Notice2021-21989
Self-Regulatory Organizations; BOX Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Permit Monday and Wednesday Expirations for Options Listed Pursuant to the Short Term Option Series Program on the iShares Russell 2000 ETF
Primary source
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Published
October 8, 2021
Issuing agencies
Securities and Exchange Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 193 (Friday, October 8, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 193 (Friday, October 8, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56318-56321]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-21989]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-93247; File No. SR-BOX-2021-23]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; BOX Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing
and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Permit Monday
and Wednesday Expirations for Options Listed Pursuant to the Short Term
Option Series Program on the iShares Russell 2000 ETF
October 4, 2021.
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 September 29, 2021, BOX Exchange LLC (the ``Exchange'') 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 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 amend BOX Rule IM-5050-6 (Short Term
Option Series Program) to permit Monday and Wednesday expirations for
options listed pursuant to the Short Term Option Series Program on the
iShares Russell 2000 ETF. The text of the proposed rule change is
available from the principal office of the Exchange, at the
Commission's Public Reference Room and also on the Exchange's internet
website at <a href="http://boxoptions.com">http://boxoptions.com</a>.
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 self-regulatory organization
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.
[[Page 56319]]
A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
1. Purpose
The Exchange proposes to amend IM-5050-6 to permit Monday and
Wednesday expirations for options listed pursuant to the Short Term
Option Series Program (``Program'') on the iShares Russell 2000 ETF
(``IWM''). This is a competitive filing that is based on a proposal
recently submitted by Nasdaq Phlx LLC (``Phlx'') and approved by the
Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'').\3\
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\3\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 91357 (September 28,
2021) (Approving SR-PHLX-2021-43).
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A Short Term Option Series means a series in an option class that
is approved for listing and trading on the Exchange in which the series
is opened for trading on any Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or
Friday that is a business day and that expires on the Monday, Wednesday
or Friday of the next business week, or, in the case of a series that
is listed on a Friday and expires on a Monday, is listed one business
week and one business day prior to that expiration.\4\ The Exchange
proposes to amend IM-5050-6 to permit the listing of options series
that expire on Mondays and Wednesdays in IWM.
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\4\ BOX Rule 100(a)(65) defines the term ``Short Term Option
Series'' as a series in an option class that is approved for listing
and trading on the Exchange in which the series is opened for
trading on any Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday that
is a business day and that expires on the Monday, Wednesday or
Friday of the next business week, or, in the case of a series that
is listed on a Friday and expires on a Monday, is listed one
business week and one business day prior to that expiration. If a
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday is not a business day, the
series may be opened (or shall expire) on the first business day
immediately prior to that Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday,
respectively. For a series listed pursuant to this section for
Monday expiration, if a Monday is not a business day, the series
shall expire on the first business day immediately following that
Monday.
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Monday Expirations
As proposed, with respect to Monday IWM Expirations within IM-5050-
6(d), the Exchange may open for trading on any Friday or Monday that is
a business day series of options on IWM to expire on any Monday of the
month that is a business day and is not a Monday in which Quarterly
Options Series on the same class expire (``Monday IWM Expirations''),
provided that Monday IWM Expirations that are listed on a Friday must
be listed at least one business week and one business day prior to the
expiration. The Exchange may list up to five consecutive Monday IWM
Expirations at one time; the Exchange may have no more than a total of
five Monday IWM Expirations.
Wednesday Expirations
As proposed, with respect to Wednesday IWM Expirations within IM-
5050-6(c), the Exchange may open for trading on any Tuesday or
Wednesday that is a business day series of options on IWM to expire on
any Wednesday of the month that is a business day and is not a
Wednesday in which Quarterly Options Series on the same class expire
(``Wednesday IWM Expirations''). The Exchange may list up to five
consecutive Wednesday IWM Expirations at one time; the Exchange may
have no more than a total of five Wednesday IWM Expirations and a total
of five Wednesday IWM Expirations.
Monday and Wednesday Expirations
The interval between strike prices for the proposed Monday and
Wednesday IWM Expirations will be the same as those for the current
Short Term Option Series for Wednesday and Friday expirations
applicable to the Program.\5\ Specifically, the Monday and Wednesday
IWM Expirations will have a $0.50 strike interval minimum.\6\ As is the
case with other equity options series listed pursuant to the Program,
the Monday and Wednesday IWM Expiration series will be P.M.-settled.
