(November 23 – 11:30 ET) – The Securities and Exchange Commission has released its report on the phenomenon of online trading. The report focuses on fundamental issues such as suitability and execution.

While the SEC does not appear poised to make a new slate of rules for the online business, this report lays the framework for the future. It recommends that the SEC:

• scrutinize firms’ use of data mining and look closely at the suitability considerations for the online business;


• focus on the disclosure of order execution information and evaluate the impact of new order routing technologies on brokers’ best execution obligations, investors, and the markets;


• encourage the broadest possible dissemination of real-time market data • focus on ways to ensure adequate systems capacity at all broker-dealers;


• improve investor education;


• analyze the impact of chat rooms on stock prices;


• evaluate firms’ informatin gathering and privacy protection practices;


• consider how portals should be compensated for directingsecurities-transaction traffic to online brokers.


-IE Staff



For more please see:


www.sec.gov