Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 119 / Wednesday, June 20, 2018 / Notices 28695 

9 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 

10 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f). 

11 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

increase their liquidity on the Exchange, 

but also to contribute to the market 

quality of the Exchange by offering 

aggressively priced liquidity. The 

Exchange further believes that the 

proposed increased rebate represents an 

equitable allocation of reasonable dues, 

fees, and other charges because the 

thresholds necessary to achieve the tiers 

would continue to encourage Members 

to add additional liquidity to the 

Exchange. The revised additional rebate 

was modestly changed and continues to 

reasonably reflect the difficulty of 

achieving each tier’s required criteria. 

The proposed change also is not 

unreasonably discriminatory as it 

applies equally to all Members. 

The Exchange also notes that volumebased discounts such as those currently 

maintained on the Exchange have been 

widely adopted by exchanges and are 

equitable and non-discriminatory 

because they are open to all Members on 

an equal basis and provide additional 

benefits or discounts that are reasonably 

related to the value of an exchange’s 

market quality associated with higher 

levels of market activity, such as higher 

levels of liquidity provision and/or 

growth patterns, and introduction of 

higher volumes of orders into the price 

and volume discovery processes. While 

the proposed modification to the criteria 

set forth in NBBO Setter Tiers 1 and 2 

makes such tiers slightly more difficult 

to attain, it is intended to incentivize 

Members to send additional volume and 

aggressively priced liquidity, in an effort 

to qualify or continue to qualify for the 

rebates made available by the tiers. As 

such, the Exchange also believes that 

the proposed changes are reasonable. 

The Exchange notes that increased 

volume on the Exchange provides 

greater trading opportunities for all 

market participants. 

(B) Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

The Exchange 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. The 

Exchange does not believe that any of 

the proposed change to the Exchange’s 

tiered pricing structure burden 

competition, but instead, that they 

enhance competition as they are 

intended to increase the 

competitiveness of BZX by modifying 

pricing incentives in order to attract 

order flow and incentivize participants 

to increase their participation on the 

Exchange. The Exchange notes that it 

operates in a highly competitive market 

in which market participants can 

readily direct order flow to competing 

venues if they deem fee structures to be 

unreasonable or excessive. The 

proposed changes are generally 

intended to enhance the rebates for 

liquidity added to the Exchange, which 

is intended to draw additional liquidity 

to the Exchange. The Exchange does not 

believe the proposed amendments 

would burden intramarket competition 

as they would be available to all 

Members uniformly. 

(C) Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants or Others 

The Exchange has not solicited, and 

does not intend to solicit, comments on 

this proposed rule change. The 

Exchange has not received any 

unsolicited written comments from 

Members or other interested parties. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

The foregoing rule change has become 

effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) 

of the Act 9 and paragraph (f) of Rule 

19b–4 thereunder.10 At any time within 

60 days of the filing of the proposed rule 

change, the Commission summarily may 

temporarily suspend such rule change if 

it appears to the Commission that such 

action is necessary or appropriate in the 

public interest, for the protection of 

investors, or otherwise in furtherance of 

the purposes of the Act. 

IV. Solicitation of Comments 

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 

• Use the Commission’s internet 

comment form (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include File Number SR– 

CboeBZX–2018–039 on the subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Secretary, Securities and Exchange 

Commission, 100 F Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–CboeBZX–2018–039. This 

file number should be included on the 

subject line if email is used. To help the 

Commission process and review your 

comments more efficiently, please use 

only one method. The Commission will 

post all comments on the Commission’s 

internet website (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the 

submission, all subsequent 

amendments, all written statements 

with respect to the proposed rule 

change that are filed with the 

Commission, and all written 

communications relating to the 

proposed rule change between the 

Commission and any person, other than 

those that may be withheld from the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be 

available for website viewing and 

printing in the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room, 100 F Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20549, on official 

business days between the hours of 

10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the 

filing also will be available for 

inspection and copying at the principal 

office of the Exchange. All comments 

received will be posted without change. 