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\5\ See IM-5050-6(b)(5).
\6\ Id.
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Pursuant to BOX Rule 100(a)(65), with respect to the Program, if
Monday i not a business day the series shall expire on the first
business day immediately following that Monday. This procedure differs
from the expiration date of Wednesday expiration series that are
scheduled to expire on a holiday. Pursuant to BOX Rule100(a)(65), a
Wednesday expiration series shall expire on the first business day
immediately prior to that Wednesday, e.g., Tuesday of that week, if the
Wednesday is not a business day. For purposes of IWM, however, the
Exchange believes that it is preferable to require Monday expiration
series in this scenario to expire on the Tuesday of that week rather
than the previous business day, e.g., the previous Friday, since the
Tuesday is closer in time to the scheduled expiration date of the
series than the previous Friday, and therefore may be more
representative of anticipated market conditions. Monday SPY and QQQ
expirations \7\ are treated in this manner today. Cboe Exchange, Inc.
(``Cboe'') uses the same procedure for options on the S&P 500 index
(``SPX''), Mini-SPX Index Options (``XSP''), Russell 2000 Index
(``RUT'') and Mini-Russell 200 Index Options (``MRUT'') and with Monday
expirations that are listed pursuant to its Nonstandard Expirations
Pilot Program and that are scheduled to expire on a holiday.\8\ Also,
Phlx \9\ and Nasdaq ISE, LLC (``ISE'') \10\ use the same procedure for
options on the Nasdaq-100[supreg] (``NDX'') with Monday expirations
that are listed pursuant to its Nonstandard Expirations Pilot Programs,
respectively.
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\7\ See IM-5050-6(b)(5).
\8\ See Cboe Rule 4.13(e)(1) ``. . . If the Exchange is not open
for business on a respective Monday, the normally Monday expiring
Weekly Expirations will expire on the following business day. If the
Exchange is not open for business on a respective Wednesday or
Friday, the normally Wednesday or Friday expiring Weekly Expirations
will expire on the previous business day.''
\9\ See Phlx Options 4A, Section 12(b)(5).
\10\ See ISE Supplementary Material .07 to Options 4A, Section
12.
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Currently, for each option class eligible for participation in the
Program, the Exchange is limited to opening thirty (30) series for each
expiration date for the specific class.\11\ The thirty (30) series
restriction does not include series that are open by other securities
exchanges under their respective short term option rules; the Exchange
may list these additional series that are listed by other
exchanges.\12\ This thirty (30) series restriction would apply to
Monday and Wednesday IWM Expiration series as well. In addition, the
Exchange will be able to list series that are listed by other
exchanges, assuming they file similar rules with the Commission to list
IWM options expiring on Mondays and Wednesdays.
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\11\ See IM-5050-6(b)(2).
\12\ Id.
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Finally, the Exchange is amending IM-5050-6(b)(2), which addresses
the listing of Short Term Option Series that expire in the same week as
monthly or quarterly options series. Currently, that rule states that
no Short Term Option Series may expire in the same week in which
monthly option series on the same class expire (with the exception of
Monday and Wednesday SPY and QQQ Expirations) or, in the case of
Quarterly Options Series, on an expiration that coincides with an
expiration of Quarterly Option Series on the same class.\13\ As with
Monday and Wednesday SPY and QQQ Expirations, the Exchange proposes to
permit Monday and Wednesday IWM Expirations to expire in the same week
as monthly options series on the same class. The Exchange believes that
it is reasonable to extend this exemption to Monday and Wednesday IWM
[[Page 56320]]
Expirations because Monday and Wednesday IWM Expirations and standard
monthly options will not expire on the same trading day, as standard
monthly options expire on Fridays. Additionally, the Exchange believes
that not listing Monday and Wednesday IWM Expirations for one week
every month because there was a monthly IWM expiration on the Friday of
that week would create investor confusion.
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\13\ See current IM-5050-6(b)(2).
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The Exchange does not believe that any market disruptions will be
encountered with the introduction of P.M.-settled Monday and Wednesday
IWM expirations. The Exchange has the necessary capacity and
surveillance programs in place to support and properly monitor trading
in the proposed Monday and Wednesday IWM Expirations. The Exchange
currently trades P.M.-settled Short Term Option Series that expire
Monday and Wednesday for SPY and QQQ and has not experienced any market
disruptions nor issues with capacity. Today, the Exchange has
surveillance programs in place to support and properly monitor trading
in Short Term Option Series that expire Monday and Wednesday for SPY
and QQQ.
