38428 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 151 / Monday, August 6, 2018 / Notices 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3References to rules are to Nasdaq rules, unless 

otherwise noted. 

4This proposed change was initially filed on July 

3, 2018, and became immediately effective on that 

date. See SR–NASDAQ–2018–055, available at 

http://nasdaq.cchwallstreet.com/. A firm eligible to 

purchase the proposed license may purchase it for 

the month of July, effective on July 3, 2018, and the 

monthly fee for the license will be prorated for the 

period July 3 through July 31, 2018. Any fees owed 

by the purchaser of the enterprise license for the 

use of Nasdaq Basic, NLS, NLS Plus and the Nasdaq 

Depth-of-Book products on July 1 and July 2, 2018, 

will also be prorated accordingly. 

5 ‘‘Distributor’’ will be defined in proposed Rule 

7032(c)(3) by reference to Rules 7023(a)(4), 

7039(f)(3), and 7047(d)(1) to reflect the current 

definitions of that term as set forth in each of these 

rules. Those definitions will continue to apply to 

each product, respectively. At a later date, Nasdaq 

will submit an additional proposed rule change to 

consolidate generally-applicable definitions and 

move these definitions to a new rule that will apply 

to all market data fee rules in the 7000 series. 

6 ‘‘Display Usage’’ will be defined in Rule 

7032(c)(2) by reference to Rules 7023(a)(2), 

7039(f)(2), and 7047(d)(2), to reflect the current 

definitions of that term as set forth in each of these 

rules. Those definitions will continue to apply to 

each product, respectively. 

7 ‘‘Investment Adviser’’ will be defined in 

proposed Rule 7032(c)(4) by reference to Section 

202(a)(11) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, 

as ‘‘any person who, for compensation, engages in 

the business of advising others, either directly or 

through publications or writings, as to the value of 

securities or as to the advisability of investing in, 

purchasing, or selling securities, or who, for 

compensation and as part of a regular business, 

issues or promulgates analyses or reports 

concerning securities . . . .’’ 

8See Rule 7048(b)(5) (providing that a brokerdealer that purchases this enterprise license will 

also have the right to distribute NLS data to an 

unlimited number of Professional and NonProfessional Subscribers who are natural persons 

and with whom the broker-dealer has a brokerage 

relationship). In addition, there is an enterprise 

license for specialized usage of NLS at Rule 

7039(c)(3), but specialized usage is not relevant to 

this proposal, which focuses on distribution to the 

general investing public and the professionals 

servicing retail investors through brokerage or retail 

advisory accounts. 

9See Rule 7023(a)(1). The Exchange proposes to 

incorporate the definition of Depth-of-Book data 

currently set forth at Rule 7023(a)(1) by reference 

at proposed Rule 7032(c)(1). Rule 7023(a)(1) defines 

Depth-of-Book as ‘‘data feeds containing price 

quotations at more than one price level’’; the Depthof-Book data feeds are Nasdaq Level 2, which 

means ‘‘with respect to stocks listed on Nasdaq, the 

best-priced orders or quotes from each Nasdaq 

member displayed in the Nasdaq Market Center,’’ 

and Nasdaq TotalView, which means ‘‘with respect 

to stocks listed on Nasdaq and on an exchange other 

than Nasdaq, all orders and quotes from all Nasdaq 

members displayed in the Nasdaq Market Center as 

well as the aggregate size of such orders and quotes 

at each price level in the execution functionality of 

the Nasdaq Market Center.’’ 

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–FICC– 

2017–805 and should be submitted on 

or before August 21, 2018. 

By the Commission. 

Robert W. Errett, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2018–16707 Filed 8–3–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–83751; File No. SR– 

NASDAQ–2018–058] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; The 

Nasdaq Stock Market LLC; Notice of 

Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of 

Proposed Rule Change To Lower Fees 

and Administrative Costs for 

Distributors of Nasdaq Basic, Nasdaq 

Last Sale, NLS Plus and the Nasdaq 

Depth-of-Book Products Through a 

Consolidated Enterprise License 

July 31, 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 July 17, 

2018, The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC 

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

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘SEC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’) the proposed 

rule change as described in Items I, II, 

and III, below, which Items have been 

prepared by the Exchange. 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 proposes to lower fees 

and administrative costs for Distributors 

of Nasdaq Basic, Nasdaq Last Sale 

(‘‘NLS’’), NLS Plus and the Nasdaq 

Depth-of-Book products (TotalView and 

Level 2) by introducing a consolidated 

enterprise license for the Display Usage 

of all five products. This market data 

enterprise license will allow 

Distributors who are broker-dealers or 

Investment Advisers to disseminate 

these products to a wide audience for a 

monthly fee of $600,000, with the 

opportunity to lower that fee further to 

$500,000 per month if the Distributor 

contracts for twelve months of the 

service in advance. The proposed 

enterprise license will be introduced 

through an amendment to Rule 3 7032, 

which is currently reserved. The 

proposal is described in further detail 

below. 

This amendment is immediately 

effective upon filing.4

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available on the Exchange’s website at 

http://nasdaq.cchwallstreet.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 aspects 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 lower fees 

and administrative costs for 

Distributors 5 of Nasdaq Basic, NLS, 

NLS Plus and the Nasdaq Depth-of-Book 

products (TotalView and Level 2) by 

introducing a consolidated enterprise 

license for the Display Usage 6 of all five 

products. This license will allow 

Distributors who are broker-dealers or 

Investment Advisers 7 to disseminate 

these products to a wide audience for a 

monthly fee of $600,000, with the 

opportunity to lower that fee further to 

$500,000 per month if they contract for 

twelve months of service in advance. No 

fees will increase as a result of this 

license. As discussed below, this fee 

reduction responds to competitive 

pressures exerted by other exchanges 

that sell market data. 

