Notice2025-17812
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Investors Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Modify the IEX Fee Schedule Concerning Logical Order Entry Ports
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 16, 2025
Issuing agencies
Securities and Exchange Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 177 (Tuesday, September 16, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 177 (Tuesday, September 16, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44730-44734]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-17812]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-103947; File No. SR-IEX-2025-22]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Investors Exchange LLC; Notice of
Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Modify
the IEX Fee Schedule Concerning Logical Order Entry Ports
September 11, 2025.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) \1\ of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 (the ``Act'') \2\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\3\ notice is hereby
given that, on September 4, 2025, the Investors Exchange LLC (``IEX''
or the ``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(the ``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I,
II and III 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\ 15 U.S.C. 78a.
\3\ 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
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 19(b)(1) under the Act \4\
and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\5\ the Exchange is filing with the
Commission a proposed rule change to modify the IEX Fee Schedule (``Fee
Schedule''), pursuant to IEX Rules 15.110(a) and (c), to increase fees
for logical order entry ports (also referred to as ``Order Entry
Ports'').\6\
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\4\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\5\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
\6\ Market participants use logical order entry ports to send
order messages to, and receive responses from exchanges (e.g.,
confirmations, fills, or errors). Logical order entry ports can use
either the industry standard Financial Information eXchange
(``FIX'') messaging protocol or binary protocols to transmit,
receive, and process messages. IEX offers only FIX order entry ports
and the fee comparisons discussed in the Statutory Basis section
below are to FIX order entry ports offered by other exchanges.
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Changes to the Fee Schedule pursuant to this proposal are effective
upon filing,\7\ and will be operative beginning on October 1, 2025.
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\7\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
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The text of the proposed rule change is available at the Exchange's
website at <a href="https://www.iexexchange.io/resources/regulation/rule-filings">https://www.iexexchange.io/resources/regulation/rule-filings</a>
and at the principal office of the Exchange.
II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and the
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.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and the
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
1. Purpose
IEX is proposing to modify its Fee Schedule, pursuant to IEX Rules
15.110(a) and (c), to increase fees for logical order entry ports (also
referred to as ``Order Entry Ports'') in excess of those provided free
of charge from $250 per month to $450 per month, and reduce the number
of Order Entry Ports offered free of charge from five to three. The
Exchange has charged port fees since October 1, 2019.\8\ As described
more fully below, the proposed fee described herein for Order Entry
Ports is comparable to, or lower than, fees charged by other equities
exchanges with similar or lower market share to IEX for order entry
ports at their primary data centers.
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\8\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 86626 (August 9,
2019), 84 FR 41793 (August 15, 2019) (SR-IEX-2019-07). In June 2024,
the Exchange increased port fees in excess of five ports per
subscriber from $100 to $250 per month; Securities Exchange Act
Release No. 100085 (May 9, 2024), 89 FR 42528 (May 15, 2024) (SR-
IEX-2024-08).
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Similar to other equities exchanges, the Exchange offers FIX Order
Entry Ports at IEX's primary data center, also known as ``sessions,''
for order entry and receipt of trade execution reports and order
messages.\9\ Members \10\ can also choose to connect to the Exchange
indirectly through a session maintained by a third-party Service
Bureau.\11\ Service Bureau sessions may provide access to one or
multiple Members on a single session.\12\ The number of sessions
assigned to each port subscriber as of August 1, 2025 ranges from one
to 311, depending on the scope and scale of the User's trading activity
on the Exchange (either through a direct connection or through a
Service Bureau) as determined by the User.\13\ For example, by using
multiple sessions, Members can segregate order flow from different
internal desks, trading strategies, business lines, or customers. IEX
does not impose any minimum or maximum requirements for how many Order
Entry Ports a port subscriber can maintain, and it is not proposing to
impose any minimum or maximum requirements.
