ASA Submits Comments on SEC Proposal to Rescind Rule 611

WASHINGTON – The American Securities Association (ASA) today submitted a comment letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) expressing support for the Commission's proposal to rescind Rule 611, the Order Protection Rule, and Rule 610(e) of Regulation NMS, while offering recommendations to strengthen the final rule.

"Twenty years of evidence has confirmed what Chairman Atkins warned in his 2005 dissent — Rule 611 fragmented liquidity and produced an increasingly complex and costly marketplace," said ASA President and CEO Chris Iacovella. "ASA applauds the Commission for proposing to modernize the core of the equity market structure and we look forward to further engagement with Chairman Atkins to develop a final rule that works for all market participants."

In the letter, ASA also offered recommendations on three priority areas to strengthen the final rule:

Best Execution Safe Harbor: ASA recommends the Commission adopt a rebuttable presumption of best execution compliance directly in new rule text at both the SEC and FINRA level, on a coordinated timeline that closes any gap between the two rulemakings.

Consolidated NBBO: The Commission should confirm that a consolidated NBBO will continue to be calculated and disseminated through existing SIP infrastructure for benchmarking purposes even once Rule 611 is rescinded.

Lit Market Protections: Access fee and tick size reductions should be sequenced to move simultaneously with rescission rather than deferred to a later date, to ensure the lit market remains competitive as the new framework takes effect.

To read ASA's full letter to the Commission, click here.

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The American Securities Association (ASA) represents the retail and institutional capital markets interests of regional financial services firms who provide Main Street businesses with access to capital and advise hardworking Americans how to create and preserve wealth. ASA’s mission is to promote trust and confidence among investors, facilitate capital formation, and support efficient and competitively balanced capital markets. This mission advances financial independence, stimulates job creation, and increases prosperity. The ASA has a geographically diverse membership of almost one hundred members that spans the Heartland, Southwest, Southeast, Atlantic, and Pacific Northwest regions of the United States.