-05
21
2,697,414,503,460
128,448,309,689
−0.075Jun-05
22
2,825,962,273,624
128,452,830,619
0.000Jul-05
20
2,604,021,263,875
130,201,063,194
0.014Aug-05
23
2,846,115,585,965
123,744,155,912
−0.051Sep-05
21
3,009,640,645,370
143,316,221,208
0.147Oct-05
21
3,279,847,331,057
156,183,206,241
0.086Nov-05
21
3,163,453,821,548
150,640,658,169
−0.036Dec-05
21
3,090,212,715,561
147,152,986,455
−0.023Jan-06
20
3,573,372,724,766
178,668,636,238
0.194Feb-06
19
3,314,259,849,456
174,434,728,919
−0.024Mar-06
23
3,807,974,821,564
165,564,122,677
−0.052Apr-06
19
3,257,478,138,851
171,446,217,834
0.035May-06
22
4,206,447,844,451
191,202,174,748
0.109Jun-06
22
3,995,113,357,316
181,596,061,696
−0.052Jul-06
20
3,339,658,009,357
166,982,900,468
−0.084Aug-06
23
3,410,187,280,845
148,269,012,211
−0.119Sep-06
20
3,407,409,863,673
170,370,493,184
0.139Oct-06
22
3,980,070,216,912
180,912,282,587
0.060Nov-06
21
3,933,474,986,969
187,308,332,713
0.035Dec-06
20
3,715,146,848,695
185,757,342,435
−0.008Jan-07
20
4,263,986,570,973
213,199,328,549
0.138Feb-07
19
3,946,799,860,532
207,726,308,449
−0.026Mar-07
22
5,245,051,744,090
238,411,442,913
0.138Apr-07
20
4,274,665,072,437
213,733,253,622
−0.109May-07
22
5,172,568,357,522
235,116,743,524
0.095Jun-07
21
5,586,337,010,802
266,016,048,133
0.123Jul-07
21
5,938,330,480,139
282,777,641,911
0.061Aug-07
23
7,713,644,229,032
335,375,836,045
0.171Sep-07
19
4,805,676,596,099
252,930,347,163
−0.282Oct-07
23
6,499,651,716,225
282,593,552,879
0.111Nov-07
21
7,176,290,763,989
341,728,131,619
0.190Dec-07
20
5,512,903,594,564
275,645,179,728
−0.215Jan-08
21
7,997,242,071,529
380,821,051,025
0.323Feb-08
20
6,139,080,448,887
306,954,022,444
−0.216Mar-08
20
6,767,852,332,381
338,392,616,619
0.098Apr-08
22
6,150,017,772,735
279,546,262,397
−0.191May-08
21
6,080,169,766,807
289,531,893,657
0.035( print page 9968)Jun-08
21
6,962,199,302,412
331,533,300,115
0.135Jul-08
22
8,104,256,787,805
368,375,308,537
0.105Aug-08
21
6,106,057,711,009
290,764,652,905
−0.237Sep-08
21
8,156,991,919,103
388,428,186,624
0.290Oct-08
23
8,644,538,213,244
375,849,487,532
−0.033Nov-08
19
5,727,998,341,833
301,473,596,939
−0.221Dec-08
22
5,176,041,317,640
235,274,605,347
−0.248Jan-09
20
4,670,249,433,806
233,512,471,690
−0.008Feb-09
19
4,771,470,184,048
251,130,009,687
0.073Mar-09
22
5,885,594,284,780
267,527,012,945
0.063Apr-09
21
5,123,665,205,517
243,984,057,406
−0.092May-09
20
5,086,717,129,965
254,335,856,498
0.042Jun-09
22
5,271,742,782,609
239,624,671,937
−0.060Jul-09
22
4,659,599,245,583
211,799,965,708
−0.123Aug-09
21
4,582,102,295,783
218,195,347,418
0.030Sep-09
21
4,929,211,335,509
234,724,349,310
0.073Oct-09
22
5,410,071,946,836
245,912,361,220
0.047Nov-09
20
4,770,994,671,867
238,549,733,593
−0.030Dec-09
22
4,688,780,548,360
213,126,388,562
−0.113Jan-10
19
4,661,795,433,843
245,357,654,413
0.141Feb-10
19



