Notice2026-08466
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Investors Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Amend the Exchange's Fee Schedule To Introduce a New Displayed Liquidity Adding Rebate for Tape B Securities
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Published
May 1, 2026
Issuing agencies
Securities and Exchange Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 84 (Friday, May 1, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 84 (Friday, May 1, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23489-23492]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-08466]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-105330; File No. SR-IEX-2026-10]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Investors Exchange LLC; Notice of
Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Amend the
Exchange's Fee Schedule To Introduce a New Displayed Liquidity Adding
Rebate for Tape B Securities
April 28, 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 April 17, 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\ pursuant to IEX Rule 15.110(a) and (c) to
introduce a new displayed liquidity adding rebate for Tape B
securities. Changes to the Fee Schedule pursuant to this proposal are
effective upon filing,\7\ and will be operative on May 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\ 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
[[Page 23490]]
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 applicable to
Members (``Fee Schedule'' \8\), pursuant to IEX Rule 15.110(a) and (c),
to introduce a new set of rebates for displayed liquidity adding
executions in Tape B securities \9\ with an execution price of $1.00
per share or more.\10\ This new set of rebates for displayed liquidity
adding executions in Tape B securities (herein referred to as the
``Tape B Displayed Liquidity Adding Rebate Tiers'') is designed to
further incentivize the posting of displayed liquidity in Tape B
securities by enabling Members to qualify for higher rebates for their
displayed liquidity adding executions in Tape B securities than they
would otherwise receive from the Exchange. However, there may be
circumstances in which a Member qualifies for a higher rebate than
these proposed new Tape B security specific rebates, in which case the
Member would receive the highest rebate that could apply to these
trades.
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\8\ Available at <a href="https://www.iex.io/resources/trading/fee-schedule">https://www.iex.io/resources/trading/fee-schedule</a>.
\9\ ``Tape B securities'' are securities listed on any national
securities exchange other than the New York Stock Exchange or The
Nasdaq Stock Market.
\10\ Nothing in this rule filing affects trades below $1.00 per
share (``sub-dollar trades''), which will continue to receive a
rebate equal to 0.15% of the total dollar value of the trade for
displayed liquidity adding executions. And sub-dollar trades will
continue to have no impact on any of the rebate tier calculations
for trades with an execution price of $1.00 per share or more.
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The Exchange periodically assesses its fee structure. Based upon a
recent assessment, the Exchange believes that the introduction of the
proposed Tape B Displayed Liquidity Adding Rebate Tiers would further
incentivize Members to submit displayed orders in Tape B securities
priced at or above $1.00 per share. IEX designed this new rebate
offering to promote price discovery and market quality on the Exchange,
which the Exchange believes benefits all Members and market
participants.
Existing Displayed Liquidity Adding Rebates
IEX currently offers Members eight Displayed Liquidity Rebate Tiers
based on the Member's trading activity in the immediately preceding
month.\11\ These rebates, which apply equally to executions of Tape A,
Tape B, and Tape C securities,\12\ are as follows:
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\11\ IEX Fee Schedule, supra note 8, Base Rates table and Fee
Code Combinations and Associated Fees table.
\12\ Pursuant to Rule 610(d) of Regulation NMS, all IEX
transaction fees and rebates are determinable at the time of
execution. Accordingly, all rebates are based upon a Member's
trading or quoting activity in the immediately preceding month.
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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 added less than
3,000,000 ADV.\13\
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\13\ The Fee Schedule defines ``ADV'' as average daily volume
calculated as the number of shares added or removed (as applicable)
that execute 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 traded 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) added at least
3,000,000 ADV of displayed liquidity and less than 10,000,000 ADV of
displayed liquidity; or (2) added at least 10,000,000 non-displayed
ADV; or (3) had an NBBO Time \14\ of at least 50% in at least 250 ETPs.
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\14\ ``NBBO Time'' is the Member's percentage of market hours
quoting on the NBB plus the Member's percentage of market hours
quoting on the NBO. See IEX Fee Schedule, supra note 8, Base Rates
table and Fee Code Combinations and Associated Fees table.
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<bullet> Tier 4: provides Member a rebate of $0.0016 per share for
all Added Displayed Liquidity if the Member: (1) added at least
10,000,000 ADV of displayed liquidity and less than 15,000,000 ADV of
displayed liquidity; or (2) had 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) added at least
15,000,000 ADV of displayed liquidity and less than 20,000,000 ADV of
displayed liquidity; or (2) traded 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) added at least
20,000,000 ADV of displayed liquidity and less than 30,000,000 ADV of
displayed liquidity; or (2) traded 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) added at least
30,000,000 ADV of displayed liquidity; or (2) added at least 25,000,000
ADV of displayed liquidity and traded at least 30,000,000 non-displayed
ADV.
<bullet> Tier 8: provides Member a rebate of $.0023 per share for
all Added Displayed Liquidity if the Member added at least 40,000,000
ADV of displayed liquidity.\15\
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\15\ IEX Fee Schedule, supra note 8, Base Rates table and Fee
Code Combinations and Associated Fees table.
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Proposed New Tape B Displayed Liquidity Adding Rebate
IEX applies Fee Code Modifier ``B'' to executions of Tape B
securities, although it currently offers the same fees and rebates to
executions irrespective of if the security prints to Tape A, Tape B, or
Tape C.\16\ Thus, a displayed liquidity adding order of a Tape A or
Tape C security receives a Fee Code Combination of ML, while a
displayed liquidity adding order of a Tape B security receives a Fee
Code Combination of MLB. And a Post Only order that adds liquidity
against a resting non-displayed order of a Tape A or Tape C security
receives a Fee Code Combination of MLY, while a Post Only order that
adds liquidity against a resting non-displayed order of a Tape B
security receives a Fee Code Combination of MLYB. Each of these four
Fee Code Combinations for displayed liquidity adding executions is
modified by Footnote 4, which sets forth the eight Displayed Liquidity
Adding Rebate tiers described above.\17\
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\16\ IEX introduced Fee Code Modifier ``B'' in 2024, when for a
period of time the Exchange paid increased rebates for displayed
liquidity adding executions of Tape B securities. See Securities
Exchange Act Release No. 99989 (April 18, 2024), 89 FR 31231 (April
24, 2024) (SR-IEX-2024-06).
\17\ This filing makes no changes to the eight Displayed
Liquidity Adding Rebate Tiers set forth in footnote 4 to the Fee
Code Combinations and Associated Fees table.
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IEX now proposes to modify Fee Code Combinations MLB and MLYB with
a new footnote, footnote 7, which will set forth the new Tape B
Displayed Liquidity Adding Rebate Tiers, which are based on a Member's
trading activity in the immediately preceding month.\18\ These rebates,
which only will apply to executions of Tape B securities at or above $1
per share, are as follows:
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\18\ IEX Fee Schedule, supra note 8, Base Rates table and Fee
Code Combinations and Associated Fees table.
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<bullet> Tier 1: provides Member the Exchange's base fee of FREE
for all Added Displayed Liquidity of Tape B
[[Page 23491]]
securities if the Member added less than 250,000 ADV of displayed
liquidity.
<bullet> Tier 2: provides Member a rebate of $0.0014 per share for
all Added Displayed Liquidity of Tape B securities if the Member added
at least 250,000 ADV of displayed liquidity and less than 500,000 ADV
of displayed liquidity.
<bullet> Tier 3: provides Member a rebate of $0.0016 per share for
all Added Displayed Liquidity of Tape B securities if the Member added
at least 500,000 ADV of displayed liquidity.
As proposed, if a Member added 600,000 ADV of displayed liquidity
in Tape B securities in the prior month, the Member would qualify for
Tier 3 of the Tape B Displayed Liquidity Adding Rebate Tiers and would
receive a rebate of $0.0016 per share for all displayed liquidity
adding executions of Tape B securities in the current month. This
rebate is clearly higher than the rebate paid if the same Member added
600,000 ADV of displayed liquidity in either Tape A or Tape C
securities, which would qualify the Member for Tier 1 of the Displayed
Liquidity Adding Rebate Tiers, and result in free executions of all
displayed liquidity adding executions of Tape A or Tape C securities in
the current month (but no rebate).
However, there are circumstances in which the above Member would
receive a higher rebate under the Displayed Liquidity Adding Rebate
Tiers than it would receive under the Tape B Displayed Liquidity Adding
Rebate Tiers. For example, if the above Member that qualified for Tape
B Displayed Liquidity Adding Rebate Tier 3 (earning a $0.0016 per share
rebate for all Tape B Added Displayed Liquidity in the current month)
also (i) added at least 15,000,000 (but less than 20,000,000) ADV of
Added Displayed Liquidity in Tape A, B, or C securities,\19\ or (ii)
traded at least 15,000,000 non-displayed ADV in the prior month; then
that Member would qualify for Tier 5 of the Displayed Liquidity Adding
Rebate Tiers in the current month, and all of its displayed liquidity
adding executions of Tape B securities (as well as of Tape A and Tape C
securities) would receive a rebate of $0.0018 per share.\20\
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\19\ For purposes of this example, the 600,000 ADV of Added
Displayed Liquidity in Tape B securities would also count towards
the Added Displayed Liquidity criteria to qualify for Displayed
Liquidity Rebate Adding Tier 5.