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\9\ Logical connectivity for order entry is provided via network
switch and cabling infrastructure at the IEX Primary Data Center
that delivers order and execution messages, as well as server
infrastructure that runs software processes responsible for
validating and formatting such messages for either internal or
external consumption.
\10\ See IEX Rule 1.160(s).
\11\ Service Bureaus, which offer technology-based services to
other companies for a fee, may access the Exchange's Order Entry
Ports on behalf of one or more Members. See IEX Rule 11.130(d).
\12\ Members and Service Bureaus are collectively referred to
herein as ``port subscribers.''
\13\ Users who connect to the Exchange's Order Entry Ports are
either Members that connect directly to the Exchange, or Service
Bureaus through which one or more Members connect to the Exchange.
Because it is the Exchange's Members that send orders to the
Exchange (either directly or through a Service Bureau), this rule
filing focuses on the expected impact on Members. However, because
IEX assigns Order Entry Ports to Users, which includes Service
Bureaus that provide connectivity to Members, the impact of the
proposed fee on Service Bureaus will be addressed whenever relevant.
See IEX Rule 1.160(qq).
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Currently the Exchange charges a monthly fee of $250 per Order
Entry Port and offers up to five ports per subscriber free of charge.
The Exchange now proposes to amend the Fee Schedule to reduce the
number of free ports per subscriber from five to three, and to increase
the monthly port fee, which would apply to the fourth port and each
port purchased thereafter, from $250 to $450. As the Exchange continues
to invest in upgrading its technology, product features, and system
infrastructure, IEX determined that the new level of port fees and
reduction in the number of free ports, as described herein, is
appropriate and comparable to other similarly situated exchanges. The
Exchange is proposing to continue to provide Order Entry Ports at the
Disaster Recovery Data Center and
[[Page 44731]]
IEX Testing Facility,\14\ as well as drop copy ports and market data
ports, free of charge.\15\
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\14\ Logical ports to connect to the Disaster Recovery or Test
Facilities also would not count toward the three free Order Entry
Port calculation.
\15\ Confirmations of orders and execution reports are
transmitted by the Exchange over the Order Entry Port that was used
to enter the order. A ``drop copy'' contains redundant information
that a Member chooses to have ``dropped'' to another destination
(e.g., to allow the Member's back office and/or compliance
department, or another Member--typically the Member's clearing
broker--to have immediate access to the information). Drop copies
can only be sent via a drop copy port. Drop copy ports cannot be
used to enter orders.
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As detailed below, the proposed fee is less than fees charged for
comparable port connectivity by other equities exchanges with similar
or lower market share to IEX, and identical to port fees charged by one
exchange with lower market share. The Exchange proposes to implement
the changes to the Fee Schedule pursuant to this proposal on October 1,
2025.
In general, the Exchange believes that exchanges, in setting fees
of all types, should meet very high standards of transparency to
demonstrate why each new fee or fee increase meets the Exchange Act
requirements. The Exchange believes this high standard is especially
important when an exchange imposes fees for market participants to
access an exchange's marketplace.
The Exchange believes the proposed fee is reasonable when compared
with the fees charged by other equities exchanges with similar or lower
market share for FIX order entry ports at their primary data centers.
More specifically, as described in the Statutory Basis section, the
proposed port fee is lower than the port fees charged by other equities
exchanges with similar or lower market share as IEX for comparable port
connectivity and equal to the port fee charged by a single exchange
that has lower market share than IEX.\16\
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\16\ For example, Cboe BYX Exchange, Inc. (``BYX Equities'') and
Cboe EDGA Exchange, Inc. (``EDGA Equities''), with year-to-date
market share as of August 1, 2025 of 0.75%, and 0.68%, respectively,
each charge $550/month for FIX order entry ports and do not offer
any free ports.
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The Exchange plans to implement the proposed fee change on October
1, 2025, subject to effectiveness of this proposed rule change, in
order to provide ample advance notice and allow impacted market
participants time to prepare for the change. On July 1, 2025, the
Exchange announced the planned implementation of the proposed port fees
on October 1, 2025, subject to the filing and effectiveness of an SEC
rule filing.\17\
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\17\ See IEX Trading Alert #2025-015.