Current Enterprise License Fees 

The Exchange currently offers 

enterprise licenses for Depth-of-Book 

products and Nasdaq Basic. There is no 

enterprise license for the distribution of 

NLS to the general investing public, but 

there is a cap of $41,500 per month on 

such fees, and NLS may also be 

distributed under one of the enterprise 

licenses for Nasdaq Basic.8

Depth-of-Book Products 

Nasdaq offers two Depth-of-Book 

products, TotalView and Level 2.9

TotalView, Nasdaq’s premier Depth-ofBook product, provides complete, realtime depth data for Nasdaq and nonVerDate Sep<11>2014 17:36 Aug 03, 2018 Jkt 244001 PO 00000 Frm 00156 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\06AUN1.SGM 06AUN1

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10See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 79863 

(January 23, 2017), 82 FR 8632 (January 27, 2017) 

(SR–NASDAQ–2017–004). Net Order Imbalance 

Information refers to data relating to buy and sell 

interest at the open and close of the trading day, 

in the context of an Initial Public Offering, and after 

a trading halt. See Securities Exchange Act Release 

No. 80891 (June 8, 2017), 82 FR 27318 (June 14, 

2017) (SR–NASDAQ–2017–054). 

11See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 79863 

(January 23, 2017) 82 FR 8632 (January 27, 2017) 

(SR–NASDAQ–2017–004) (explaining that Level 2 

will be retired as a separate product). 

12See Rule 7023(c)(1). 

13See Rule 7023(c)(2). Note that the $100,000 

license at paragraph (c)(2) allows for external 

distribution to both Professional and NonProfessional Subscribers with whom the firm has a 

brokerage relationship, while the $25,000 license at 

paragraph (c)(1) is limited to Non-Professional 

Subscribers. 

14See Rule 7023(c)(3). 

15The Exchange proposes to use the same 

definition for ‘‘Nasdaq Basic’’ currently set forth in 

Rule 7047(a), incorporated by reference in proposed 

Rule 7032(c)(5). Rule 7047(a) defines Nasdaq Basic 

as ‘‘proprietary data feeds containing real-time 

market information from the Nasdaq Market Center 

and the FINRA/Nasdaq Trade Reporting Facility 

(‘TRF’). (1) ‘Nasdaq Basic for Nasdaq’ shall contain 

Nasdaq’s best bid and offer and last sale for Nasdaqlisted stocks from Nasdaq and the FINRA/Nasdaq 

TRF; and (2) ‘Nasdaq Basic for NYSE’ shall contain 

Nasdaq’s best bid and offer and last sale for NYSElisted stocks from Nasdaq and the FINRA/Nasdaq 

TRF. (3) ‘Nasdaq Basic for NYSE MKT’ shall 

contain Nasdaq’s best bid and offer and last sale for 

stocks listed on NYSE MKT and other Tape B 

listing venues from Nasdaq and the FINRA/Nasdaq 

TRF.’’ 

16See Rule 7047(b)(4). 

17 Distributor fees at Rule 7047(c)(1) are excluded 

from this license. 

18See Rule 7047(b)(5). 

19Such information may not be used in support 

of proprietary trading, surveillance activities, or 

other functions solely for the benefit of the brokerdealer. Also, a Professional Subscriber who obtains 

Nasdaq Basic through his or her own brokerage 

relationship with the broker-dealer may not use that 

data within the scope of any professional 

engagement or registration. See Rule 7047(b)(5). 

20A separate enterprise license is required for 

each discrete electronic system that is approved by 

Nasdaq and used by the broker-dealer. See Rule 

7047(b)(5). 

21See Rule 7047(c)(1). 

22The Exchange proposes to use the definition for 

‘‘NLS’’ currently set forth at Rule 7039(a), 

incorporated by reference in proposed Rule 

7032(c)(6). Rule 7039(a) defines NLS as ‘‘two 

proprietary data feeds containing real-time last sale 

information for trades executed on Nasdaq or 

reported to the FINRA/Nasdaq Trade Reporting 

Facility. ‘Nasdaq Last Sale for Nasdaq’ contains all 

such transaction reports for Nasdaq-listed stocks, 

and ‘Nasdaq Last Sale for NYSE/NYSE American’ 

contains all such transaction reports for NYSElisted stocks and stocks listed on NYSE American 

and other Tape B listing venues.’’ 

Nasdaq-listed securities, including all 

orders and quotes from all Nasdaq 

members displayed in the Nasdaq 

Market Center, the aggregate size of such 

orders and quotes, and Net Order 

Imbalance Information, which supplies 

data on the daily auctions that take 

place at the open and close of the 

market, as well as in the context of an 

IPO or after a halt.10 Nasdaq Level 2, 

which will be retired as a separate 

product after transition to TotalView is 

complete for all Distributors,11 provides 

the best-priced orders from each Nasdaq 

member on the Nasdaq Market Center 

for Nasdaq-listed securities. 

The Exchange offers three enterprise 

licenses for its Depth-of-Book products. 

The first allows a Distributor that is also 

a broker-dealer to pay a monthly fee of 

$25,000, plus $9 per month for each 

Non-Professional Subscriber and $60 

per month for each Professional 

Subscriber, for the right to distribute 

Nasdaq TotalView internally for Display 

Usage or externally to Non-Professional 

Subscribers with whom the firm has a 

brokerage relationship.12

The second allows a Distributor that 

is also a broker-dealer to pay a monthly 

fee of $100,000, plus $9 per month for 

each Non-Professional Subscriber and 

$60 per month for each Professional 

Subscriber, for the right to distribute 

TotalView for Display Usage internally, 

or externally to both Professional and 

Non-Professional Subscribers with 

whom the firm has a brokerage 

relationship.13

The third allows a Distributor that is 

also a broker-dealer to pay a monthly fee 

of $500,000 to provide Nasdaq Level 2 

or Nasdaq TotalView for Display Usage 

by Non-Professional Subscribers with 

whom the firm has a brokerage 

relationship, with no additional per 

Subscriber fees, albeit with Distributor 

fees.14

Nasdaq Basic 

Nasdaq Basic is a real-time market 

data product that offers best bid and 

offer and last sale information for all 

U.S. exchange-listed securities from the 

Nasdaq Market Center and the FINRA/ 

Nasdaq Trade Reporting Facility 

(‘‘TRF’’).15 It is comprised of three 

components, which may be purchased 

individually or in combination: (i) 

