LPLA - SEC chief orders staff to review stock market structure issues

Securities and Exchange Chairman Gary Gensler has asked his staff to make recommendations on broad range of market structure issues with the aim of making markets "as efficient as possible."Specific areas they'll look at include: best execution, Regulation NMS, payment for order flow, minimum pricing increments and national best bid and offer (NBBO), he said in a talk at the Piper Sandler Global Exchange and FinTech Conference.Specifically, he discussed how most trading orders made on brokerage platforms are routed to wholesalers rather than exchange market makers.That raises a couple of concerns. "Wholesalers are able to price their segmented order flow simply by referencing the NBBO, which is a much less competitive benchmark," he said.By contrast, exchange market makers compete with each other on an order-by-order basis to offer the best price.Another issue is the concentration of wholesalers. "Market concentration can deter healthy competition and limit innovation. It also can increase potential

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SEC chief orders staff to review stock market structure issues