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2. Statutory Basis
IEX believes that the proposed fee is consistent with the
provisions of Section 6 of the Act \18\ in general and furthers the
objectives of Section 6(b)(4) of the Act,\19\ in particular, in that it
is designed to provide for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues,
fees, and other charges among its Members and other persons using its
facilities. In addition, the Exchange believes that the proposed fee is
consistent with the purposes of Section 6(b)(5) \20\ of the Act in that
it is designed to promote just and equitable principles of trade, to
foster cooperation and coordination with persons engaged in regulating,
clearing, settling, processing information with respect to, and
facilitating transactions in securities, to remove impediments to a
free and open market and national market system, and, in general, to
protect investors and the public interest, and particularly, is not
designed to permit unfair discrimination between customers, issuers,
brokers, or dealers.
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\18\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
\19\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
\20\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
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As discussed below, the proposed fee is within the range of or
lower than fees charged by other exchanges with similar or lower market
share for FIX order entry ports. IEX understands that these other
exchanges provide FIX order entry ports with comparable functionality
to IEX's FIX order entry ports. The fee comparison below does not
include binary ports, which some exchanges offer in addition to FIX
order entry ports. Binary ports, which IEX does not offer, differ from
FIX order entry ports in that they use exchange-specific binary
protocols and typically process messages at a faster rate than FIX
order entry ports.
The Exchange believes that the proposed fee of $450 per month per
Order Entry Port, with the first three Order Entry Ports offered free
of charge, is reasonable because it is within the range of fees charged
for comparable port connectivity by other equities exchanges with
similar or lower market share, and in certain cases, less than fees
charged for comparable port connectivity by some of the exchanges.\21\
IEX's year-to-date market share as of August 1, 2025 was approximately
2.80%. Based on publicly available information as of August 1, 2025,
the Exchange compared the proposed fee to the fees charged for
comparable port connectivity by other equities exchanges with lower
market share than IEX. As set forth in the table below, the proposed
fee is lower than the fees charged for FIX order entry ports that
provide comparable functionality to IEX's Logical Order Entry Ports by
the equities markets of BYX Equities, EDGA Equities, Nasdaq BX, Inc.
(``Nasdaq BX'') and NYSE Texas, Inc. (``NYSE Texas''). The Exchange
notes that, with the exception of IEX and Long Term Stock Exchange,
Inc. (``LTSE'') as described below, none of the equities exchanges
referred to herein offer order entry ports free of charge. The Exchange
currently offers up to five order entry ports free of charge and is
proposing to offer up to three order entry ports free of charge. After
taking into account that the free ports effectively reduces the fees
for any port subscriber with more than three Order Entry Ports, the
proposed fee is also lower than the net fees charged for order entry
ports by the equities markets of MEMX, LLC (``MEMX'') and MIAX Pearl
Equities (``MIAX Pearl Equities''). The proposed fee is equivalent to
the port fees charged by LTSE. A more detailed discussion of the
comparison follows.
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\21\ Exchange market share data noted in this rule filing
represent the percent of executed share volume by the relevant
exchange compared to market-wide executed share volume in NMS
securities (see Rule 600(64) of Regulation NMS) based on NYSE TAQ
(Trade and Quote) data.
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Market share
(year-to-date as FIX order entry port
Exchange of August 1, fees (per month)
2025) (%)
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BYX Equities.................. 0.75 $550/port.\a\
EDGA Equities................. 0.68 $550/port.\b\
Nasdaq BX..................... 0.26 $500/port.\c\
NYSE Texas.................... 0.33 $455/port.\d\
MEMX Equities................. 2.26 $450/port.\e\
MIAX Pearl Equities........... 1.08 $450/port.\f\
IEX........................... 2.80 $450/port (first
three ports free)
(proposed).