Nasdaq Basic for Nasdaq, which 

contains the best bid and offer on the 

Nasdaq Market Center and last sale 

transaction reports for Nasdaq and the 

FINRA/Nasdaq TRF for Nasdaq-listed 

stocks; (ii) Nasdaq Basic for NYSE, 

which covers NYSE-listed stocks, and 

(iii) Nasdaq Basic for NYSE American 

(formerly NYSE MKT), which provides 

data on stocks listed on NYSE American 

and other listing venues whose quotes 

and trade reports are disseminated on 

Tape B. Nasdaq Basic provides 

customers with: (i) Nasdaq Basic Quotes 

(‘‘QBBO’’), the best bid and offer and 

associated size available in the Nasdaq 

Market Center, as well as last sale 

transaction reports; (ii) Nasdaq opening 

and closing prices, as well as IPO and 

trading halt cross prices; and (iii) 

general Exchange information, 

including systems status reports, trading 

halt information, and a stock directory. 

The Exchange offers two enterprise 

licenses for Nasdaq Basic. The first is 

aimed primarily at internal distribution 

for professionals, allowing the 

dissemination of Nasdaq Basic or 

Derived Data therefrom for a fee of 

$365,000 per month, provided that if the 

broker-dealer obtains the license for 

usage of Nasdaq Basic provided by an 

External Distributor that controls 

display of the product, the fee will be 

$365,000 per month for up to 16,000 

internal Professional Subscribers, plus 

$2 for each additional internal 

Professional Subscriber over 16,000.16

This license includes access to NLS for 

the Distributor’s own securities and 

those of up to ten of its competitors or 

peers for Display Usage on the brokerdealer’s internal website.17

The second is directed primarily at 

external distribution to investors with 

brokerage relationships. Nasdaq Basic or 

Derived Data therefrom, as well as NLS, 

may be distributed to an unlimited 

number of Professional and NonProfessional Subscribers who are 

natural persons and who have a 

brokerage relationship with the brokerdealer for a monthly fee of $100,000.18

Information also may be distributed to 

4,500 internal Professional Subscribers, 

provided that the information may only 

be used to support brokerage services,19

and any internal electronic system used 

to distribute such information must be 

approved by Nasdaq.20 The license does 

not cover the Distributor fee for Nasdaq 

Basic,21 and is subject to reporting 

requirements regarding the number of 

Professional and Non-Professional 

Subscribers. 

NLS 

NLS is composed of two proprietary 

data feeds containing real-time last sale 

information for trades executed on the 

Nasdaq exchange or reported to the 

FINRA/Nasdaq TRF: (i) NLS for Nasdaq, 

which contains transaction reports for 

Nasdaq-listed stocks, and (ii) NLS for 

NYSE/NYSE American, which contains 

transaction reports for NYSE-listed 

stocks and stocks listed on NYSE 

American and other Tape B listing 

venues.22

NLS is designed to enable market data 

Distributors to provide access to 

Exchange information to millions of 

individual investors through website 


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23See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 57965 

(June 16, 2008), 73 FR 35178 (June 20, 2008) (SR– 

NASDAQ–2006–060) (approving SR–NASDAQ– 

2006–060, as amended by Amendment Nos. 1 and 

2, to implement NLS on a pilot basis). 

24See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 82723 

(February 15, 2018), 83 FR 7812 (February 22, 2018) 

(SR–NASDAQ–2018–010) (describing the NLS fee 

schedules). 

25See Rule 7039(b)(4) (identifying the fee cap); 

Rule 7039(b)(1)–(3) (identifying fees for the Per 

User, Per Query and Per Device fee models). 

26See Rule 7039(c)(3). 

27See Rule 7047(b)(4) (setting forth an enterprise 

license for Nasdaq Basic for $365,000 per month). 

28The Exchange proposes that ‘‘NLS Plus’’ in 

proposed Rule 7032 have the same meaning as 

currently set forth at Rule 7039(e), to be 

incorporated by reference in proposed Rule 

7032(c)(7). Rule 7039(e) defines NLS Plus in part as 

‘‘a comprehensive data feed produced by Nasdaq 

Information LLC. It provides last sale data as well 

as consolidated volume of Nasdaq U.S. equity 

markets (The Nasdaq Stock Market (‘Nasdaq’), 

Nasdaq BX (‘BX’), and Nasdaq PSX (‘PSX’)) and the 

FINRA/Nasdaq Trade Reporting Facility (‘TRF’). 

Nasdaq Last Sale Plus also reflects cumulative 

volume real-time trading activity across all U.S. 

exchanges for Tape C securities. . . . ’’ 

29See Rule 7039(d). 

30See Nasdaq Rule 7035; BX Rule 7035; and Phlx 

Pricing Schedule § VIII. All administrative fees are 

charged on a per Distributor, rather than a per 

product, basis. Currently, there are no user or 

Distributor fees applicable to BX Last Sale or PSX 

Last Sale. However, if BX or Phlx were to adopt 

user fees for these products in the future, the fees 

would also apply to persons receiving these 

products by means of NLS Plus. 

31As noted above, ‘‘Distributor’’ will be defined 

in proposed Rule 7032(c)(3) by reference to Rules 

7023(a)(4), 7039(f)(3), and 7047(d)(1) to reflect the 

current definitions of that term as set forth in each 

of these rules. Those definitions will continue to 

apply to each product, respectively. See n.5. 

32 ‘‘Investment Adviser’’ shall have the same 

meaning in proposed Rule 7032 as set forth in 

Section 202(a)(11) of the Investment Advisers Act 

of 1940, incorporated by reference at proposed Rule 

7032(c)(4). See n.7. 

33See Rule 7023(b). 

34See Rule 7047(b). 

35See Rule 7039(b). 

36See Rule 7039(e). 