Similar to SPY and QQQ, the introduction of IWM Monday and
Wednesday expirations will, among other things, expand hedging tools
available to market participants and continue the reduction of the
premium cost of buying protection. The Exchange believes that Monday
and Wednesday IWM expirations will allow market participants to
purchase IWM based on their timing as needed and allow them to tailor
their investment and hedging needs more effectively.
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that the proposal is consistent with the
requirements of Section 6(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(the ``Act''),\14\ in general, and Section 6(b)(5) of the Act,\15\ in
particular, in that it is designed to prevent fraudulent and
manipulative acts and practices, to promote just and equitable
principles of trade, to foster cooperation and coordination with
persons engaged in facilitating transactions in securities, to remove
impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and
a national market system, and, in general to protect investors and the
public interest by providing the investing public and other market
participants more flexibility to closely tailor their investment and
hedging decisions in IWM options, thus allowing them to better manage
their risk exposure.
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\14\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
\15\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
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In particular, the Exchange believes the Program has been
successful to date and that Monday and Wednesday IWM Expirations should
simply expand the ability of investors to hedge risk against market
movements stemming from economic releases or market events that occur
throughout the month in the same way that the Program has expanded the
landscape of hedging. Similarly, the Exchange believes Monday and
Wednesday IWM Expirations should create greater trading and hedging
opportunities, as well as flexibility that will provide customers with
the ability to tailor their investment objectives more effectively.
BOX currently lists Monday and Wednesday SPY and QQQ
Expirations.\16\ Also, Cboe \17\ currently permits Monday and Wednesday
expirations for other options with a weekly expiration, such as options
on the SPX, XSP, RUT and MRUT pursuant to its Nonstandard Expirations
Pilot Program. Phlx \18\ and ISE \19\ currently permit Monday and
Wednesday expirations for other options with a weekly expiration on NDX
pursuant to its Nonstandard Expirations Pilot Programs, respectively.
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\16\ See IM-5050-6(c) and (d).
\17\ See supra note 8.
\18\ See supra note 9.
\19\ See supra note 10.
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With the exception of Monday expiration series that are scheduled
to expire on a holiday, there are no material differences in the
treatment of Monday and Wednesday IWM expirations for Short Term Option
Series. The Exchange believes that it is consistent with the Act to
treat Monday expiration series that expire on a holiday differently
than Wednesday or Friday expiration series, since the proposed
treatment for Monday expiration series will result in an expiration
date that is closer in time to the scheduled expiration date of the
series, and therefore may be more representative of anticipated market
conditions. Monday SPY and QQQ expirations are treated in this manner
today.\20\ Cboe \21\ uses the same procedure for SPX, XSP, RUT and MRUT
options with Monday expirations that are listed pursuant to its
Nonstandard Expirations Pilot Program and that are scheduled to expire
on a holiday, as do Phlx \22\ and ISE \23\ for NDX options with Monday
expirations that are listed pursuant to their Nonstandard Expirations
Pilot Programs, respectively.
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\20\ See IM-5050-6(b)(2).
\21\ See supra note 8.
\22\ See supra note 9.
\23\ See supra note 10.
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Given the similarities between Monday and Wednesday SPY and QQQ
Expirations and the proposed Monday and Wednesday IWM Expirations, the
Exchange believes that applying the provisions in IM-5050-6, which
currently apply to Monday and Wednesday SPY and QQQ Expirations, to
Monday and Wednesday IWM Expirations is justified. For example, the
Exchange believes that allowing Monday and Wednesday IWM Expirations
and monthly IWM expirations in the same week will benefit investors and
minimize investor confusion by providing Monday and Wednesday IWM
Expirations in a continuous and uniform manner. The Exchange also
believes that is appropriate to amend IM-5050-6(b)(2) to clarify that
no Short Term Option Series may expire on the same day as an expiration
of Quarterly Option Series on the same class, same as SPY and QQQ.