[[Page 44732]]
LTSE Equities................. 0.05% $450/port (first
three ports
free).\g\
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\a\ See BYX Equities Fee Schedule, Logical Port Fees section, available
at <a href="https://www.cboe.com/us/equities/membership/fee_schedule/byx/">https://www.cboe.com/us/equities/membership/fee_schedule/byx/</a>.
\b\ See EDGA Equities Fee Schedule, Logical Port Fees section, available
at <a href="https://www.cboe.com/us/equities/membership/fee_schedule/edga/">https://www.cboe.com/us/equities/membership/fee_schedule/edga/</a>.
\c\ See Nasdaq BX Fee Schedule, Order Entry Ports Fees section,
available at <a href="https://nasdaqtrader.com/Trader.aspx?id=bx_pricing#connectivity">https://nasdaqtrader.com/Trader.aspx?id=bx_pricing#connectivity</a>.
\d\ See NYSE Texas Fee Schedule, Section D.1. Connection Charges--Ports
for order/quote entry, available at <a href="https://www.nyse.com/publicdocs/nyse/markets/nyse-texas/NYSE_Texas_Fee_Schedule.pdf">https://www.nyse.com/publicdocs/nyse/markets/nyse-texas/NYSE_Texas_Fee_Schedule.pdf</a>.
\e\ See MEMX Connectivity Fee Schedule, Application Sessions, available
at <a href="https://info.memxtrading.com/connectivity-fees/">https://info.memxtrading.com/connectivity-fees/</a>.
\f\ See MIAX Pearl Fee Schedule, Application Sessions, available at
<a href="https://www.miaxglobal.com/sites/default/files/fee_schedule-files/MIAX_Pearl_Equities_Fee_Schedule_08012025.pdf">https://www.miaxglobal.com/sites/default/files/fee_schedule-files/MIAX_Pearl_Equities_Fee_Schedule_08012025.pdf</a>.
\g\ See LTSE Fee Schedule, Connectivity Fees, available at <a href="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6462417e8db99f8baa06952c/689a0386b83866238ca8545f_LTSE%20Fee%20Schedule_August%2011%2C%202025%20">https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6462417e8db99f8baa06952c/689a0386b83866238ca8545f_LTSE%20Fee%20Schedule_August%2011%2C%202025%20</a> 0(Date%20Update).pdf.
BYX Equities and EDGA Equities. The proposed fee would be lower
than the fees currently charged by BYX Equities and EDGA Equities for
FIX order entry ports within the primary data centers of those
exchanges, which provide functionality comparable to IEX's FIX Order
Entry Ports. BYX Equities and EDGA Equities charge $550 per month for
each logical port. The year-to-date market share of BYX Equities and
EDGA Equities as of August 1, 2025 were 0.75% and 0.68%, respectively.
Nasdaq BX. The proposed fee would be lower than the fees currently
charged by Nasdaq BX for FIX order entry ports, which provide
functionality comparable to IEX's Order Entry Ports. Nasdaq BX charges
$500 per month for each type of order entry port. Nasdaq BX's year-to-
date market share as of August 1, 2025 was 0.26%.
NYSE Texas. The proposed fee would be lower than the fees currently
charged by NYSE Texas for order/quote entry ports, which provide
functionality comparable to IEX's Order Entry Ports. NYSE Texas charges
$455 per month for each order/quote entry port. NYSE Texas's year-to-
date market share as of August 1, 2025 was 0.33%.
MEMX Equities. After taking into account the free ports IEX offers,
the proposed fee would be effectively lower than the fees currently
charged by MEMX Equities for Order Entry Ports, which provide
functionality comparable to IEX's Order Entry Ports. MEMX Equities
charges $450 per month for each port and does not offer free ports.
MEMX Equities' year-to-date market share as of August 1, 2025 was
2.26%.