37A Distributor may receive Information subject 

to the proposed enterprise license either directly 

from the Exchange or indirectly through another 

Distributor. To the degree that any Distributor pays 

to the Exchange Subscriber fees for Depth-of-Book 

data at Rule 7023(b), User Fees for Nasdaq Basic at 

Rule 7047(b), Distribution Model fees for the 

General Investing Public for NLS at Rule 7039(b), 

and NLS Plus fees at Rule 7039(e) on behalf of the 

purchaser of the proposed market data enterprise 

license, those fees paid to the Exchange shall 

reduce the applicable monthly enterprise license 

fee owed by the amount paid. 

38While the scope of each of the three current 

enterprise licenses is not identical to the proposed 

license, the Exchange believes that this comparison 

is a good approximation for the cost reduction 

generated by the proposal. 

39The two other enterprise licenses for Depth-ofBook, the $25,000 enterprise license for distribution 

of TotalView, see Rule 7023(c)(1), and the $100,000 

license for the right to distribute TotalView for 

certain Subscribers internally and externally, see 

Rule 7023(c)(2), are not comparable to the proposed 

license in that these two current licenses include 

substantial per Subscriber fees, while the proposed 

license does not. 

distribution.23 This design is reflected 

in the pricing schedule, in which one 

set of prices is dedicated to distribution 

to the general investing public, and 

another for specialized usage by 

Professionals, or usage that otherwise 

does not fit within the models for 

distribution to the general investing 

public.24

There is no enterprise license for 

distribution to the general investing 

public, but such dissemination is 

subject to a fee cap of $41,500 per 

month.25 Distributors under the 

specialized fee schedule, however, may 

purchase an enterprise license for a 

monthly fee of $365,000 per month,26

which is patterned after a similar 

enterprise license for Nasdaq Basic.27

NLS Plus 

NLS Plus provides last sale 

information and consolidated volume 

data for the Nasdaq Stock Market, 

Nasdaq BX, Nasdaq PSX and the 

FINRA/Nasdaq TRF, and cumulative 

volume for real-time trading activity 

across all U.S. exchanges.28 It may be 

purchased by itself or in combination 

with Nasdaq Basic. NLS Plus provides 

customers with Trade Price, Trade Size, 

Sale Condition Modifiers, Cumulative 

Consolidated Market Volume, End of 

Day Trade Summary, Adjusted Closing 

Price, IPO information, Bloomberg ID, 

and regulatory information such as 

Market Wide Circuit Breaker, Regulation 

SHO Short Sale Price Test Restricted 

Indicator, Trading Action, and Symbol 

Directory. 

Fees for NLS Plus are based on the 

fees for its underlying components, as 

well as a Distributor fee,29 a data 

consolidation fee of $350 per month, 

and administrative fees for Nasdaq, BX, 

and PSX data feeds as set forth in their 

respective rule books.30 There is no 

enterprise license for NLS Plus, but the 

distribution fees for the general 

investing public are capped at $41,500, 

under the same cap that applies to NLS. 

Proposed Market Data Enterprise 

License 

The Exchange proposes to introduce a 

market data enterprise license that will 

reduce Exchange fees and 

administrative costs for Distributors 31

that disseminate Nasdaq Basic, NLS, 

NLS Plus, TotalView and Level 2. 

Distributors that are broker-dealers or 

Investment Advisers 32 will be able to 

distribute information for Display Usage 

for all five products to an unlimited 

number of recipients for a monthly fee 

of $600,000, with an opportunity to 

lower that fee to $500,000 per month if 

they contract for twelve months of 

service in advance. Depth-of-Book 

information and Nasdaq Basic may be 

distributed pursuant to this market data 

enterprise license only for display usage 

and in the context of a brokerage 

relationship with a broker-dealer or an 

engagement with an Investment 

Adviser, and the Exchange must preapprove any such platform to ensure 

that it is reasonably designed to meet 

this and other requirements identified 

in the text of the proposed rule. NLS 

and NLS Plus will be available for 

unlimited external distribution through 

one of the mechanisms available for 

distribution to the general investing 

public, which the Exchange expects to 

be the most efficient method for 

reaching the general investing public. 

Purchase of the enterprise license will 

eliminate per-Subscriber fees for Depthof-Book data,33 user fees for Nasdaq 

Basic,34 distribution fees for the general 

investing public for NLS,35 and 

incremental NLS Plus fees,36 whether 

such fees are paid directly to the 

Exchange or indirectly through another 

Distributor.37 This enterprise license 

will offer a new fee option for 

Distributors of multiple market data 

products. No fee will increase as a result 

of this proposal. 

Distributors that intend to purchase 

the market data enterprise license for at 

least twelve months may elect to 

purchase this product in advance for a 

monthly fee of $500,000. This feature is 

intended to simplify cost projections 

and budgeting for both Distributors and 

the Exchange. Distributors that elect not 

to purchase this particular feature will 

nevertheless be able to obtain all of the 

market data information offered by the 

product by paying the standard fee of 

$600,000 per month. Distributors that 

elect to pay the monthly fee will be able 

to switch to the annual fee at any time, 

and those that elect to purchase the 

annual contract would be able to change 

to the monthly contract, with notice, at 

the end of the twelve month period. 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed market data enterprise license 

will reduce exchange fees, lower 

administrative costs for Distributors, 

and help expand the availability of 

market information to investors, and 

thereby increase participation in 

financial markets. 

Reduce Exchange Fees: The proposed 

market data enterprise license will 

lower fees by consolidating the features 

of three existing enterprise licenses at a 

lower cost, and with an expanded 

scope. The three current enterprise 

licenses that offer some, but not all,38 of 

the features of the proposed license are: 

(i) The $500,000 per month enterprise 

license for Depth-of-Book; 39 (ii) the 


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40See Rule 7023(c)(3). 

41See Rule 7047(b)(4). 

42See Rule 7047(b)(5). Note that Nasdaq Basic can 

be distributed to customers under this license on a 

password-protected website, but Nasdaq Basic 

would not be available for open distribution. 

43A separate enterprise license is required for 

each discrete electronic system that is approved by 

Nasdaq and used by the broker-dealer. See Rule 

7047(b)(5). 

