Notice2026-02799
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Investors Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Amend the Exchange's Fee Schedule Concerning Equities Transaction Pricing
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Published
February 12, 2026
Issuing agencies
Securities and Exchange Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 29 (Thursday, February 12, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 29 (Thursday, February 12, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6666-6669]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-02799]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-104783; File No. SR-IEX-2026-04]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Investors Exchange LLC; Notice of
Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Amend the
Exchange's Fee Schedule Concerning Equities Transaction Pricing
February 9, 2026.
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 January 30, 2026, 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 amend the Exchange's fee schedule
applicable to Members \6\ (the ``Fee Schedule'' \7\) pursuant to IEX
Rule 15.110(a) and (c) to introduce a new displayed liquidity adding
rebate tier and modify its base fee for orders that remove displayed
liquidity on the Exchange. Changes to the Fee Schedule pursuant to this
proposal are effective upon filing,\8\ and will be operative on March
1, 2026.
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\4\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\5\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
\6\ See IEX Rule 1.160(s).
\7\ See Investors Exchange Fee Schedule (``IEX Fee Schedule''),
available at <a href="https://www.iexexchange.io/resources/trading/fee-schedule">https://www.iexexchange.io/resources/trading/fee-schedule</a>.
\8\ 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
The Exchange proposes to modify its Fee Schedule, pursuant to IEX
Rule 15.110(a) and (c), to introduce an eighth Displayed Liquidity
Adding Rebate Tier for executions priced at or above $1.00 and modify
its base fee rates for orders that remove displayed liquidity.
New Displayed Liquidity Adding Rebate Tier
IEX currently offers Members the following seven Displayed
Liquidity Adding Rebate tiers \9\ based on the Member's trading
activity:
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\9\ IEX Fee Schedule, supra note 7, Base Rates table and Fee
Code Combinations and Associated Fees, footnote 4.
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<bullet> Tier 1: provides Member the Exchange's base fee of FREE
for all displayed liquidity adding executions priced at or above $1.00
per share (``Added Displayed Liquidity'') if the Member adds less than
3,000,000 ADV.\10\
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\10\ The Fee Schedule defines ``ADV'' as average daily volume
calculated as the number of shares added or removed (as applicable)
that executed at or above $1.00 per share, per day. ADV is
calculated on a monthly basis, based on trading activity in the
immediately preceding month, unless otherwise indicated in the Fee
Schedule.
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<bullet> Tier 2: provides Member a rebate of $0.0010 per share for
all Added Displayed Liquidity if the Member trades at least 5,000,000
non-displayed ADV and less than 10,000,000 non-displayed ADV.
<bullet> Tier 3: provides Member a rebate of $0.0014 per share for
all Added Displayed Liquidity if the Member: (1) adds at least
3,000,000 ADV of displayed liquidity and less than 10,000,000 ADV of
displayed liquidity; or (2) adds at least 10,000,000 non-displayed ADV;
or (3) has an NBBO Time of at least 50% in at least 250 ETPs.
<bullet> Tier 4: provides Member a rebate of $0.0016 per share for
all Added Displayed Liquidity if the Member: (1) adds at least
10,000,000 ADV of displayed liquidity and less than 15,000,000 ADV of
displayed liquidity; or (2) has an NBBO Time of at least 50% in at
least 750 ETPs.
<bullet> Tier 5: provides Member a rebate of $0.0018 per share for
all Added Displayed Liquidity if the Member: (1) adds at least
15,000,000 ADV of displayed liquidity and less than 20,000,000 ADV of
displayed liquidity; or (2) trades at least 15,000,000 non-displayed
ADV.
<bullet> Tier 6: provides Member a rebate of $0.0020 per share for
all Added Displayed Liquidity if the Member: (1) adds at least
20,000,000 ADV of displayed liquidity and less than 30,000,000 ADV of
displayed liquidity; or (2) trades at least 20,000,000 non-displayed
ADV.
<bullet> Tier 7: provides Member a rebate of $0.0022 per share for
all Added Displayed Liquidity if the Member: (1) adds at least
30,000,000 ADV of displayed liquidity; or (2) adds at least 25,000,000
ADV of displayed liquidity
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and trades at least 30,000,000 non-displayed ADV.
Beginning on February 2, 2026, all IEX transaction fees and rebates
will be determinable at the time of execution, in compliance with Rule
610(d) of Regulation NMS.\11\ Accordingly, any transaction fees or
rebates that are currently based upon a Member's trading activity in
the current month, including the seven Displayed Liquidity Adding
Rebate tier noted above, will be based upon that Member's trading or
quoting activity in the immediately preceding month.\12\
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\11\ See 17 CFR 242.610(d) (``Transparency of fees. A national
securities exchange shall not impose, nor permit to be imposed, any
fee or fees, or provide, or permit to be provided, any rebate or
other remuneration, for the execution of an order in an NMS stock
that cannot be determined at the time of execution.''). Exhibit 5
attached to this rule filing reflects changes to the Fee Schedule
that will be in effect on March 1, 2026, the operative date of the
proposed fee changes described herein.
\12\ See Securities Exchange Act Release 104541 (January 5,
2026), 91 FR 737 (January 8, 2026) (SR-IEX-2025-39) (amending the
Exchange's fee schedule applicable to Members to comply with Rule
610(d) under Regulation NMS).
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To incentivize the posting of displayed liquidity on the Exchange,
the Exchange proposes to introduce ``Tier 8,'' which would provide
Members a rebate of $0.0023 per share for all executions of Added
Displayed Liquidity priced at or above $1.00 for Members that added at
least 40,000,000 ADV of displayed liquidity in the immediately
preceding month. The Exchange notes that this model of offering volume-
based rebates is consistent with similar rebates offered by other
exchanges.\13\
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\13\ See, e.g., Cboe BZX Fee Schedule (Effective January 2,
2026), available at <a href="https://www.cboe.com/us/equities/membership/fee_schedule/bzx/">https://www.cboe.com/us/equities/membership/fee_schedule/bzx/</a>; MEMX Equities Fee Schedule (Effective October 1,
2025), available at <a href="https://info.memxtrading.com/equities-trading-resources/us-equities-fee-schedule/">https://info.memxtrading.com/equities-trading-resources/us-equities-fee-schedule/</a>; Nasdaq Equity VII, Section 118
(as of December 11, 2025), Price List available at <a href="https://www.nasdaqtrader.com/Trader.aspx?id=PriceListTrading2">https://www.nasdaqtrader.com/Trader.aspx?id=PriceListTrading2</a>; New York
Stock Exchange Price List 2026 (as of January 2, 2026) (``NYSE Price
List 2026''), available at <a href="https://www.nyse.com/publicdocs/nyse/markets/nyse/NYSE_Price_List.pdf">https://www.nyse.com/publicdocs/nyse/markets/nyse/NYSE_Price_List.pdf</a>.
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Accordingly, the Exchange proposes to add the following language to
the ``ML'' Fee Code in the Base Rates table of the Fee Schedule:
``Member added at least 40,000,000 ADV of displayed liquidity,'' and
add ``($0.0023)'' in the ``Executions at or above $1.00'' column. The
Exchange also proposes to amend Footnote 4 (Displayed Liquidity Adding
Rebate Tiers (Applicable to Executions at or above $1.00)) to the
Transaction Fees section, which applies to Base Fee Code ML in the Base
Rates table, to reflect the required criteria for the rebate tier and
the applicable rebate for the proposed Tier 8.
Amended Fees for Removing Displayed Liquidity
Consistent with the higher rebate the Exchange will pay Members
that meet Displayed Liquidity Adding Rebate Tier 8, as proposed and
described above, the Exchange proposes to increase the fees for
executions that remove displayed liquidity as described below.
Executions at or Above $1.00/Share
Currently Members that add at least 25,000 ADV of displayed
liquidity in the current month are eligible for a fee of $0.0022 per
share on executions at or above $1.00 per share of displayed liquidity
removing orders, rather than a fee of $0.0030 per share for Members
that do not add at least 25,000 ADV of displayed liquidity in the
current month.\14\ The Exchange proposes to increase the fee by $0.0002
per share, from $0.0022 per share to $0.0024 per share, provided a
Member added at least 25,000 ADV of displayed liquidity. No change is
proposed to the $0.0030 per share fee for Members that do not add at
least 25,000 ADV of displayed liquidity. Because this proposed fee
change will be operative after IEX fees have been updated to be
deterministic,\15\ the Member's added displayed liquidity in the
immediately preceding month will determine the Member's eligibility for
this fee tier.
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\14\ See IEX Fee Schedule--Fee Code Combinations and Associated
Fees, footnote 5, supra note 7.
\15\ See supra, note 11.
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Accordingly, the Exchange proposes to update the following Fee
Codes and Fee Code Combinations and Associated Fees in the Fee Schedule
by changing the fees in the ``Executions at or above $1.00'' column
from $0.0022 to $0.0024:
<bullet> TL (Remove displayed liquidity); \16\
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\16\ This fee change proposal will not affect the $0.0030 per
share fee the Exchange charges to Members that remove displayed
liquidity and have not added at least 25,000 ADV of displayed
liquidity. See IEX Fee Schedule, supra note 7, Transaction Fees--Fee
Code Combinations and Associated Fees, fn. 5. The Exchange is also
not proposing to change the $0.0010 per share fee charged for
certain pegged orders that remove displayed liquidity. See id., Fee
Codes TLK and TLBK. The Exchange is also not proposing to change
fees for Retail orders that remove displayed liquidity. See id., Fee
Code TLR.
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<bullet> TLB (Remove displayed liquidity (Tape B));
<bullet> TLY (Post Only order removes displayed liquidity);
<bullet> TLYB (Post Only order removes displayed liquidity (Tape
B));
<bullet> TLW (Resting non-displayed order removes liquidity against
incoming Post Only order); and
<bullet> TLWB (Resting non-displayed order removes liquidity
against incoming Post Only order (Tape B)).
The Exchange also proposes to amend Footnote 5 (Displayed Liquidity
Removing Fee Tiers (Applicable to Executions at or above $1)) to the
Transaction Fees section, which applies to Fee Codes TL, TLB, TLY,
TLYB, TLW, and TLWB. As proposed, Tier 2 in Footnote 5 will be amended
to reflect the changed fee for removing displayed liquidity from
$0.0022 per share to $0.0024 per share for Members that added at least
25,000 ADV of displayed liquidity. Members who added less than 25,000
ADV of displayed liquidity in the immediately preceding month will
qualify for Tier 1 of Displayed Liquidity Removing Fees in footnote 5
and will be charged a fee of $0.0030 per share.
Executions Below $1.00/Share
Currently, Members that remove displayed liquidity for executions
below $1.00 per share of displayed liquidity removing orders are
charged 0.15% of the total dollar value of the execution (``TDV'').\17\
The Exchange proposes to increase the fee to 0.20% of TDV. Accordingly,
the Exchange proposes to update the following Fee Codes and Fee Code
Combinations and Associated Fees in the Fee Schedule by changing the
fees in the ``Executions below $1.00'' column from 0.15% to 0.20%:
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\17\ ``TDV'' means the total dollar value of the execution
calculated as the execution price multiplied by the number of shares
executed in the transaction.
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<bullet> TL (Remove displayed liquidity)
<bullet> TLB (Removes displayed liquidity (Tape B))
<bullet> TLK (Discretionary Peg, Fixed Midpoint Peg, Midpoint Peg,
or Primary Peg order removes displayed liquidity); a and
<bullet> TLBK (Discretionary Peg, Fixed Midpoint Peg, Midpoint Peg,
or Primary Peg order removes displayed liquidity (Tape B)).
2. Statutory Basis
IEX believes that the proposed rule change is consistent with the
provisions of Section 6(b) \18\ of the Act in general and furthers the
objectives of Sections 6(b)(4) \19\ of the Act, 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. For the reasons set forth below, the Exchange believes
that the proposed rule change is reasonable, fair
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and equitable, and not designed to permit unfair discrimination.
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\18\ 15 U.S.C. 78f.
\19\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
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The Exchange operates in a highly competitive market in which
market participants can readily direct order flow to competing venues
if they deem fee levels at a particular venue to be excessive. As
discussed in the Purpose section, the Exchange believes that the
proposed addition of a new volume-based rebate tier that pays a higher
rebate to Members who added progressively more displayed liquidity (on
a monthly average basis) is reasonable and consistent with the Act
because it is designed to attract and incentivize Members to send
displayed orders, as well as order flow seeking to trade with such
displayed orders, to IEX. With respect to the proposed fee increases
for removing displayed liquidity, the Exchange believes that the
increases are a reasonable approach to help offset the costs of the
higher rebate for Displayed Liquidity Adding Rebate Tier 8, while
retaining the existing displayed liquidity adding requirement for
executions at or above $1.00 per share. In combination, the Exchange
believes that the proposed fee changes are reasonably designed to
incentivize Members to add a meaningful volume of displayed liquidity
by providing an increasingly higher rebate for Members that qualify for
a higher average minimum volume threshold and offsetting the costs of
that rebate by charging a higher fee for removing displayed liquidity.
Increases in displayed liquidity would contribute to the public price
discovery process which would benefit all market participants and
protect investors and the public interest.
As discussed above, the Exchange operates in a highly competitive
market in which market participants can readily direct order flow to
competing venues if they deem fee levels at a particular venue to be
excessive. Within that context, the proposed new Displayed Liquidity
Adding Rebate Tier 8 and the proposed increased displayed liquidity
removing fee are designed to keep the Exchange's displayed trading
prices competitive with those of other exchanges. The proposed new
rebate tier and the proposed fees for removing displayed liquidity are
within the range or lower than fees offered by competing exchanges, and
thus the Exchange does not believe that the proposal raises any new or
novel issues not already considered by the Commission in the context of
other exchanges' fees.
The Exchange notes that the proposed rebate for the proposed new
rebate tier and the proposed fees for removing displayed liquidity are
not designed to permit unfair discrimination because they will be
applied uniformly to all Members who satisfy the specified criteria.
Finally, the Exchange believes it is consistent with the Act to
specify that the criteria to qualify for Displayed Liquidity Adding
Rebate Tier 8 and the displayed liquidity removing fee for executions
at or above $1.00 are based on the trading activity on IEX in the prior
month in order to comply with Rule 610(d) of Regulation NMS.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will
result in 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 rule change will impose any burden
on intermarket competition that is not necessary or appropriate in
furtherance of the purposes of the Act. The Exchange operates in a
highly competitive market in which market participants can readily
favor competing venues if fee schedules at other venues are viewed as
more favorable. Consequently, the Exchange believes that the degree to
which its fees could impose any burden on competition is extremely
limited and does not believe that such fees would burden competition
between Members or competing venues. Moreover, as noted in the
Statutory Basis section, the Exchange does not believe that the
proposed change raises any new or novel issues not already considered
by the Commission.
The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will
impose any burden on intramarket competition that is not necessary or
appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act because, while
different rebates are assessed on Members, these rebate tiers are not
based on the type of Member entering the orders that match, but rather
on the Member's own trading activity on the Exchange. Further, the
proposed fee change continues to be intended to encourage market
participants to bring increased order flow to the Exchange and
contribute to the public price discovery process, which benefits all
market participants.
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) \20\ of the Act.
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\20\ 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) \21\ of the Act to determine whether the proposed
rule change should be approved or disapproved.
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\21\ 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#a0d2d5ccc58dc3cfcdcdc5ced4d3e0d3c5c38ec7cfd6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5624233a337b35393b3b333822251625333578313920">[email protected]</span></a>. Please include
file number SR-IEX-2026-04 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-2026-04. 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-2026-04 and
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should be submitted on or before March 5, 2026.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\22\
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\22\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-02799 Filed 2-11-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
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