MIAX Pearl Equities. After taking into account the free ports IEX
offers, the proposed fee would be effectively lower than the fees
currently charged by MIAX Pearl Equities for FIX order entry ports,
which provide functionality comparable to IEX's Order Entry Ports. MIAX
Pearl charges $450 per month for each port and does not offer free
ports. MIAX Pearl's year-to-date market share as of August 1, 2025 was
1.08%.
LTSE Equities. The proposed fee would be equivalent to the fees
currently charged by LTSE Equities for Logical Connectivity ports,
which provide functionality comparable to IEX's FIX Order Entry Ports.
LTSE Equities charges $450 per month for each port. LTSE offers up to
three Logical Connectivity ports free of charge. LTSE Equities' year-
to-date market share as of August 1, 2025 was 0.05%.
The Proposed Fee Is Equitably Allocated and Not Unfairly Discriminatory
The Exchange believes that its proposed fee for Order Entry Ports
is reasonable, fair, equitable, and not unfairly discriminatory. The
proposed fee will apply equally to all Members that are assigned Order
Entry Ports (either directly or through a Service Bureau) and will
minimize barriers to entry by continuing to provide all port
subscribers with three free Order Entry Ports. Because the first three
Order Entry Ports are free, a number of port subscribers will not be
subject to any fee.\22\ Approximately 6% of current port subscribers
subscribe to four ports and approximately 14% subscribe to five ports.
These subscribers currently pay no fees for their ports. Under the
proposed fee and the reduction of free ports from five to three, these
port subscribers would continue to receive their first three ports free
of charge but would be newly subject to fees for their fourth and fifth
ports, assuming they do not reduce the number of ports subscribed to.
Based on the proposed fee, 6% of current subscribers would pay $450 per
month for their fourth port and 14% would pay $900 per month for their
fourth and fifth ports.
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\22\ Approximately 43% of the Exchange's current port
subscribers subscribe to three or fewer Order Entry Ports and would
continue to receive those ports free of charge.
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Even for port subscribers that choose to maintain more than three
Order Entry Ports, including those who currently receive four or five
ports free of charge, the Exchange believes that the monthly per port
fee of $450 is low enough that it will not operate to restrain any port
subscriber's ability to maintain the number of Order Entry Ports that
it determines are consistent with its business objectives. The small
number of Members projected to be subject to the highest fees will
still pay considerably less than what similarly situated exchanges
charge for comparable port connectivity. For example, the monthly cost
per order entry port on BYX Equities, EDGA Equities, Nasdaq BX and NYSE
Texas is $550, $500, and $455 respectively, and none of those markets
offer free ports. The Exchange further notes that some of the exchanges
listed in the table above, e.g., NYSE Texas and Nasdaq BX, charge for
other logical ports that the Exchange will continue to offer for free,
such as those used for drop copies,\23\ testing and disaster recovery
purposes.\24\
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\23\ See NYSE Texas Fee Schedule, Section D, available at
<a href="https://www.nyse.com/publicdocs/nyse/markets/nyse-texas/NYSE_Texas_Fee_Schedule.pdf">https://www.nyse.com/publicdocs/nyse/markets/nyse-texas/NYSE_Texas_Fee_Schedule.pdf</a>.
\24\ See Nasdaq BX Fee Schedule, available at <a href="https://nasdaqtrader.com/Trader.aspx?id=bx_pricing#connectivity">https://nasdaqtrader.com/Trader.aspx?id=bx_pricing#connectivity</a>; Nasdaq BX
Rule Book, Equity Section 7.115.
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Further, the number of assigned Order Entry Ports will continue to
be based on decisions by each port subscriber, including the ability to
reduce fees by discontinuing unused Order Entry Ports. The Exchange
believes this demonstrates that the proposed fee is not unfairly
discriminatory because port subscribers can select the number of ports
to purchase that best suits their business objectives.