44See Nasdaq Rule 7035; BX Rule 7035; and Phlx 

Pricing Schedule § VIII. All administrative fees are 

charged on a per Distributor, rather than a per 

product, basis. Currently, there are no user or 

Distributor fees applicable to BX Last Sale or PSX 

Last Sale. However, if BX or Phlx were to adopt 

user fees for these products in the future, the fees 

would also apply to persons receiving these 

products by means of NLS Plus. 

45The underlying content for each product (i.e., 

Nasdaq Basic and Nasdaq Depth-of-Book data) is 

identical under each license, although the 

restrictions on each license are somewhat different, 

as described in the rule book. 

46The proposed enterprise license will be 

introduced through an amendment to Rule 7032, 

which is currently reserved. Removal of the 

reserved Rule will have no impact on any market 

data fee or product. 

47See, e.g., Enterprise Fee for the Cboe Equities 

One Feed, available at https://markets.cboe.com/us/ 

equities/market_data_products/bats_one/. 

48 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). 

49 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5). 

$365,000 per month license for internal 

distribution of Nasdaq Basic; and (iii) 

the $100,000 per month license for 

external distribution of Nasdaq Basic. 

As explained above, the $500,000 

enterprise license for Depth-of-Book 

products allows a Distributor that is also 

a broker-dealer to distribute Nasdaq 

Level 2 or TotalView for Display Usage 

by Non-Professional Subscribers with 

whom the firm has a brokerage 

relationship.40 This Depth-of-Book fee is 

nearly equal to the proposed market 

data enterprise license fee without a 

twelve month commitment—and 

exactly the same as the proposed fee for 

Distributors that contract for twelve 

months of service—yet without the 

inclusion of Nasdaq Basic, NLS and 

NLS Plus. 

To distribute Nasdaq Basic and NLS 

using currently available enterprise 

licenses, a Distributor would be 

required to purchase two enterprise 

licenses for Nasdaq Basic—the $365,000 

per month license for internal 

distribution and the $100,000 per month 

license for external distribution—in 

addition to the $500,000 enterprise 

license for Depth-of-Book products. 

The $365,000 per month enterprise 

license for Nasdaq Basic, aimed 

primarily at internal distribution for 

professionals, allows the dissemination 

of Nasdaq Basic for $365,000 per month, 

provided that if the broker-dealer 

obtains the license with respect to usage 

of Nasdaq Basic provided by an External 

Distributor that controls display of the 

product, the fee will be $365,000 per 

month for up to 16,000 internal 

Professional Subscribers plus $2 for 

each additional internal Professional 

Subscriber over 16,000.41

The $100,000 per month enterprise 

license allows the distribution of 

Nasdaq Basic and NLS to an unlimited 

number of Professional and NonProfessional Subscribers who are 

natural persons in the context of a 

brokerage relationship.42 Nasdaq Basic 

may also be distributed to up to and 

including 4,500 internal Professional 

Subscribers employed by the brokerdealer in support of brokerage services 

to investors on an approved platform.43

Even with the purchase of these two 

additional licenses, the Distributor 

would also be required to pay any 

additional fees for NLS Plus.44 The 

proposed fees for the market data 

enterprise license, which would provide 

the same data 45 as the $365,000 per 

month enterprise license for Nasdaq 

Basic designed for internal use, the 

$100,000 per month enterprise license 

for Nasdaq Basic designed for external 

use, the $500,000 enterprise license for 

Depth-of-Book products, and applicable 

fees for NLS and NLS Plus, are 

substantially less than the sum of the 

currently available enterprise licenses. 

Savings for the Distributor could be over 

$4 million per year as a result. 

Lower Administrative Costs: The 

proposed market data enterprise license 

reduces administrative costs for 

Distributors by eliminating monthly and 

yearly reporting of Professional and 

Non-Professional Subscribers, a 

requirement that may be costly to 

administer. The market data enterprise 

license will have no requirement that 

the Distributor count and report 

individual Professionals and NonProfessionals on a monthly basis, but 

rather would simply require the 

Distributor to obtain approval for the 

platform used to disseminate such 

information as reasonably designed to 

ensure consistency with the proposed 

Rule. 

Increase Availability of Market Data 

for the Retail Investor: The proposed 

license is designed to make an array of 

market data products more easily 

accessible to the retail investor. Brokerdealers and Investment Advisers (which 

did not previously have access to any of 

the underlying enterprise licenses) 

would be able to share information from 

TotalView, Level 2, Nasdaq Basic, NLS 

and NLS Plus with their customers, 

without regard to current distinctions 

between fees for Professional and NonProfessional users, creating a seamless 

experience in which the firm and its 

customers can share market data 

information. Because the cost to the 

Distributor of adding another customer 

would be zero, the proposed enterprise 

license will create an incentive to 

distribute the data widely to investors. 

In summary, the proposed market 

data enterprise license will: (i) Offer 

Distributors a new, lower-fee option for 

Distributors of TotalView, Level 2, 

Nasdaq Basic, NLS and NLS Plus; (ii) 

reduce administrative costs by lowering 

reporting requirements for Professional 

and Non-Professional Subscribers; and 

(iii) provide a mechanism to render 

market data more readily accessible to 

retail investors by reducing the cost of 

distribution to new investors.46

This proposal demonstrates the 

effectiveness of the competitive market 

in maintaining low costs, enhancing the 

customer experience, and encouraging 

the dissemination of market data to the 

general investing public. As set forth in 

greater detail below, the Commission 

granted Self-Regulatory Organizations 

(‘‘SROs’’) and broker-dealers increased 

authority and flexibility to offer new 

and unique market data to the public 

when it adopted Regulation NMS. It was 

believed that this authority would 

expand the amount of data available to 

consumers, and also spur innovation 

and competition in the provision of 

market data. This market data enterprise 

license demonstrates the benefits of 

competition. A number of other SROs 

offer enterprise licenses for their market 

data products,47 but this multi-product 

enterprise license is an innovation for 

the Exchange—and indeed all SROs— 

that demonstrates the power of the 

competitive market to spur innovation 

and change. 

