“Broker-dealers and other market participants had ample opportunity to provide input into the CAT funding model,” they said in a June 29 comment letter.
‘That’s Anticompetitive’
OTC Markets Group Inc. runs a trading system where investors can buy or sell mostly tiny stocks -- typically companies not eligible for listing by the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq Stock Market. Its chief executive officer says his firm is being asked to contribute too much to the CAT, even though it’s far smaller than most exchanges.
“That’s anticompetitive,” said Cromwell Coulson, CEO of OTC Markets Group. “The SEC has an obligation to make sure CAT fees are fairly allocated.”
Much like setting rates for public utilities, “everyone makes the case that someone else should bear the cost,” said James Angel, a Georgetown University finance professor who studies trading. “We have a very complex market structure and need a complex information system. The question is: How cost effective is that system going to be?”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.