Persons submitting comments are 

cautioned that we do not redact or edit 

personal identifying information from 

comment submissions. You should 

submit only information that you wish 

to make available publicly. All 

submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–CboeBZX–2018–039 and 

should be submitted on or before July 

11, 2018. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.11

Eduardo A. Aleman, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2018–13164 Filed 6–19–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–83430; File No. SR– 

CboeEDGX–2018–017] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe 

EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing 

and Immediate Effectiveness of a 

Proposed Rule Change Related to 

Physical Port Fees for EDGX Options 

June 14, 2018. 

Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

(‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2

notice is hereby given that on June 1, 

2018, Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc. 

(‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘EDGX’’) filed with the 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
28696 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 119 / Wednesday, June 20, 2018 / Notices 

3 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii). 

4 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2). 

5The term ‘‘Member’’ is defined as ‘‘any 

registered broker or dealer that has been admitted 

to membership in the Exchange.’’ See Exchange 

Rule 1.5(n). 

6See e.g., NYSE Arca Equities Fees and Charges, 

NYSE Arca Marketplace: Other Fees and Charges, 

Connectivity Fees. See also, Nasdaq Phlx LLC 

Pricing Schedule, Section XI, Direct Connectivity to 

Phlx. 

7For example, if a market participant uses a 1 

gigabyte Disaster Recovery Physical Port to connect 

to the Disaster Recovery Systems for both BYX and 

EDGX, the market participant would only be 

assessed one monthly fee of $2,000. 

8 15 U.S.C. 78f. 

9 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4). 

change as described in Items I, II and III 

below, which Items have been prepared 

by the Exchange. The Exchange has 

designated the proposed rule change as 

one establishing or changing a member 

due, fee, or other charge imposed by the 

Exchange under Section 19(b)(3)(A)(ii) 

of the Act 3 and Rule 19b–4(f)(2) 

thereunder,4 which renders the 

proposed rule change effective upon 

filing with the Commission. The 

Commission is publishing this notice to 

solicit comments on the proposed rule 

change from interested persons. 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

The Exchange filed a proposal to 

amend its fees and rebates applicable to 

Members 5 and non-Members of the 

Exchange pursuant to EDGX Rule 

15.1(a) and (c) to modify its fees for 

physical ports. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available at the Exchange’s website at 

www.markets.cboe.com, at the principal 

office of the Exchange, and at the 

Commission’s Public Reference Room. 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, the 

Exchange 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. The 

Exchange has prepared summaries, set 

forth in Sections A, B, and C below, of 

the most significant parts of such 

statements. 

(A) Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

The Exchange proposes to implement 

proposed changes to its fee schedule for 

its equity options platform (‘‘EDGX 

Options’’) relating to physical 

connectivity fees, effective June 1, 2018. 

By way of background, a physical port 

is utilized by a Member or non-Member 

to connect to the Exchange at the data 

centers where the Exchange’s servers are 

located. The Exchange currently 

maintains a presence in two third-party 

data centers: (i) The primary data center 

where the Exchange’s business is 

primarily conducted on a daily basis, 

and (ii) a secondary data center, which 

is predominantly maintained for 

business continuity purposes. The 

Exchange currently assesses the 

following physical connectivity fees for 

Members and non-Members on a 

monthly basis: $2,000 Per physical port 

for a 1 gigabyte circuit and $7,000 per 

physical port for a 10 gigabyte circuit. 

The Exchange proposes to increase the 

fees per physical ports from (i) $2,000 

to $2,500 per month, per port for a 1 

gigabyte circuit and (ii) $7,000 to $7,500 

per month, per port for a 10 gigabyte 

circuit. The Exchange notes the 

proposed fees enable it to continue to 

maintain and improve its market 

technology and services and also notes 

that the proposed fee changes are in line 

with the amounts assessed by other 

exchanges for similar connections.6

The Exchange also proposes to adopt 

separate physical port fees for 

connection to its secondary data center, 

which is predominantly maintained for 

business continuity purposes (‘‘Disaster 

Recovery Systems’’). Particularly, the 

Disaster Recovery Systems can be 

accessed via physical ports in Chicago. 