The proposed enterprise license is 

optional in that Nasdaq is not required 

to offer it and Distributors are not 

required to purchase it. Firms can 

discontinue its use at any time and for 

any reason, and may decide to purchase 

Nasdaq market data products 

individually or substitute Nasdaq 

products with competing products from 

other exchanges. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that its 

proposal is consistent with Section 6(b) 

of the Act,48 in general, and furthers the 

objectives of Sections 6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5) 

of the Act,49 in particular, in that it 

provides for the equitable allocation of 

reasonable dues, fees and other charges 

among members and issuers and other 

persons using any facility, and is not 

designed to permit unfair 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
38432 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 151 / Monday, August 6, 2018 / Notices 

50For example, the Commission has permitted 

pricing discounts for market data under Nasdaq 

Rules 7023(c) and 7047(b). See also Securities 

Exchange Act Release No. 82182 (November 30, 

2017), 82 FR 57627 (December 6, 2017) (SR–NYSE– 

2017–60) (changing an enterprise fee for NYSE BBO 

and NYSE Trades). 

51See n. 47. 

52Securities Exchange Act Release No. 59039 

(December 2, 2008), 73 FR 74770 (December 9, 

2008) (SR–NYSEArca–2006–21). 

53 Id. 

54 Id. 

55See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 51808 

(June 9, 2005), 70 FR 37496 (June 29, 2005) 

(‘‘Regulation NMS Adopting Release’’). 

discrimination between customers, 

issuers, brokers, or dealers. 

As described above, the proposed 

market data enterprise license will 

lower fees, reduce administrative costs, 

and expand the availability of market 

data to retail investors, which may lead 

to increased participation in financial 

markets. Distributors that are brokerdealers or Investment Advisers will be 

able to disseminate TotalView, Level 2, 

Nasdaq Basic, NLS and NLS Plus to an 

unlimited audience for display in the 

context of the brokerage or advisory 

relationship for a monthly fee of 

$600,000, or $500,000 per month for 

Distributors that contract with the 

Exchange in advance for twelve months 

of service. 

The proposal will lower fees for 

Distributors able to reach the largest 

audiences of retail investors. Discounts 

for broader dissemination of market data 

information have routinely been 

adopted by exchanges and permitted by 

the Commission as equitable allocations 

of reasonable dues, fees and other 

charges.50 Moreover, the specific feature 

of the proposal that will allow 

Distributors to lower fees to $500,000 

for a twelve month contract is also an 

equitable allocation because all 

Distributors will have the same option 

of choosing between the stability of a 

fixed, lower rate, and the more flexible 

option of maintaining the ability to 

change market data products after a 

month of service. Distributors will be 

free to move from the monthly to the 

annual rate at any time, or from the 

annual to a monthly fee, with notice, at 

the expiration of the twelve month 

period. 

The existence of this proposal 

demonstrates the existence of an 

effective, competitive market because 

this proposal resulted from a need to 

generate innovative approaches in 

response to competition from other 

exchanges that offer enterprise licenses 

for market data.51 As the Commission 

has recognized, ‘‘[i]f competitive forces 

are operative, the self-interest of the 

exchanges themselves will work 

powerfully to constrain unreasonable or 

unfair behavior,’’ 52 and ‘‘the existence 

of significant competition provides a 

substantial basis for finding that the 

terms of an exchange’s fee proposal are 

equitable, fair, reasonable, and not 

unreasonably or unfairly 

discriminatory.’’ 53 The proposed 

enterprise license will be subject to 

significant competition from other 

exchanges because each Distributor will 

have the ability to accept or reject the 

license depending on whether it will or 

will not lower its fees, and because 

other exchanges will be able to offer 

their own competitive responses. As the 

Commission has held in the past, the 

presence of competition provides a 

substantial basis for a finding that the 

proposal will be an equitable allocation 

of reasonable dues, fees and other 

charges.54

Furthermore, the proposed enterprise 

license will not unfairly discriminate 

between customers, issuers, brokers or 

dealers. The Act does not prohibit all 

distinctions among customers, but only 

discrimination that is unfair, and it is 

not unfair discrimination to charge 

those Distributors that are able to reach 

the largest audiences of retail investors 

a lower fee for incremental investors in 

order to encourage the widespread 

distribution of market data. This 

principle has been repeatedly endorsed 

by the Commission, as evidenced by the 

approval of enterprise licenses for 

Depth-of-Book products and Nasdaq 

Basic discussed above. Moreover, the 

proposed enterprise license will be 

subject to significant competition, and 

that competition will ensure that there 

is no unfair discrimination. Each 

Distributor will be able to accept or 

reject the license depending on whether 

it will or will not lower costs for that 

particular Distributor, and, if the license 

is not sufficiently competitive, the 

Exchange may lose market share. 

In adopting Regulation NMS, the 

Commission granted SROs and brokerdealers increased authority and 

flexibility to offer new and unique 

market data to the public. It was 

believed that this authority would 

expand the amount of data available to 

consumers, and also spur innovation 

and competition for the provision of 

market data. The Commission 

concluded that Regulation NMS—by 

deregulating the market in proprietary 

data—would itself further the Act’s 

goals of facilitating efficiency and 

competition: 

[E]fficiency is promoted when brokerdealers who do not need the data beyond the 

prices, sizes, market center identifications of 

the NBBO and consolidated last sale 

information are not required to receive (and 

pay for) such data. The Commission also 

believes that efficiency is promoted when 

broker-dealers may choose to receive (and 

pay for) additional market data based on their 

own internal analysis of the need for such 

data.55

The Commission was speaking to the 

question of whether broker-dealers 

should be subject to a regulatory 

requirement to purchase data, such as 

Depth-of-Book data, that is in excess of 

the data provided through the 

consolidated tape feeds, and the 

Commission concluded that the choice 

should be left to them. Accordingly, 

Regulation NMS removed unnecessary 

regulatory restrictions on the ability of 

exchanges to sell their own data, 

thereby advancing the goals of the Act 

and the principles reflected in its 

legislative history. If the free market 

should determine whether proprietary 

data is sold to broker-dealers at all, it 

follows that the price at which such 

data is sold should be set by the market 

as well. 

