15838 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 57 / Wednesday, March 25, 2015 / Notices 

11 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 15 U.S.C. 78a. 

3 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

4See Securities and Exchange Act Release No. 

73999 (January 6, 2015), 80 FR 1599 [sic] (January 

12, 2015) (SR–ISE–2014–52) (order granting 

approval of proposed rule change regarding short 

term option series program). Following approval of 

filing by the International Securities Exchange, LLC, 

several other option exchanges submitted ‘‘copycat’’ 

filings for immediate effectiveness. See, e.g., 

Securities and Exchange Act Release Nos. 74016 

(January 8, 2015), 80 FR 1976 (January 14, 2015) 

(SR–BOX–2015–01); 74144 (January 27, 2015), 80 

FR 5602 (February 2, 2015) (SR–CBOE–2015–09 

[sic]); 74145 (January 27, 2015), 80 FR 5600 

(February 2, 2015) (SR–Phlx–2015–09); 74146 

(January 27, 2015), 80 FR 5595 (February 2, 2015) 

(SR–NASDAQ–2015–005); 74147 (January 27, 

2015), 80 FR 5604 (February 2, 2015) (SR–BX– 

2015–006). 

5The Exchange notes that the number of option 

classes that may participate in the STOS Program 

is aggregated between equity options and index 

options and is not apportioned between equity 

options and index options. For STOS Program rules 

regarding index options, see Rule 5.19; Rule 

5.10(b)(24). 

6See Commentary .07(a) to Rule 6.4. 

7 Id. 

8See Commentary .07(e) to Rule 6.4. 

9See Commentary .04 to Rule 6.4 (allows the 

Exchange to designate up to 150 options classes on 

individual stocks to be traded in $1 strike price 

intervals where the strike price is between $50 and 

$1). 

10See Commentary .07(e) to Rule 6.4. 

11See Commentary .03 to Rule 6.4. 

12 Id. The term ‘‘primary market’’ is defined in 

Rule 6.1(7) [sic] as the principal market in which 

an underlying security is traded. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.11

Brent J. Fields, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2015–06716 Filed 3–24–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–74541; File No. SR– 

NYSEARCA–2015–16] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE 

Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed 

Rule Change Amending Its Rules 

Governing the Short Term Option 

Series Program To Extend Current 

$0.50 Strike Price Intervals in NonIndex Options to Short Term Options 

With Strike Prices Less Than $100 

March 19, 2015. 

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 

‘‘Act’’) 2 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,3

notice is hereby given that, on March 

12, 2015, NYSE Arca, Inc. (the 

‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘NYSE Arca’’) filed with 

the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (the ‘‘Commission’’) the 

proposed rule change as described in 

Items I and II below, which Items have 

been prepared by the self-regulatory 

organization. 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 amend its 

rules governing the Short Term Option 

Series program to extend current $0.50 

strike price intervals in non-index 

options to Short Term Options with 

strike prices less than $100. The text of 

the proposed rule change is available on 

the Exchange’s Web site at 

www.nyse.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 

self-regulatory organization 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 those 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 amend its 

rules governing the Short Term Option 

Series program (‘‘STOS Program’’) to 

introduce finer strike price intervals for 

certain short term options. In particular, 

the Exchange proposes to amend 

Commentary .07(e) to Rule 6.4 to extend 

current $0.50 strike price intervals in 

non-index options to short term options 

with strike prices less than $100 instead 

of the current $75. This proposed 

change is intended to eliminate gapped 

strikes between $75 and $100 that result 

from conflicting strike price parameters 

under the STOS and $2.50 Strike Price 

Programs as described in more detail 

below. The Exchange believes that the 

proposed rule change would increase 

market efficiency as it would align the 

Exchange’s rules with recently approved 

changes to the rules governing short 

term options series programs of other 

options exchanges,4 which would 

enable the Exchange to compete equally 

and fairly with other options exchanges 

in satisfying strong customer demand to 

have the ability to execute hedging and 

trading strategies in finer strike price 

intervals. 