Members and Non-Members may 

maintain physical ports in order to be 

able to connect to the Disaster Recovery 

Systems in case of a disaster. Currently, 

physical ports that are used to connect 

to the Disaster Recovery Systems are 

assessed the same fees as physical ports 

used to connect to the Exchange’s 

trading system. The Exchange proposes 

to establish separate pricing for physical 

ports that are used to connect to the 

Disaster Recovery Systems (‘‘Disaster 

Recovery Physical Ports’’). Specifically, 

the Exchange proposes to assess a 

monthly fee of $2,000 per 1 gigabyte 

Disaster Recovery Physical Port and a 

monthly fee of $6,000 per 10 gigabyte 

Disaster Recovery Physical Port. This 

amount will continue to enable the 

Exchange to maintain the Disaster 

Recovery Physical Ports in case they 

become necessary. The Exchange notes 

that the Disaster Recovery Physical 

Ports may also be used to access the 

Disaster Recovery Systems for the 

following affiliate exchanges Cboe BZX 

Exchange, Inc., Cboe BYX Exchange, 

Inc., Cboe EDGA Exchange, Inc., Cboe 

C2 Exchange, Inc., Cboe Exchange, Inc. 

and Cboe Futures Exchange, LLC as 

well. The Exchange proposes to provide 

that market participants will only be 

assessed a single fee for any Disaster 

Recovery Physical Port that also 

accesses the Disaster Recover Systems 

for these exchanges.7

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed rule change is consistent with 

the objectives of Section 6 of the Act,8

in general, and furthers the objectives of 

Section 6(b)(4),9 in particular, as it is 

designed to provide for the equitable 

allocation of reasonable dues, fees and 

other charges among its Members and 

other persons using its facilities. The 

Exchange also notes that it operates in 

a highly-competitive market in which 

market participants can readily direct 

order flow to competing venues if they 

deem fee levels at a particular venue to 

be excessive. The proposed rule change 

reflects a competitive pricing structure 

designed to incent market participants 

to direct their order flow to the 

Exchange. 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed changes are equitable and 

non-discriminatory in that it applies 

uniformly to all Members. Members and 

non-Members will continue to choose 

whether they want more than one 

physical port and/or Disaster Recovery 

Physical Port and choose the method of 

connectivity based on their specific 

needs. All Members that voluntarily 

select various service options will be 

charged the same amount for the same 

services. 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposal represents an equitable 

allocation of reasonable dues, fees, and 

other charges as its fees for physical 

connectivity are reasonably constrained 

by competitive alternatives. If a 

particular exchange charges excessive 

fees for connectivity, affected Members 

and non-Members may opt to terminate 

their connectivity arrangements with 

that exchange, and adopt a possible 

range of alternative strategies, including 

routing to the applicable exchange 

through another participant or market 

center or taking that exchange’s data 

indirectly. Accordingly, if the Exchange 

charges excessive fees, it would stand to 

lose not only connectivity revenues but 

also revenues associated with the 

execution of orders routed to it, and, to 

the extent applicable, market data 

revenues. The Exchange believes that 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 119 / Wednesday, June 20, 2018 / Notices 28697 

10See e.g., NYSE Arca Equities Fees and Charges, 

NYSE Arca Marketplace: Other Fees and Charges, 

Connectivity Fees. See also, Nasdaq Phlx LLC 

Pricing Schedule, Section XI, Direct Connectivity to 

Phlx. 

11 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 

12 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f). 13 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

this competitive dynamic imposes 

powerful restraints on the ability of any 

exchange to charge unreasonable fees 

for connectivity. 

Furthermore, the proposed rule 

change is also an equitable allocation of 

reasonable dues, fees, and other charges 

as the Exchange believes that the 

proposed increased physical port fees 

will enable it to cover its infrastructure 

costs associated with establishing 

physical ports to connect to the 

Exchange’s systems. The additional 

revenue from the increased fees will 

also enable the Exchange to continue to 

maintain and improve its market 

technology and services. Similarly, the 

Exchange believes the proposed fees for 

the Disaster Recovery Physical Ports 

will allow the Exchange to maintain the 

Disaster Recovery Physical Ports in case 

they become necessary. 