248,264,845,054
4,717,032,056,030Mar-10
23



251,206,482,379
5,777,749,094,716Apr-10
21



254,182,974,538
5,337,842,465,308May-10
20



257,194,734,520
5,143,894,690,405Jun-10
22



260,242,180,205
5,725,327,964,515Jul-10
21



263,325,734,426
5,529,840,422,940Aug-10
22



266,445,825,024
5,861,808,150,526Sep-10
21



269,602,884,912
5,661,660,583,153


# Footnotes

1.
    
                         15 U.S.C. 78ee. Back to Citation
 2.
    
                         15 U.S.C. 78ee(b). Back to Citation
 3.
    
                         15 U.S.C. 78ee(c). Back to Citation
 4.
    
                         15 U.S.C. 78ee(j)(1) and (j)(3). Back to Citation
 5.
    
                         15 U.S.C. 78ee(j)(2). Back to Citation
 6.
    
                         15 U.S.C. 78ee(
                        *l*)(1). Back to Citation
 7.
    
                         
                        *See id.* Back to Citation
 8.
    
                         The amount $84,822,877,437,603 is the baseline estimate of the aggregate dollar amount of sales for fiscal year 2010 calculated by the Commission in its Order Making Fiscal 2010 Annual Adjustments to the Fee Rates Applicable Under Section 6(b) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Sections 13(e), 14(g), 31(b) and 31(c) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Rel. No. 33-9030 (April 30, 2009), 74 FR 21018 (May 6, 2009). Back to Citation
 9.
    
                         The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) and each exchange are required to file a monthly report on Form R31 containing dollar volume data on sales of securities subject to Section 31. The report is due on the 10th business day following any month in which the exchange or association has covered sales. Back to Citation
 10.
    
                         Although section 31(j)(2) indicates that the Commission should determine the actual aggregate dollar volume of sales for fiscal 2010 “based on the actual aggregate dollar volume of sales during the first 5 months of such fiscal year,” data are only available for the first four months of the fiscal year as of the date the Commission is required to issue this order, 
                        *i.e.,*
                         March 1, 2010. Dollar volume data on sales of securities subject to Section 31 for February 2010 will not be available from the exchanges and FINRA for several weeks. Back to Citation
 11.
    
                         
                        *See*
                         Appendix A. Back to Citation
 12.
    
                         15 U.S.C. 78ee(j)(2). The term “fees collected” is not defined in section 31. Because national securities exchanges and national securities associations are not required to pay the first installment of section 31 fees for fiscal 2010 until March 15, the Commission will not “collect” any fees in the first five months of fiscal 2010. 
                        *See*15 U.S.C. 78ee(e). However, the Commission believes that, for purposes of calculating the mid-year adjustment, Congress, by stating in section 31(j)(2) that the “uniform adjusted rate * * * is reasonably likely to produce aggregate fee collections under section 31 * * * that are equal to [$1,161,000,000],” intended the Commission to include the fees that the Commission will collect based on transactions in the six months before the effective date of the mid-year adjustment. Back to Citation
 13.
    
                         The calculation is as follows: ($1,161,000,000−$598,633,917−$18,611)/$33,260,374,276,849 = $0.0000169080. Round this result to the seventh decimal point, yielding a rate of $16.90 per million. Back to Citation
 14.
    
                         15 U.S.C. 78ee. Back to Citation
 15.
    
                             The value 1.012 has been rounded. All computations are done with the unrounded value. Back to Citation


[FR Doc. 2010-4530 Filed 3-3-10; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011-01-P