The Exchange believes that providing three free Order Entry Ports
is fair and equitable, and not unfairly discriminatory because it will
enable all Members and Service Bureaus to access IEX on those ports
free of charge, thereby encouraging order flow and liquidity from a
diverse set of market participants, facilitating price discovery
[[Page 44733]]
and the interaction of orders. The Exchange believes that three Order
Entry Ports is an appropriate number to provide for free because that
is the number of ports currently maintained by approximately 43% of
port subscribers, which is a meaningful number of IEX's overall port
subscribers.
Further, as discussed in the Statutory Basis section, the proposed
fee is lower than the fees charged for comparable connectivity ports by
other exchanges with lower market share than IEX and equal to order
entry port fees charged by one exchange with lower market share. Thus,
the Exchange does not believe that the proposed relatively low fee
would operate as a barrier to entry, or impose a significant cost
burden, on smaller Members or Service Bureaus.
The Exchange further believes that the proposed fee is reasonable,
fair and equitable, and non-discriminatory because it will apply to all
port subscribers in the same manner and is not targeted at a specific
type or category of market participant engaged in any particular
trading strategy. Each Order Entry Port is identical, providing logical
connectivity to the Exchange on identical terms. All Members (or
Service Bureaus) will receive up to three free Order Entry Ports and
pay the same $450 per Order Entry Port for each additional Order Entry
Port.
Because the first three Order Entry Ports are free of charge, each
entity necessarily will have a ``per unit'' rate of less than $450.
While the proposed fee will result in a different effective ``per
unit'' rate for different Members (or Service Bureaus) after factoring
in the three free Order Entry Ports, the Exchange does not believe that
this difference is material given the overall relatively low fee of
$450 per port. Further, the fee is not connected to volume-based tiers.
All Members will be subject to the same monthly per port fee,
regardless of the volume of trading sent to or executed on IEX.
The proposed port fee also does not depend on any distinctions
between Members, customers, broker-dealers, or any other entity. The
Exchange will assess the port fee solely based on the number of Order
Entry Ports an entity selects. Members (and their Service Bureaus) can
determine how many Order Entry Ports they need to implement their
trading strategies effectively. While entities that send relatively
more inbound messages to the Exchange may select more Order Entry
Ports, thereby resulting in higher fees, that distinction is a result
of decisions made by each port subscriber rather than application of
the fee by the Exchange.
Notwithstanding that port subscribers with the highest number of
Order Entry Ports will pay a greater percentage of the total projected
fees than is represented by their Order Entry Port usage, the Exchange
does not believe that the proposed fee is unfairly discriminatory. It
is not possible to fully synchronize IEX's objective to provide up to
three free Order Entry Ports to all port subscribers, thereby
minimizing barriers to entry and incentivizing liquidity on the
Exchange, with an approach that exactly aligns the projected per port
subscriber fee with each port subscriber's number of requested Order
Entry Ports. As proposed, the Exchange will continue to provide a
reasonable number of Order Entry Ports to each Member (or Service
Bureau) without charge. Any variance between projected fees and Order
Entry Port usage is a result of the variation among Members of the
number of Order Entry Ports they alone determine are best suited for
their individual business objectives and needs.
Finally, the Exchange believes that the proposed fee is consistent
with Section 11A of the Exchange Act in that it is designed to
facilitate the economically efficient execution of securities
transactions, fair competition among brokers and dealers, exchange
markets and markets other than exchange markets, and the practicability
of brokers executing investors' orders in the best market.
Specifically, the relatively low port fee and up to three free ports
per subscriber will enable a broad range of Members to continue to
connect to IEX, thereby facilitating the economically efficient
execution of securities transactions on IEX, fair competition between
and among such Members, and the practicability of Members that are
brokers executing investors' orders on IEX when it is the best market.
The Exchange does not believe that logical connectivity fees are
properly constrained by competitive market pressures. Nevertheless, the
Exchange believes that an analysis of similar fees charged by
competitor exchanges, as discussed below, also demonstrates that the
proposed fee is equitable and not unfairly discriminatory. As discussed
above and in the Purpose section, the Exchange believes the competing
exchanges' port fees are useful examples of alternative approaches to
providing and charging for logical connectivity. To that end, the
Exchange believes the proposed fee is reasonable because the proposed
fee is lower than fees charged for comparable logical order entry port
access provided by other exchanges with lower market shares.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change with
respect to Order Entry Port Fees will impose any burden on intermarket
competition that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the
purposes of the Act.
There is no regulatory requirement that any broker-dealer connect
to and access any (or all of) the available equity exchanges. Market
participants may choose to become a member of one or more (or no)
equities exchanges based on the market participant's assessment of the
business opportunity relative to the costs of the Exchange. In lieu of
becoming a member at each exchange, a market participant may join one
exchange and elect to have its orders routed in the event that a better
price is available on an away market. Nothing in the Order Protection
Rule \25\ requires a broker-dealer to become a Member of--or establish
connectivity to--the Exchange. All equities exchanges have rules in
place to avoid trading through a better priced quotation on another
exchange in violation of Order Protection Rule.\26\
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\25\ See 17 CFR 242.611.
\26\ See e.g., IEX Rule 11.230.
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The Exchange does not believe that the Exchange's proposed price
increase will adversely impact any other exchange's ability to compete.
Further, as detailed above, the proposed fee is identical to or lower
than fees charged by other exchanges. In any event, competing equities
exchanges are free to propose comparable fee structures subject to the
SEC rule filing process. Accordingly, the Exchange does not believe its
proposed fee change imposes any burden on competition that is not
necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
The Exchange does not believe that the proposed increased port fee
will impose any burden on intramarket competition that is not necessary
or appropriate in furtherance of the purpose of the Act because all
Members (and/or their Service Bureaus) will be entitled to up to three
free ports and subject to the same relatively low fee for additional
ports. While different total fees would be assessed depending on the
number of Order Entry Ports a Member (or Service Bureau) requests,
these different fees are not based on the type of Member requesting the
Order Entry Port(s) but on the number of such ports it requests, and
each port subscriber alone decides the number of
[[Page 44734]]
such ports to request. Further, providing three free Order Entry Ports
is designed to avoid creating barriers to entry for smaller Members,
thereby promoting intramarket competition. In addition, IEX believes
that even Members subject to relatively higher fees for more Order
Entry Ports will still be subject to a relatively low aggregate fee
(and lower than several competing exchanges, as described above) and
thus the proposed fee will not operate as a barrier to entry for such
Members or impose a significant business cost burden on such Members
relative to their levels of business activity.
The proposed fee does not favor certain categories of port
subscribers in a manner that would impose an undue burden on
competition. The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule
change would place certain port subscribers at the Exchange at a
relative advantage or disadvantage compared to other port subscribers
or affect the ability of such firms to compete.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others
Written comments were neither solicited nor received.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
The foregoing rule change has become effective pursuant to Section
19(b)(3)(A)(ii) \27\ of the Act.
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\27\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
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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 under
Section 19(b)(2)(B) \28\ of the Act to determine whether the proposed
rule change should be approved or disapproved.
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\28\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B).
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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="https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml">https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml</a>); or
<bullet> Send an email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c6b4b3aaa3eba5a9ababa3a8b2b586b5a3a5e8a1a9b0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7e0c0b121b531d1113131b100a0d3e0d1b1d50191108">[email protected]</span></a>. Please include
File Number SR-IEX-2025-22 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-IEX-2025-22. 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="https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml">https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml</a>). Copies of the filing will be available for inspection and
copying at the principal office of the Exchange. Do not include
personal identifiable information in submissions; you should submit
only information that you wish to make available publicly. We may
redact in part or withhold entirely from publication submitted material
that is obscene or subject to copyright protection. All submissions
should refer to file number SR-IEX-2025-22 and should be submitted on
or before October 7, 2025.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\29\
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\29\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2025-17812 Filed 9-15-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 16, 2025.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.