\20\ IEX Fee Schedule, supra note 8, Base Rates table and Fee
Code Combinations and Associated Fees table, fn. 4.
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Thus, the proposed new Tape B Displayed Liquidity Adding Rebate
Tiers, which are designed to incentivize the adding of displayed
liquidity in Tape B securities, will not preclude a Member from
receiving the highest possible rebate if it qualifies for the higher
rebate through a different means.
IEX also proposes to revise the title of footnote 4 of the Fee
Schedule by adding the words ``for Tape A, B, or C Securities'' to the
end of the header. This change reflects that these rebates continue to
apply to all displayed liquidity adding executions and matches the
proposed title of the new footnote 7, which specifies that those rebate
tiers only are applicable to displayed liquidity adding executions at
or above $1 of Tape B securities.
2. Statutory Basis
IEX believes that the proposed rule change is consistent with the
provisions of Section 6(b) \21\ of the Act in general and furthers the
objectives of Sections 6(b)(4) \22\ 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. The Exchange believes that the proposed fee change is
reasonable, fair and equitable, and non-discriminatory.
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\21\ 15 U.S.C. 78f.
\22\ 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 set of volume-based rebates that pays a
higher rebate to Members who add progressively more displayed liquidity
in Tape B securities (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.
Based on informal discussions with market participants, IEX
believes that Members and other market participants may be more willing
to send displayed orders in Tape B securities to IEX if the proposed
fee structure was adopted. Accordingly, IEX has designed the proposed
Tape B Displayed Liquidity Adding Rebate Tiers to attract and
incentivize displayed orders in Tape B securities as well as order flow
seeking to trade with such displayed orders. Moreover, increases in
displayed liquidity of Tape B securities would contribute to the public
price discovery process which would benefit all market participants and
protect investors and the public interest.
The Exchange believes that the proposed new rebate tiers for
providing displayed liquidity in Tape B securities are reasonable and
consistent with the Act. Specifically, the Exchange believes that for
securities that trade at or above $1.00 per share, it is reasonable to
provide an increased rebate of $0.0014 per share for Members that in
the prior month added at least 250,000 ADV but less than 500,000 ADV of
displayed liquidity in Tape B securities, and to provide an increased
rebate of $0.0016 per share for Members that in the prior month added
at least 500,000 ADV of displayed liquidity in Tape B securities.
The Exchange notes that the proposed new Tape B Displayed Liquidity
Adding Rebate Tiers are not designed to permit unfair discrimination
because they will be applied uniformly to all Members who satisfy the
specified criteria.
The Exchange also believes that it is reasonable and consistent
with the Act not to modify its displayed fees for sub-dollar executions
to synchronize those fees with the proposed fees for executions at or
above $1.00 per share. The Exchange believes that the existing fee
structure for such executions continues to be reasonably designed to
incentivize displayed order flow (and orders seeking to trade with
displayed order flow) in such securities.
And the Exchange believes it is consistent with the Act to specify
that the criteria to qualify for the Tape B Displayed Liquidity Adding
Rebate Tiers are based on the trading activity on IEX in the prior
month in order to comply with Rule 610(d) of Regulation NMS.
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 Tape B Displayed
Liquidity Adding Rebate Tiers are designed to keep the Exchange's
displayed trading prices competitive with those of other exchanges. The
proposed new rebates are within the range or lower than fees [sic]
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.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
IEX believes that the proposed rule change will not result in any
burden on competition that is not necessary or
[[Page 23492]]
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. To the contrary, the proposed
fee change is designed to enhance IEX's competitiveness with other
venues, as described in the Statutory Basis section. In this context,
the Exchange does not believe that the proposed fees would burden
competition on competing venues or their participants. Moreover, as
noted in the Statutory Basis section, the Exchange believes that the
proposed changes do not raise any new or novel issues not already
considered by the Commission.
The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change will not 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 rebates 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) \23\ of the Act.
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\23\ 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) \24\ of the Act to determine whether the proposed
rule change should be approved or disapproved.
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\24\ 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#3e4c4b525b135d5153535b504a4d7e4d5b5d10595148"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5123243d347c323e3c3c343f2522112234327f363e27">[email protected]</span></a>. Please include
File Number SR-IEX-2026-10 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-2026-10. 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-2026-10 and should be submitted on
or before May 22, 2026.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\25\
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\25\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Vanessa A. Countryman,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-08466 Filed 4-30-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
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