The proposed enterprise license will 

compete with other enterprise licenses 

of the Exchange, underlying fee 

schedules promulgated by the 

Exchange, and enterprise licenses and 

fee structures implemented by other 

exchanges. As such, it is a voluntary 

product for which market participants 

can readily find substitutes. 

Accordingly, Nasdaq is constrained 

from introducing a fee that would be 

inequitable or unfairly discriminatory. 

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. This 

proposal will: (i) Offer Distributors a 

new, lower fee option for TotalView, 

Level 2, Nasdaq Basic, NLS and NLS 

Plus; (ii) save administrative costs for 

Distributors by lowering reporting 

requirements for Professional and NonProfessional Subscribers; and (iii) 

establish a mechanism to render market 

data more readily accessible to retail 

investors, thereby encouraging broader 

dissemination of information. It will not 

impose a burden on competition not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act, but rather 

will enhance competition by 

introducing an innovative fee structure 

for market data, lowering prices and 

enhancing competition. 

The market for data products is 

extremely competitive and firms may 

freely choose alternative venues and 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 151 / Monday, August 6, 2018 / Notices 38433 

56See William J. Baumol and Daniel G. Swanson, 

‘‘The New Economy and Ubiquitous Competitive 

Price Discrimination: Identifying Defensible Criteria 

of Market Power,’’ Antitrust Law Journal, Vol. 70, 

No. 3 (2003). 

57 It should be noted that the costs of operating 

the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF borne by Nasdaq include 

regulatory charges paid by Nasdaq to FINRA. 

data vendors based on the aggregate fees 

assessed, the data offered, and the value 

provided. Numerous exchanges compete 

with each other for listings, trades, and 

market data itself, providing virtually 

limitless opportunities for entrepreneurs 

who wish to produce and distribute 

their own market data. This proprietary 

data is produced by each individual 

exchange, as well as other entities, in a 

vigorously competitive market. 

Transaction execution and proprietary 

data products are complementary in that 

market data is both an input and a 

byproduct of the execution service. In 

fact, market data and trade execution are 

a paradigmatic example of joint 

products with joint costs. The decision 

whether and on which platform to post 

an order will depend on the attributes 

of the platform where the order can be 

posted, including the execution fees, 

data quality and price, and distribution 

of its data products. Without trade 

executions, exchange data products 

cannot exist. Moreover, data products 

are valuable to many end users only 

insofar as they provide information that 

end users expect will assist them or 

their customers in making trading 

decisions. 

The costs of producing market data 

include not only the costs of the data 

distribution infrastructure, but also the 

costs of designing, maintaining, and 

operating the exchange’s transaction 

execution platform, the cost of 

implementing cybersecurity to protect 

the data from external threats and the 

cost of regulating the exchange to ensure 

its fair operation and maintain investor 

confidence. The total return that a 

trading platform earns reflects the 

revenues it receives from both products 

and the joint costs it incurs. 

Moreover, the operation of the 

Exchange is characterized by high fixed 

costs and low marginal costs. This cost 

structure is common in content and 

content distribution industries such as 

software, where developing new 

software typically requires a large initial 

investment (and continuing large 

investments to upgrade the software), 

but once the software is developed, the 

incremental cost of providing that 

software to an additional user is 

typically small, or even zero (e.g., if the 

software can be downloaded over the 

internet after being purchased).56

In Nasdaq’s case, it is costly to build 

and maintain a trading platform, but the 

incremental cost of trading each 

additional share on an existing platform, 

or distributing an additional instance of 

data, is very low. Market information 

and executions are each produced 

jointly (in the sense that the activities of 

trading and placing orders are the 

source of the information that is 

distributed) and each are subject to 

significant scale economies. In such 

cases, marginal cost pricing is not 

feasible because if all sales were priced 

at the margin, Nasdaq would be unable 

to defray its platform costs of providing 

the joint products. Similarly, data 

products cannot make use of trade 

reports from the TRF without the raw 

material of the trade reports themselves, 

and therefore necessitate the costs of 

operating, regulating,57 and maintaining 

a trade reporting system, costs that must 

be covered through the fees charged for 

use of the facility and sales of associated 

data. 

An exchange’s broker-dealer 

customers view the costs of transaction 

executions and of data as a unified cost 

of doing business with the exchange. A 

broker-dealer will disfavor a particular 

exchange if the expected revenues from 

executing trades on the exchange do not 

exceed net transaction execution costs 

and the cost of data that the brokerdealer chooses to buy to support its 

trading decisions (or those of its 

customers). The choice of data products 

is, in turn, a product of the value of the 

products in making profitable trading 

decisions. If the cost of the product 

exceeds its expected value, the brokerdealer will choose not to buy it. 

Moreover, as a broker-dealer chooses to 

direct fewer orders to a particular 

exchange, the value of the product to 

that broker-dealer decreases, for two 

reasons. First, the product will contain 

less information, because executions of 

the broker-dealer’s trading activity will 

not be reflected in it. Second, and 

perhaps more important, the product 

will be less valuable to that brokerdealer because it does not provide 

information about the venue to which it 

is directing its orders. Data from the 

competing venue to which the brokerdealer is directing more orders will 

become correspondingly more valuable. 

Similarly, vendors provide price 

discipline for proprietary data products 

because they control the primary means 

of access to end users. Vendors impose 

price restraints based upon their 

business models. For example, vendors 

that assess a surcharge on data they sell 

may refuse to offer proprietary products 

that end users will not purchase in 

sufficient numbers. Internet portals 

impose a discipline by providing only 

data that will enable them to attract 

‘‘eyeballs’’ that contribute to their 

advertising revenue. Retail brokerdealers offer their retail customers 

proprietary data only if it promotes 

trading and generates sufficient 

commission revenue. Although the 

business models may differ, these 

vendors’ pricing discipline is the same: 

They can simply refuse to purchase any 

proprietary data product that fails to 

provide sufficient value. Exchanges, 

TRFs, and other producers of 

proprietary data products must 

understand and respond to these 

varying business models and pricing 

disciplines in order to market 

proprietary data products successfully. 