The Exchange represents that it has an adequate surveillance
program in place to detect manipulative trading in Monday and Wednesday
expirations, including Monday and Wednesday IWM Expirations, in the
same way that it monitors trading in the current Short Term Option
Series and trading in Monday and Wednesday SPY and QQQ Expirations. The
Exchange also represents that it has the necessary systems capacity to
support the new options series. Finally, the Exchange does not believe
that any market disruptions will be encountered with the introduction
of Monday and Wednesday IWM expirations.
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 this regard and as indicated
above, the Exchange notes that the rule change is being proposed as a
competitive response to a filing submitted by Phlx<INF>.</INF>\24\ The
Exchange also notes that having Monday and Wednesday IWM expirations is
not a novel proposal, as Monday and Wednesday SPY and QQQ Expirations
are currently listed on BOX.\25\ Cboe \26\ uses the same procedure for
SPX, XSP, RUT and MRUT options with Monday expirations that are listed
[[Page 56321]]
pursuant to its Nonstandard Expirations Pilot Program and that are
scheduled to expire on a holiday, as do Phlx \27\ and ISE \28\ for NDX
options with Monday expirations that are listed pursuant to their
Nonstandard Expirations Pilot Programs, respectively.
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\24\ See supra, note 3.
\25\ See IM-5050-6(c) and (d).
\26\ See supra note 8.
\27\ See supra note 9.
\28\ See supra note 10.
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The Exchange does not believe the proposal will impose any burden
on intra-market competition, as all market participants will be treated
in the same manner under this proposal. Additionally, the Exchange does
not believe the proposal will impose any burden on inter-market
competition, as nothing prevents the other options exchanges from
proposing similar rules to list and trade Short-Term Option Series with
Monday and Wednesday expirations.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others
The Exchange has neither solicited nor received comments on the
proposed rule change.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Because the foregoing proposed rule change does not: (i)
Significantly affect the protection of investors or the public
interest; (ii) impose any significant burden on competition; and (iii)
become operative for 30 days from the date on which it was filed, or
such shorter time as the Commission may designate, it has become
effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act \29\ and Rule 19b-
4(f)(6) thereunder.\30\
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\29\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
\30\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6). In addition, Rule 19b-4(f)(6)
requires a self-regulatory organization to give the Commission
written notice of its intention to file the proposed rule change at
least five business days prior to the date of filing of the proposed
rule change, or such shorter time as designated by the Commission.
The Exchange has satisfied this requirement.
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A proposed rule change filed pursuant to Rule 19b-4(f)(6) under the
Act normally does not become operative for 30 days after the date of
its filing. However, Rule 19b-4(f)(6)(iii) \31\ permits the Commission
to designate a shorter time if such action is consistent with the
protection of investors and the public interest. The Exchange has
requested that the Commission waive the 30-day operative delay so that
the proposal may become operative immediately upon filing. The
Commission notes that it recently approved Phlx's substantially similar
proposal to list and trade Monday IWM Expirations and Wednesday IWM
Expirations.\32\ The Exchange has stated that waiver of the operative
delay will allow the Exchange to list and trade the proposed product
immediately, allowing the Exchange to compete with the exchanges that
have this product in place. For these reasons, the Commission believes
that the proposed rule change presents no novel issues and that waiver
of the 30-day operative delay is consistent with the protection of
investors and the public interest, and will allow the Exchange to
remain competitive with other exchanges. Accordingly, the Commission
hereby waives the operative delay and designates the proposed rule
change operative upon filing.\33\
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\31\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6)(iii).
\32\ See supra note 3.
\33\ For purposes only of waiving the 30-day operative delay,
the Commission has also considered the proposed rule's impact on
efficiency, competition, and capital formation. See 15 U.S.C.
78c(f).
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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 necessary or
appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or
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 change 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
<bullet> Use the Commission's internet comment form (<a href="http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml">http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml</a>); or
<bullet> Send an email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#abd9dec7ce86c8c4c6c6cec5dfd8ebd8cec885ccc4dd"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1f6d6a737a327c7072727a716b6c5f6c7a7c31787069">[email protected]</span></a>. Please include
File Number SR-BOX-2021-23 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
<bullet> 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-BOX-2021-23. 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 (<a href="http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml">http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml</a>).
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-BOX-2021-23 and should be submitted on
or before October 29, 2021.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\34\
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\34\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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J. Matthew DeLesDernier,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-21989 Filed 10-7-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
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