Pursuant to Commentary .07(b) to 

Rule 6.4, the Exchange may list short 

term options in up to fifty option 

classes, in addition to option classes 

that are selected by other securities 

exchanges that employ a similar 

program under their respective rules.5

For each of these option classes, the 

Exchange may list five short term option 

expiration dates at any given time, not 

counting monthly or quarterly 

expirations.6 Specifically, on any 

Thursday or Friday that is a business 

day, the Exchange currently may list 

short term options that expire at the 

close of business on each of the next 

five Fridays that are business days and 

are not Fridays in which monthly or 

quarterly options expire.7 These short 

term option series may be listed in 

strike price intervals of $0.50, $1, or 

$2.50, with the finer strike price 

intervals being offered for lower priced 

securities,8 and for options that trade in 

dollar increments in the related monthly 

expiration.9 More specifically, per 

current Commentary .07(e) to Rule 6.4, 

the strike price interval for STOS may 

be $0.50 or greater for option classes 

that both trade in $1 strike price 

intervals and are in the STOS Program. 

If the class does not trade in $1 strike 

price intervals, the Exchange may list 

STOS in $0.50 intervals for strike prices 

less than $75; in $1 intervals for strike 

prices that are between $75 and $150; 

and in $2.50 intervals for strike prices 

greater than $150.10.10

The Exchange also operates a $2.50 

Strike Price Program that permits the 

Exchange to select up to sixty options 

classes on individual stocks to trade in 

$2.50 strike price intervals, in addition 

to option classes selected by other 

securities exchanges that employ a 

similar program under their respective 

rules.11 Monthly expiration options in 

classes admitted to the $2.50 Strike 

Price Program trade in $2.50 intervals 

where the strike price is (1) greater than 

$25 but less than $50; or (2) between 

$50 and $100 if the strikes are no more 

than $10 from the closing price of the 

underlying stock in its primary market 

on the preceding day.12 In certain 

instances, these strike price parameters 

conflict with strike prices allowed for 

short term options as dollar strikes 

between $75 and $100 otherwise 

allowed under the STOS Program may 


rljohnson on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 57 / Wednesday, March 25, 2015 / Notices 15839 

13See proposed Commentary .07(e) to Rule 6.4. 

14See supra n. 4. 

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

16 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 

17See Commentary .07(e) to Rule 6.4 (regarding 

Related Non-Short Term option series). 

18See supra n. 4. 

19 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 

20 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). As required under Rule 

19b–4(f)(6)(iii), the Exchange provided the 

Commission with written notice of its intent to file 

the proposed rule change, along with a brief 

description and the text of the proposed rule 

change, at least five business days prior to the date 

of filing of the proposed rule change, or such 

shorter time as designated by the Commission. 

be within $0.50 of strikes listed 

pursuant to the $2.50 Strike Price 

Program. 

To remedy this conflict, the Exchange 

proposes to extend the $0.50 strike price 

intervals, currently allowed for short 

term options with strike prices less than 

$75, to short term options with strike 

prices less than $100. With this 

proposed change, short term options in 

non-index option classes would trade 

in: (1) $0.50 or greater intervals for 

strike prices less than $100, or for 

option classes that trade in one dollar 

increments in the related monthly 

expiration option; (2) $1 or greater 

intervals for strike prices that are 

between $100 and $150; and (3) $2.50 

or greater intervals for strike prices 

above $150.13 The Exchange believes 

that this proposed change would 

eliminate gapped strikes between $75 

and $100. The Exchange also believes 

that the proposed rule change would 

provide the investing public and other 

markets with additional opportunities to 

hedge their investments, thus allowing 

these investors to better manage their 

risk exposure. In addition, as noted 

above, the Exchange believes the 

proposed rule change would harmonize 

the Exchange’s rules with recently 

approved rules on competing options 

exchanges, which consistency across 

markets would benefit investors.14

With regard to the impact of this 

proposal on system capacity, the 

Exchange has analyzed its capacity and 

represents that it and the Options Price 

Reporting Authority (‘‘OPRA’’) have the 

necessary systems capacity to handle 

any potential additional traffic 

associated with this proposed rule 

change. The Exchange believes that its 

OTP Firms and OTP Holders would not 

have a capacity issue as a result of this 

proposal. The Exchange also represents 

that it does not believe this expansion 

would cause fragmentation of liquidity. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed change is consistent with 

Section 6(b) of the Act,15 in general, and 

furthers the objectives of Section 

6(b)(5),16 in particular, in that it is 

designed to promote just and equitable 

principles of trade, to remove 

impediments to, and perfect the 

mechanism of a free and open market 

and, in general, to protect investors and 

the public interest. 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed change would result in a 

continuing benefit to investors by giving 

them more flexibility to closely tailor 

their investment and hedging decisions, 

thus allowing them to better manage 

their risk exposure. Under the 

Exchange’s current rules, during the 

month prior to expiration, the Exchange 

is permitted to list related monthly 

option contracts in the narrower strike 

price intervals available for short term 

option series.17 After transitioning to 

short term strike price intervals, 

however, monthly options that trade in 

$2.50 intervals between $50 and $100 

under the $2.50 Strike Price Program, 

trade with dollar strikes between $75 

and $150. Due [sic] the overlap of $1 

and $2.50 intervals, the Exchange 

cannot list certain dollar strikes between 

$75 and $100 that conflict with the prior 

$2.50 strikes. For example, if the 

Exchange initially listed monthly 

options on ABC with $75, $77.50, and 

$80 strikes, the Exchange could list the 

$76 and $79 strikes when these monthly 

options transition to short term 

intervals. The Exchange would not be 

permitted to list the $77 and $78 strikes, 

however, as these are $0.50 away from 

the $77.50 strike already listed on the 

Exchange. This creates gapped strikes 

between $75 and $100, where investors 

are not able to trade otherwise allowable 

dollar strikes on the Exchange. 

Similarly, these conflicting strike 

price parameters create issues for 

investors who want to roll their 

positions from monthly to weekly 

expirations. In the example above, for 

instance, an investor that purchased a 

monthly ABC option with a $77.50 

strike price would not be able to roll 

that position into a later short term 

expiration with the same strike price as 

that strike is unavailable under current 

STOS Program rules. Thus, the 

Exchange believes that permitting $0.50 

intervals for short term options up to 

$100 would remedy both of these issues 

as strikes allowed under the $2.50 Strike 

Price Program would not conflict with 

the finer $0.50 strike price interval. The 

STOS Program has been well-received 

by market participants and the 

Exchange believes that introducing finer 

strike price intervals for short term 

options with strike prices between $75 

and $100, and thereby eliminating the 

gapped strikes described above, would 

benefit these market participants by 

giving them more flexibility to closely 

tailor their investment and hedging 

decisions. 

With regard to the impact of this 

proposal on system capacity, the 

Exchange has analyzed its capacity and 

represents that it and the OPRA have 

the necessary systems capacity to 

handle any potential additional traffic 

associated with this proposed rule 

change. The Exchange believes that its 

OTP Firms and OTP Holders would not 

have a capacity issue as a result of this 

proposal. The Exchange also represents 

that it does not believe this expansion 

would cause fragmentation of liquidity. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

The Exchange does not believe that 

this proposed rule change would 

impose any burden on competition not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act. To the 

contrary, the Exchange believes that the 

proposed rule change would result in 

additional investment options and 

opportunities to achieve the investment 

objectives of market participants seeking 

efficient trading and hedging vehicles, 

to the benefit of investors, market 

participants, and the marketplace in 

general. In addition, as noted above, the 

Exchange believes the proposed rule 

change is pro-competitive and would 

allow the Exchange to compete more 

effectively with other options exchanges 

that have already adopted changes to 

their short term option series programs 

that are substantially identical to the 

changes proposed by this filing.18

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

No written comments were solicited 

or received with respect to the proposed 

rule change. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

Because the proposed rule change 

does not (i) significantly affect the 

protection of investors or the public 

interest; (ii) impose any significant 

burden on competition; and (iii) become 

operative for 30 days from the date on 

which it was filed, or such shorter time 

as the Commission may designate, the 

proposed rule change has become 

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

of the Act 19 and Rule 19b–4(f)(6) 

thereunder.20


rljohnson on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
15840 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 57 / Wednesday, March 25, 2015 / Notices 

21For purposes only of waiving the 30-day 

operative delay, the Commission has also 

considered the proposed rule’s impact on 

efficiency, competition, and capital formation. See 

15 U.S.C. 78c(f). 

22 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 15 U.S.C. 78a. 

3 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

The Exchange has asked the 

Commission to waive the 30-day 

operative delay so that the proposal may 

become operative immediately upon 

filing. The Exchange stated that waiver 

of this requirement will enable the 

Exchange to, as soon as possible, have 

the ability to compete with option 

exchanges that have incorporated the 

proposed rule change to their short term 

option series programs. For this reason, 

the Commission believes that the 

proposed rule change presents no novel 

issues and that waiver of the 30-day 

operative delay is consistent with the 

protection of investors and the public 

interest. Therefore, the Commission 

designates the proposed rule change to 

be operative upon filing.21

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. 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– 

NYSEARCA–2015–16 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–NYSEARCA–2015–16. 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 Web site (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 Web site 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; 

the Commission does not edit personal 

identifying information from 

submissions. You should submit only 

information that you wish to make 

available publicly. All submissions 

should refer to File Number SR– 

NYSEARCA–2015–16 and should be 

submitted on or before April 15, 2015. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.22

Brent J. Fields, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2015–06718 Filed 3–24–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–74544; File No. SR– 

NYSEArca–2015–19] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE 

Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed 

Rule Change Relating to the LBMA 

Gold Price as a Replacement for the 

London Gold Fix for Certain Gold 

Related Exchange Traded Products 

March 19, 2015. 

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 

‘‘Act’’) 2 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,3

notice is hereby given that, on March 

17, 2015, NYSE Arca, Inc. (the 

‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘NYSE Arca’’) filed with 

the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (the ‘‘Commission’’) the 

proposed rule change as described in 

Items I and II below, which Items have 

been prepared by the self-regulatory 

organization. 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 (1) to 

reflect a change to the value used by the 

SPDR® Gold Trust, which is currently 

listed on the Exchange under NYSE 

Arca Equities Rule 5.2(j)(5); iShares 

Gold Trust, ETFS Gold Trust, ETFS 

Precious Metals Basket Trust, ETFS 

Asian Gold Trust and Merk Gold Trust, 

each of which is currently listed on the 

Exchange under NYSE Arca Equities 

Rule 8.201, with respect to calculation 

of the net asset value of shares of each 

trust; and (2) to reflect a change to the 

underlying benchmark for ProShares 

Ultra Gold and ProShares UltraShort 

Gold, each of which is currently listed 

on the Exchange under NYSE Arca 

Equities Rule 8.200. The text of the 

proposed rule change is available on the 

Exchange’s Web site at www.nyse.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 

self-regulatory organization 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 those 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 the 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

The Exchange proposes to amend the 

Exchange listing rules applicable to nine 

exchange-traded products, all of which 

reference the ‘‘London Gold Fix’’, as 

described further below. The exchangetraded products are listed and traded 

pursuant to NYSE Arca Equities Rule 

5.2(j)(5) for the Equity Gold Shares; 

NYSE Arca Equities Rules 8.201, for 

Commodity-Based Trust Shares, and 

NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.200, for 

Trust Issued Receipts. The proposed 

change would replace references to the 


rljohnson on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES