2252 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 16, 2018 / Notices 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3As part of this proposal, the Exchange proposes 

to correct a typographical error by renaming the 

Nasdaq ISE Trades Feed the ‘‘Nasdaq ISE Trade 

Feed.’’ The Exchange hereinafter refers to the 

product by its corrected name. 

Management and Budget for extension 

and approval. 

Form 15 (17 CFR 249.323) is a 

certification of termination of a class of 

security under Section 12(g) or notice of 

suspension of duty to file reports 

pursuant to Sections 13 and 15(d) of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 

U.S.C. 78a et seq.). We estimate that 

approximately 1,302 issuers file Form 

15 annually and it takes approximately 

1.5 hours per response to prepare for a 

total of 1,953 annual burden hours (1.5 

hours per response × 1,302 responses). 

Written comments are invited on: (a) 

Whether this proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate 

of the burden imposed by the collection 

of information; (c) ways to enhance the 

quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information collected; and (d) ways to 

minimize the burden of the collection of 

information on respondents, including 

through the use of automated collection 

techniques or other forms of information 

technology. Consideration will be given 

to comments and suggestions submitted 

in writing within 60 days of this 

publication. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to, a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid 

control number. 

Please direct your written comment to 

Pamela Dyson, Director/Chief 

Information Officer, Securities and 

Exchange Commission, c/o Remi PavlikSimon, 100 F Street NE, Washington, 

DC 20549 or send an email to: PRA_

Mailbox@sec.gov. 

Dated: January 9, 2018. 

Eduardo A. Aleman, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2018–00498 Filed 1–12–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–82465; File No. SR–ISE– 

2017–113] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq 

ISE, LLC; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed 

Rule Change To Amend the 

Exchange’s Schedule of Fees at 

Chapter VIII, Section J, Entitled 

‘‘Nasdaq ISE Trades Feed’’ 

January 9, 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 December 

26, 2017, Nasdaq ISE, LLC (‘‘ISE’’ 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 the Substance 

of the Proposed Rule Change 

The Exchange proposes to amend the 

Exchange’s Schedule of Fees at Chapter 

VIII, Section J, entitled ‘‘Nasdaq ISE 

Trades Feed,’’ to introduce a monthly 

fee of $1,000 for unlimited internal and/ 

or external distribution of the Nasdaq 

ISE Trade Feed,3 as described further 

below. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available on the Exchange’s website at 

http://ise.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 purpose of the proposed rule 

change is to amend the Exchange’s 

Schedule of Fees at Chapter VIII, 

Section J, entitled ‘‘Nasdaq ISE Trades 

Feed,’’ to introduce a monthly fee of 

$1,000 for unlimited internal and/or 

external distribution of the ISE Trade 

Feed. 

The Nasdaq ISE Trade Feed is a direct 

data feed product that displays last sale 

information about trades that occur in 

the Exchange’s execution system, along 

with opening price, cumulative volume, 

and high and low prices for the day. The 

data provided for each instrument 

includes the symbols (series and 

underlying security), put or call 

indicator, expiration date, the strike 

price of the series, and trading status. 

Access to real-time last sale options data 

from the Exchange increases 

transparency and enables firms to 

provide dynamically updated tickers, 

portfolio trackers and price/time charts. 

The Exchange presently offers 

subscriptions to the Nasdaq ISE Trade 

Feed for free. The Exchange proposes to 

amend Section J to charge a fee of 

$1,000 per month (for unlimited 

internal and external distribution) for a 

subscription to the Nasdaq ISE Trade 

Feed. Upon effectiveness of the 

proposal, this monthly fee will apply to 

all firms that choose to subscribe to the 

Nasdaq ISE Trade Feed, including firms 

that currently receive it for free. 

Although the Exchange proposes to 

offer the Nasdaq ISE Trade Feed for a 

fee on a standalone basis, it notes that 

the Trade Feed is a purely optional 

product and a subscription to it is not 

required to receive the data that it 

provides. The same ISE trade 

information that is available on the 

Nasdaq ISE Trade Feed is also broadcast 

on two other Nasdaq ISE data feeds: the 

ISE Top Quote Feed and the ISE Depth 

of Market Feed. 

The Exchange’s proposal to charge a 

fee for the Nasdaq ISE Trade Feed 

reflects the value of the investments that 

the Exchange has made in developing, 

maintaining, and upgrading the ISE 

Trade Feed product and the Exchange 

trading facility that supports it, which 

include the following: 

• Exchange Re-Platform and 

Harmonization of Specifications. In 

connection with its recent acquisition 

by Nasdaq, Inc. and the associated 

efforts to re-platform and integrate the 

Exchange into the Nasdaq, Inc. family of 

exchanges, the Exchange upgraded the 

ISE Trade Feed so that it is consistent 

with the specifications and formats of 

the other Nasdaq, Inc. data feeds. The 

re-platforming and associated upgrades 

will render connection to and 

consumption of the ISE Trade Feeds and 

other data products easier for customers 

to manage. Having one harmonized 

specification document format that is 

standardized across six exchanges 

makes initial onboarding and 

implementation of the data feeds into 

customers’ systems more efficient than 

having multiple documents in disparate 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 16, 2018 / Notices 2253 

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

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

6Securities Exchange Act Release No. 51808 

(June 9, 2005), 70 FR 37496, 37499 (June 29, 2005) 

(‘‘Regulation NMS Adopting Release’’). 

7NetCoalition v. SEC, 615 F.3d 525 (D.C. Cir. 

2010). 

8See NetCoalition, at 534–535. 

9 Id. at 537. 

10 Id. at 539 (quoting Securities Exchange Act 

Release No. 59039 (December 2, 2008), 73 FR 

74770, 74782–83 (December 9, 2008) (SR– 

NYSEArca–2006–21)). 

formats across different platforms. 

Furthermore, any updates or 

enhancements that are introduced 

across any of the six exchanges will now 

be more cost effective for customers to 

implement because of the standardized 

message format. In addition, the 

migration to the Nasdaq Inet technology 

allows customers to seamlessly conduct 

business across multiple exchanges by 

leveraging Nasdaq’s standard messaging 

protocols to interact with ISE data feeds 

as well as all Nasdaq options data feeds. 

Moreover, the hardware efficiencies 

provide a highly-distributed and 

efficient system for the Exchange to 

operate from. 

• Geographic Diversity. In connection 

with the Exchange’s integration into the 

Nasdaq, Inc. family of exchanges, the 

Exchange moved its disaster recovery 

system to the site utilized by the other 

Nasdaq, Inc. exchanges in Chicago, 

Illinois. Customers can both receive 

market data and send orders through the 

Chicago facility, potentially reducing 

overall networking costs. Additionally, 

this new disaster recovery location 

enables firms to easily connect to a 

multitude of multi-asset class engines 

currently housed in or near this Chicago 

facility, which also may reduce 

networking costs. Adding such 

geographic diversity helps protect the 

market in the event of a catastrophic 

event impacting the entire East Coast. 

Lastly, the new facility has new 

equipment that will offer improved 

performance and resiliency. 

The Exchange notes while it and its 

sister exchange, Nasdaq GEMX, LLC, are 

unique among their competitors in 

offering a standalone Trade Feed, the 

Exchange proposes to price the product 

at or below the prices that competing 

exchanges charge for their data feeds. 

The Exchange notes that although fees 

for external distribution of data feeds 

are typically higher than internal 

distribution fees, the Exchange proposes 

to charge the same price for both 

internal and external distribution of the 

Trade Feed as a means of incentivizing 

external distribution. 

The Exchange also notes that it 

proposes to price its Trade Feed higher 

than that of the Nasdaq GEMX product. 

The Exchange believes that this price 

differential is reasonable given the fact 

that the Exchange has more listings, 

strike volume, and market makers than 

does Nasdaq GEMX, such that the 

Exchange’s Trade Feed product has 

greater potential value to customers 

than does the Nasdaq GEMX product. 

Specifically, the ISE market has 3,788 

listed options on its platform, totaling 

732,000 strikes. Comparatively, GEMX 

has 2,642 listed options and 619.000 

[sic] strikes. ISE also has 33% more 

market makers providing liquidity than 

does GEMX. 

Finally, offering valuable trade data as 

a standalone feed allows for a much 

lower bandwidth option that customers 

can utilize instead of having to 

subscribe to other ISE feeds that may 

include quotes and orders and require 

much more system effort to consume 

and utilize due to the larger number of 

messages required for processing. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that its 

proposal is consistent with Section 6(b) 

of the Act,4 in general, and furthers the 

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

of the Act,5 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 

discrimination between customers, 

issuers, brokers, or dealers. 

The Commission and the courts have 

repeatedly expressed their preference 

for competition over regulatory 

intervention in determining prices, 

products, and services in the securities 

markets. In Regulation NMS, while 

adopting a series of steps to improve the 

current market model, the Commission 

highlighted the importance of market 

forces in determining prices and selfregulatory organization (‘‘SRO’’) 

revenues and, also, recognized that 

current regulation of the market system 

‘‘has been remarkably successful in 

promoting market competition in its 

broader forms that are most important to 

investors and listed companies.’’ 6

Likewise, in NetCoalition v. Securities 

and Exchange Commission 7

(‘‘NetCoalition’’) the D.C. Circuit upheld 

the Commission’s use of a market-based 

approach in evaluating the fairness of 

market data fees against a challenge 

claiming that Congress mandated a costbased approach.8 As the court 

emphasized, the Commission ‘‘intended 

in Regulation NMS that ‘market forces, 

rather than regulatory requirements’ 

play a role in determining the market 

data . . . to be made available to 

investors and at what cost.’’ 9

Further, ‘‘[n]o one disputes that 

competition for order flow is ‘fierce.’ 

. . . As the SEC explained, ‘[i]n the U.S. 

national market system, buyers and 

sellers of securities, and the brokerdealers that act as their order-routing 

agents, have a wide range of choices of 

where to route orders for execution’; 

[and] ‘no exchange can afford to take its 

market share percentages for granted’ 

because ‘no exchange possesses a 

monopoly, regulatory or otherwise, in 

the execution of order flow from broker 

dealers’. . . .’’ 10 Although the court 

and the SEC were discussing the cash 

equities markets, the Exchange believes 

that these views apply with equal force 

to the options markets. 

The Exchange believes that its 

proposal is reasonable to charge a 

monthly fee for all subscriptions to the 

Nasdaq ISE Trade Feed because this 

product provides valuable data to firms. 

As noted above, access to real-time last 

sale options data from the Exchange 

increases transparency and enables 

firms to provide dynamically updated 

tickers, portfolio trackers and price/time 

charts. 

Moreover, the Exchange believes its 

proposal to charge a monthly fee of 

$1,000 for a subscription to the Nasdaq 

ISE Trade Feed is a reasonable reflection 

of the Exchange’s costs in producing, 

maintaining, and upgrading the product 

to provide value to subscribers. The 

Exchange notes, for example, that in 

connection with its recent acquisition 

by Nasdaq, Inc. and the associated 

efforts to re-platform and integrate the 

Exchange into the Nasdaq, Inc. family of 

exchanges, the Exchange upgraded the 

Trade Feed so that it is consistent with 

the specifications and formats of the 

other Nasdaq, Inc. data feeds. The replatforming and associated upgrades 

will render connection to and 

consumption of the Trade Feeds and 

other data products easier for customers 

to manage. 

Moreover, the Exchange’s integration 

into Nasdaq, Inc. has also resulted in its 

migration to a more robust and 

geographically diverse disaster recovery 

facility, located in Chicago, IL. 

Customers can both receive market data 

and send orders through the Chicago 

facility, potentially reducing overall 

networking costs. Adding such 

geographic diversity helps protect the 

market in the event of a catastrophic 

event impacting the entire East Coast. 

The Exchange notes that while it and 

its sister exchange, Nasdaq GEMX, LLC, 

are unique among its competitors in 

offering a standalone Trade Feed, the 

Exchange proposes to price the product 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
2254 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 16, 2018 / Notices 

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

12 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

1Rule 13h–1(a)(1) defines ‘‘large trader’’ as any 

person that directly or indirectly, including through 

other persons controlled by such person, exercises 

investment discretion over one or more accounts 

and effects transactions for the purchase or sale of 

any NMS security for or on behalf of such accounts, 

by or through one or more registered broker-dealers, 

in an aggregate amount equal to or greater than the 

at or below the prices that competing 

exchanges charge for their data feeds. 

The Exchange notes that although fees 

for external distribution of data feeds 

are typically higher than internal 

distribution fees, the Exchange proposes 

to charge the same price for both 

internal and external distribution of the 

ISE Trade Feed as a means of 

incentivizing external distribution. 

The Exchange also notes that it 

proposes to price its Trade Feed higher 

than that of the Nasdaq GEMX product. 

The Exchange believes that this price 

differential is reasonable given the fact 

that the Exchange has more listings, 

strike volume, and market makers than 

does Nasdaq GEMX, such that the 

Exchange’s Trade Feed product has 

greater potential value to customers 

than does the Nasdaq GEMX product. 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposal is an equitable allocation and 

is not unfairly discriminatory because 

the Exchange will apply the same fee to 

all, regardless of membership. 

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. In terms of 

inter-market competition, the Exchange 

notes that it operates in a highly 

competitive market in which market 

participants can readily favor competing 

venues if they deem fee levels at a 

particular venue to be excessive, or 

rebate opportunities available at other 

venues to be more favorable. In such an 

environment, the Exchange must 

continually adjust its fees to remain 

competitive with other exchanges. 

Because competitors are free to modify 

their own fees in response, and because 

market participants may readily adjust 

their order routing practices, the 

Exchange believes that the degree to 

which fee changes in this market may 

impose any burden on competition is 

extremely limited. 

In this instance, the proposed 

establishment of the Nasdaq ISE Trade 

Feed fee does not impose an undue 

burden on competition because a 

subscription to the Nasdaq ISE Trade 

Feed is completely voluntary and 

subject to extensive competition from 

other exchanges. In sum, if the change 

proposed herein is unattractive to 

market participants, it is likely that the 

Exchange will lose market share as a 

result. Accordingly, the Exchange does 

not believe that the proposed change 

will impair the ability of members or 

competing order execution venues to 

maintain their competitive standing in 

the financial markets. 

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.11 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– 

ISE–2017–113 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–ISE–2017–113. 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–ISE–2017–113 and should 

be submitted on or before February 6, 

2018. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.12

Eduardo A. Aleman, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2018–00522 Filed 1–12–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[SEC File No. 270–614, OMB Control No. 

3235–0682] 

Proposed Collection; Comment 

Request 

Upon Written Request, Copies Available 

From: Securities and Exchange 

Commission, Office of FOIA Services, 

100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 

20549–2736 

Extension: 

Rule 13h–1 and Form 13H 

Notice is hereby given that pursuant 

to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) (‘‘PRA’’), the 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) is soliciting comments 

on the existing collection of information 

provided for Rule 13h–1 (17 CFR 

240.13h–1) and Form 13H—registration 

of large traders 1 submitted pursuant to 


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