Lastly, the Exchange believes the fees 

remain competitive with those charged 

by other venues and therefore continue 

to be reasonable and equitably allocated 

to Members.10

(B) Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

The Exchange 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. As discussed 

above, the Exchange believes that fees 

for connectivity are constrained by the 

robust competition for order flow among 

exchanges and non-exchange markets. 

The Exchange does not believe that the 

proposed changes represent a significant 

departure from previous pricing offered 

by the Exchange or pricing offered by 

the Exchange’s competitors. 

Additionally, Members may opt to 

disfavor the Exchange’s pricing if they 

believe that alternatives offer them 

better value. Further, excessive fees for 

connectivity would serve to impair an 

exchange’s ability to compete for order 

flow rather than burdening competition. 

(C) Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants or Others 

The Exchange has not solicited, and 

does not intend to solicit, comments on 

this proposed rule change. The 

Exchange has not received any 

unsolicited written comments from 

Members or other interested parties. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

The foregoing rule change has become 

effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) 

of the Act 11 and paragraph (f) of Rule 

19b–4 thereunder.12 At any time within 

60 days of the filing of the proposed rule 

change, the Commission summarily may 

temporarily suspend such rule change if 

it appears to the Commission that such 

action is necessary or appropriate in the 

public interest, for the protection of 

investors, or otherwise in furtherance of 

the purposes of the Act. 

IV. Solicitation of Comments 

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 

• Use the Commission’s internet 

comment form (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include File Number SR– 

CboeEDGX–2018–017 on the subject 

line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Secretary, Securities and Exchange 

Commission, 100 F Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–CboeEDGX–2018–017. This 

file number should be included on the 

subject line if email is used. To help the 

Commission process and review your 

comments more efficiently, please use 

only one method. The Commission will 

post all comments on the Commission’s 

internet website (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the 

submission, all subsequent 

amendments, all written statements 

with respect to the proposed rule 

change that are filed with the 

Commission, and all written 

communications relating to the 

proposed rule change between the 

Commission and any person, other than 

those that may be withheld from the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be 

available for website viewing and 

printing in the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room, 100 F Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20549, on official 

business days between the hours of 

10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the 

filing also will be available for 

inspection and copying at the principal 

office of the Exchange. All comments 

received will be posted without change. 

Persons submitting comments are 

cautioned that we do not redact or edit 

personal identifying information from 

comment submissions. You should 

submit only information that you wish 

to make available publicly. All 

submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–CboeEDGX–2018–017 and 

should be submitted on or before July 

11, 2018. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.13

Eduardo A. Aleman, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2018–13160 Filed 6–19–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Investment Company Act Release No. 

33123; 812–14872] 

Sprott ETF Trust and Sprott Asset 

Management USA Inc. 

June 15, 2018. 

AGENCY: Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’). 

ACTION: Notice. 

Notice of an application for an order 

under section 6(c) of the Investment 

Company Act of 1940 (the ‘‘Act’’) for an 

exemption from sections 2(a)(32), 

5(a)(1), 22(d), and 22(e) of the Act and 

rule 22c–1 under the Act, under 

sections 6(c) and 17(b) of the Act for an 

exemption from sections 17(a)(1) and 

17(a)(2) of the Act, and under section 

12(d)(1)(J) for an exemption from 

sections 12(d)(1)(A) and 12(d)(1)(B) of 

the Act. The requested order would 

permit (a) index-based series of certain 

open-end management investment 

companies (‘‘Funds’’) to issue shares 

redeemable in large aggregations 

(‘‘Creation Units’’); (b) secondary market 

transactions in Fund shares to occur at 

negotiated market prices rather than at 

net asset value (‘‘NAV’’); (c) certain 

Funds to pay redemption proceeds, 

under certain circumstances, more than 

seven days after the tender of shares for 

redemption; (d) certain affiliated 

persons of a Fund to deposit securities 

into, and receive securities from, the 

Fund in connection with the purchase 

and redemption of Creation Units; (e) 

certain registered management 

investment companies and unit 

investment trusts outside of the same 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES