[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 34 (Wednesday, February 20, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11921-11923]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-03819]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-68919; File No. SR-ISE-2013-08]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange,
LLC; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change To Amend the Minimum
Trading Increments for Mini Options
February 13, 2013.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(``Act'' or ``Exchange Act'') \1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice
is hereby given that on February 6, 2013, the International Securities
Exchange, LLC (``Exchange'' or ``ISE'') filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (``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.
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\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to permit the minimum trading increment for
Mini Options to be the same as the minimum trading increment permitted
for standard options on the same underlying security. The text of the
proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's Web site
www.ise.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 self-regulatory organization 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
ISE proposes to amend its rules to permit the minimum trading
increment for Mini Options to be the same as the minimum trading
increment permitted for standard options on the same underlying
security. Mini Options overlie 10 equity or ETF shares, rather than the
standard 100 shares.\3\ Mini Options are currently approved on the
following five (5) underlying securities: SPDR S&P 500 ETF (``SPY''),
Apple Inc. (``AAPL''), SPDR Gold Trust (``GLD''), Google Inc.
(``GOOG''), and Amazon.com, Inc. (``AMZN''). Of the five securities on
which Mini Options are permitted, four of them (SPY, AAPL, GLD and
AMZN) participate in the Penny Pilot Program.\4\ Under the Penny Pilot
Program, with the exception of three classes,\5\ the minimum price
variation for all participating options classes is $0.01 for all
quotations in options series that are quoted at less than $3 per
contract and $0.05 for all quotations in options series that are quoted
at $3 per contract or greater. Therefore, the minimum trading increment
for AAPL, GLD, and AMZN is $0.01 for option series under $3 and $0.05
for options quoted at $3 or greater, while the minimum trading
increment for SPY, which is not subject to a price test, is $0.01
across all option series. The Exchange notes that GOOG is not in the
Penny Pilot Program and therefore, standard options in GOOG have a
minimum increment of $0.05 and $0.10
[[Page 11922]]
per contract depending on the price at which the standard option in
this class is quoted.
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\3\ Mini Options were approved for trading on September 28,
2012. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 67948 (September 28,
2012), 77 FR 60735 (October 4, 2012) (Approving SR-ISE-2012-58). The
Exchange expects to begin trading Mini Options on March 18, 2013.
\4\ The Penny Pilot Program, which permits certain options
series to be quoted and traded in increments of $0.01, began on
January 26, 2007. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 55161
(January 24, 2007), 72 FR 4754 (February 1, 2007). The Penny Pilot
Program has since been extended a number of times and is currently
in place through June 30, 2013. See Securities Exchange Act Release
Nos. 56151 (July 26, 2007), 72 FR 42452 (August 2, 2007); 56564
(September 27, 2007), 72 FR 56412 (October 3, 2007); 57508 (March
17, 2008), 73 FR 15243 (March 21, 2008); 59633 (March 26, 2009), 74
FR 15018 (April 2, 2009); 60222 (July 1, 2009), 74 FR 32994 (July 9,
2009); 60865 (October 22, 2009), 74 FR 55880 (October 29, 2009);
63437 (December 6, 2010), 75 FR 77032 (December 10, 2010); 65968
(December 15, 2011), 76 FR 79723 (December 22, 2011); 67323 (June
29, 2012), 77 FR 40121 (July 6, 2012); and 68424 (December 13,
2012), 77 FR 75241 (December 19, 2012).
\5\ The three classes are the Nasdaq-100 Index Tracking Stock
(``QQQQ''), the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (``SPY'') and the iShares Russell
2000 Index Fund (``IWM''). QQQQ, SPY and IWM are quoted in $0.01
increments for all options series.
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This proposed rule change will permit the minimum trading increment
for Mini Options to be identical to the minimum trading increment
applicable to standard options on the same underlying security. The
Exchange believes having different trading increments for Mini Options
than those permitted for standard options on the same underlying
security would be detrimental to the success of this new product
offering and would also lead to investor confusion. The Exchange notes
that the Commission approved Mini Options on SPY, AAPL, GLD, GOOG and
AMZN because of their high price and current volume levels and because
of the level of retail investor participation in trading options in
these classes. Mini Options are a natural extension to the options
overlying these securities and therefore should retain the most
important characteristic, i.e., trading increments. The Exchange
believes that by reducing the minimum trading increments for Mini
Options, the proposed rule change will provide market participants with
meaningful trading opportunities in this product. Further, quoting and
trading in smaller increments will enable market participants to trade
Mini Options with greater precision as to price. Providing these more
refined increments will permit the Exchange's market makers the
opportunity to provide better fills (meaning less spread than the
current wider minimum increments rules allow) to customers. Therefore,
ISE proposes to amend its rules to permit the listing and trading of
Mini Options in the same increment permitted for standard options on
the same underlying security.
With this proposed rule change, although Mini Options would be
trading in narrower increments, they would not be considered part of
the Penny Pilot Program.
The Exchange's proposal to quote and trade certain option classes
that are outside of the Penny Pilot Program in $0.01 increments is not
novel. Specifically, the Commission has permitted ISE to set the
minimum increment for all Foreign Currency Options traded on the
Exchange at $0.01 regardless of the price at which the option is
quoted.\6\ The Commission has also previously approved a proposal by
NASDAQ OMX PHLX, Inc. permitting that exchange to also trade its
foreign currency options in $0.01 increments.\7\
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\6\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 57019 (December 20,
2007), 72 FR 73937 (December 28, 2007) (Notice of Filing and
Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Relating to Rule
710, Minimum Trading Increments) (SR-ISE-2007-120).
\7\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 56933 (December 7,
2007), 72 FR 71185 (December 14, 2007) (Approving SR-PHLX-2007-70).
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In support of this proposed rule change, ISE proposes to amend ISE
Rules 504 and 710. As so [sic] ISE Rule 710, ISE proposes to add new
Supplementary Material .03 which provides that the minimum trading
increment for Mini Options shall be determined in accordance with new
Supplementary Material .13(d) to Rule 504. Proposed Supplementary
Material .13(d) provides that the minimum trading increment for Mini
Options shall be the same as the minimum trading increment permitted
for standard options on the same underlying security.
With regard to the impact of this proposal on system capacity, the
Exchange represents that it and the Options Price Reporting Authority
have the necessary systems capacity to handle the potential additional
traffic associated with this proposal. The Exchange does not believe
that this increased traffic will become unmanageable since Mini Options
are limited to a fixed number of underlying securities.
2. Statutory Basis
The basis under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the ``Exchange
Act'') for this proposed rule change is found in Section 6(b)(5), in
that the proposed change is designed to promote just and equitable
principles of trade, will serve to remove impediments to and perfect
the mechanisms of a free and open market and a national market system
and, in general, to protect investors and the public interest. In
particular, the proposed rule change will assure that standard options
and Mini Options on the same underlying security will trade in similar
increments and therefore provide market participants meaningful trading
opportunities and enable them to trade Mini Options with greater
precision as to price. The Exchange also believes the proposed rule
change will avoid investor confusion if both standard options and Mini
Options on the same underlying security are permitted to trade in
similar trading increments. The Exchange further believes that
investors and other market participants will benefit from this proposed
rule change because it proposes to clarify and establish the minimum
trading increment for Mini Options prior to the commencement of
trading. The Exchange believes that investors generally will be
expecting the minimum trading increment for Mini Options to be the same
as the minimum trading increment for standard options on the same
underlying security. This proposed rule change will therefore lessen
investor confusion because Mini Options and standard options on the
same underlying security will have the same minimum trading increment.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
This proposed rule change does not impose any burden on competition
that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of
the Exchange Act. ISE believes that the proposed rule change will in
fact relieve any burden on, or otherwise promote, competition. Mini
Options are currently approved for trading on multiple options
exchanges and all of these exchanges will have the opportunity to
establish minimum trading increment for Mini Options.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants or Others
The Exchange has not solicited, and does not intend to solicit,
comments on this proposed rule change. The Exchange has not received
any unsolicited written comments from members or other interested
parties.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Within 45 days of the date of publication of this notice in the
Federal Register or within such longer period (i) as the Commission may
designate up to 90 days of such date if it finds such longer period to
be appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding or (ii) as to
which the self-regulatory organization consents, the Commission will:
(A) By order approve or disapprove such proposed rule change, or
(B) Institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule
change should be 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:
[[Page 11923]]
Electronic Comments
Use the Commission's Internet comment form (http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml ); or
Send an email to [email protected]. Please include
File Number SR-ISE-2013-08 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
Send paper comments in triplicate to Elizabeth M. Murphy,
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20549-1090.
All submissions should refer to File Number SR-ISE-2013-08. 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-ISE-2013-08 and should be
submitted on or before March 13, 2013.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\8\
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\8\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Kevin M. O'Neill,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013-03819 Filed 2-19-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P