ASA Joins Amicus Brief Defending SEC Rule to Reduce Tick Pricing Increments and Access Fees

TAMPA – The American Securities Association (ASA) joined the Healthy Markets Association and Council of Institutional Investors in filing an amicus brief in defense of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) 2024 rule to reduce pricing increments (ticks) and transaction fees charged by registered securities exchanges. These associations represent public pension funds, investment advisers, broker-dealers, data providers, and trading venues.  

“The Commission’s changes to the tick-size and access fee are necessary to reset and level the equity markets structure playing field,” said ASA President and CEO Chris Iacovella. “If the court upholds these minor tweaks, then it will remove some of the market power that has been wielded for years by the exchange monopolies, it will give other market participants a chance to compete on an equal footing, and it will continue to drive down costs for all investors.”

“Investors have been pushing the SEC to narrow artificial price spreads and reduce monopoly-driven rents on trading fees for years,” said Healthy Markets Association President and CEO Tyler Gellasch. “The agency has finally done its job to protect investors and the markets, but we all need the court to do the same.”

“Consistent with the Council of Institutional Investors’ (CII) membership-approved policies, and in direct response to CII’s previously submitted comments, the rule being challenged includes a provision that will enable CII members and other investors to determine what fee or rebate level would be applicable to any submitted order at the time of execution and facilitate their best execution analysis,” said CII General Counsel Jeff Mahoney. “We are optimistic that the court will decide in favor of the Securities and Exchange Commission and investors.”  

ASA has been at the forefront of market structure and market competition advocacy, and supported the final rule resulting in a unanimous 5-0 SEC vote in September of last year. 

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The American Securities Association (ASA) represents the retail and institutional capital markets interests of regional financial services firms who provide Main Street businesses with access to capital and advise hardworking Americans how to create and preserve wealth. ASA’s mission is to promote trust and confidence among investors, facilitate capital formation, and support efficient and competitively balanced capital markets. This mission advances financial independence, stimulates job creation, and increases prosperity. The ASA has a geographically diverse membership of almost one hundred members that spans the Heartland, Southwest, Southeast, Atlantic, and Pacific Northwest regions of the United States.