The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has approved a plan that establishes a process for reserving, selecting, and allocating securities symbols, the regulator announced Thursday.

The SEC notes that there is a limited supply of securities symbols — particularly one-, two-, and three-character symbols. As the exchanges expand the number of securities listed and compete for new listings, the supply of available symbols has decreased and the need for a fair and transparent process to reserve and select securities symbols has grown.

The plan approved by the commission establishes a process for exchanges that list equity securities and for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., which designates symbols for quoting unlisted securities in the over-the-counter market, to reserve symbols. If an issuer transfers its listing to another exchange, the new exchange would automatically have the right to use the symbol. In addition, a centralized symbol database of securities symbols will be maintained by a third-party processor.

The exchanges that list securities and the FINRA must join the plan within 60 days.

“Securities symbols are a key element in the operation of the markets, and the plan approved by the commission will ensure the fair and orderly dissemination of information in a common format that is clear to investors,” said Erik Sirri, director of the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets.

IE