Moreover, Nasdaq believes that market 

data products can enhance order flow to 

Nasdaq by providing more widespread 

distribution of information about 

transactions in real time, thereby 

encouraging wider participation in the 

market by investors with access to the 

internet or television. Conversely, the 

value of such products to Distributors 

and investors decreases if order flow 

falls, because the products contain less 

content. 

Competition among trading platforms 

can be expected to constrain the 

aggregate return each platform earns 

from the sale of its joint products, but 

different platforms may choose from a 

range of possible, and equally 

reasonable, pricing strategies as the 

means of recovering total costs. Nasdaq 

pays rebates to attract orders, charges 

relatively low prices for market 

information and charges relatively high 

prices for accessing posted liquidity. 

Other platforms may choose a strategy 

of paying lower liquidity rebates to 

attract orders, setting relatively low 

prices for accessing posted liquidity, 

and setting relatively high prices for 

market information. Still others may 

provide most data free of charge and 

rely exclusively on transaction fees to 

recover their costs. Finally, some 

platforms may incentivize use by 

providing opportunities for equity 

ownership, which may allow them to 

charge lower direct fees for executions 

and data. 

In this environment, there is no 

economic basis for regulating maximum 

prices for one of the joint products in an 

industry in which suppliers face 

competitive constraints with regard to 

the joint offering. Such regulation is 

unnecessary because an ‘‘excessive’’ 

price for one of the joint products will 

ultimately have to be reflected in lower 

prices for other products sold by the 

firm, or otherwise the firm will 

experience a loss in the volume of its 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
38434 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 151 / Monday, August 6, 2018 / Notices 

58Cf. Ohio v. American Express, No. 16–1454 (S. 

Ct. June 25, 2018), https://www.supremecourt.gov/ 

opinions/17pdf/16-1454_5h26.pdf (recognizing the 

need to analyze both sides of a two sided platform 

market in order to determine its competitiveness). 

59 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii). 

60 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 83129 

(April 30, 2018), 83 FR 20131 (‘‘Notice’’). 

4See Letter from Eugene P. Torpey, Chief 

Compliance Officer, Vandham Securities Corp., 

dated May 10, 2018. Comments on the proposed 

rule change are available at https://www.sec.gov/ 

comments/sr-finra-2018-015/finra2018015.htm. 

5 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2). 

6See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 83422, 

83 FR 28483 (June 19, 2018). 

7See Letter from Racquel L. Russell, Associate 

General Counsel, FINRA, to Brent J. Fields, 

Secretary, Commission (‘‘FINRA Letter’’). The 

sales that will be adverse to its overall 

profitability. In other words, an increase 

in the price of data will ultimately have 

to be accompanied by a decrease in the 

cost of executions, or the volume of both 

data and executions will fall.58

Moreover, the level of competition 

and contestability in the market is 

evident in the numerous alternative 

venues that compete for order flow, 

including SRO markets, internalizing 

broker-dealers and various forms of 

alternative trading systems (‘‘ATSs’’), 

including dark pools and electronic 

communication networks (‘‘ECNs’’). 

Each SRO market competes to produce 

transaction reports via trade executions, 

and two FINRA-regulated TRFs compete 

to attract internalized transaction 

reports. It is common for broker-dealers 

to further exploit this competition by 

sending their order flow and transaction 

reports to multiple markets, rather than 

providing them all to a single market. 

Competitive markets for order flow, 

executions, and transaction reports 

provide pricing discipline for the inputs 

of proprietary data products. The large 

number of SROs, TRFs, broker-dealers, 

and ATSs that currently produce 

proprietary data or are currently capable 

of producing it provides further pricing 

discipline for proprietary data products. 

Each SRO, TRF, ATS, and broker-dealer 

is currently permitted to produce 

proprietary data products, and many 

currently do or have announced plans to 

do so, including Nasdaq, NYSE, NYSE 

American, NYSE Arca, IEX, and BATS/ 

Direct Edge. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

No written comments were either 

solicited or received. 

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)(ii) of the Act.59

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: (i) Necessary or appropriate in 

the public interest; (ii) for the protection 

of investors; or (iii) otherwise in 

furtherance of the purposes of the Act. 

If the Commission takes such action, the 

Commission shall institute proceedings 

to determine whether the proposed rule 

should be approved or disapproved. 

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– 

NASDAQ–2018–058 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–NASDAQ–2018–058. 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–NASDAQ–2018–058 and 

should be submitted on or before 

August 27, 2018. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.60

Robert W. Errett, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2018–16720 Filed 8–3–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–83753; File No. SR–FINRA– 

2018–015] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; 

Financial Industry Regulatory 

Authority, Inc.; Order Granting 

Approval of a Proposed Rule Change 

To Amend FINRA Rule 6433 To Adopt 

the OTC Quotation Tier Pilot as 

Permanent 

July 31, 2018. 

I. Introduction 

On April 20, 2018, Financial Industry 

Regulatory Authority, Inc. (‘‘FINRA’’) 

filed with the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’), pursuant 

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

Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 

19b–4 thereunder,2 a proposed rule 

change to amend FINRA Rule 6433 to 

adopt as permanent the minimum 

quotation sizes that are applicable to 

quotations in over-the-counter (‘‘OTC’’) 

equity securities and that were 

implemented on a pilot basis. The 

proposed rule change was published for 

comment in the Federal Register on 

May 7, 2018.3 The Commission received 

one comment letter on the proposed 

rule change.4 On June 13, 2018, 

pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,5

the Commission designated a longer 

period within which to approve the 

proposed rule change, disapprove the 

proposed rule change, or institute 

proceedings to determine whether to 

disapprove the proposed rule change.6

In a letter dated July 5, 2018, FINRA 

responded to the comment letter.7


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES