I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4617 
To require the Securities and Exchange Commission to carry out a study 
on payment for order flow, to require the Investor Advocate of the 
Commission to provide recommendations on payment for order flow, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 22, 2021 
Mr. SHERMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To require the Securities and Exchange Commission to carry 
out a study on payment for order flow, to require the 
Investor Advocate of the Commission to provide rec-
ommendations on payment for order flow, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘øTo be added Act of 
2021¿’’. 
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SEC. 2. STUDIES AND REPORTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Securities and Exchange 
Commission shall carry out a study on payment for order 
flow received by brokerage firms for routing customer or-
ders to market centers, including wholesale brokerages, al-
ternative trading systems, internalizers, and exchanges, 
including— 
(1) payment for order flow arrangements; 
(2) conflicts arising from these payment ar-
rangements; 
(3) the extent to which execution prices for bro-
kerage firm customers are reflective of the best 
available market price; 
(4) the impact of payment for order flow ar-
rangements on customer trade execution quality; 
(5) steps firms are taking to mitigate or elimi-
nate conflicts stemming from these arrangements; 
(6) how brokerage firms disclose payment for 
order flow to customers; 
(7) whether customers understand the disclo-
sures provided by brokerage firms regarding pay-
ment for order flow; 
(8) the disclosure requirements pursuant to 
Rule 606 of Regulation NMS (17 C.F.R. 242.606); 
(9) whether firms are adequately disclosing pay-
ment for order flow on Form CRS; 
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(10) steps brokerage firms are taking, if any, to 
limit how market centers use the brokerage firms’ 
customer’s data; and 
(11) the extent to which brokers are surveying 
different market centers for best prices prior to 
routing specific customer orders. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than the end of the 180-day 
period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Commission shall issue a report to the Congress con-
taining all findings and determinations made in carrying 
out the study required under subsection (a). 
(c) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 18 months after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Securities and Ex-
change Commission shall issue rules, subject to notice and 
comment, to revise its rules consistent with the results of 
such study, including, if warranted, to prohibit or limit 
the payment for order flow. 
(d) CLARIFICATION OF AUTHORITY.—The Commis-
sion may issue rules to regulate, limit, or prohibit the pay-
ment for order flow before the completion of the study re-
quired under this section, if the Commission finds such 
a rule is necessary or appropriate in the public interest 
or for the protection of investors. 
Æ 
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