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Securities Enforcement and Regulatory Update

SEC Proposes Comprehensive Best Execution Framework for Broker-Dealers

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On December 14, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed rules that would establish SEC best execution rules and impose related obligations on firms subject to the standard (the Proposal).1 The Proposal would generally require brokers, dealers, government securities brokers, government securities dealers, and municipal securities dealers (collectively, broker-dealers) to have detailed policies and procedures addressing how they achieve best execution for their customer orders, with heightened obligations for broker-dealers subject to certain conflicts of interest.2

Specifically, the SEC is proposing three rules Proposed Rules 1100, 1101, and 1102 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Exchange Act) to implement its best execution framework for broker-dealers. The Proposal is broad in scope and would apply to customer transactions in all securities.3

The comment deadline is March 31, 2023, or 60 days after publication of the Proposal in the Federal Register, whichever is later. The Proposal was made concurrently with three other SEC proposals that are interrelated and could significantly change practices related to securities order handling and execution.The proposals collectively appear to advance the SEC’s view that better prices for investors may result through encouraging competition among trading venues and increasing trading through certain exchanges or alternative trading systems (ATSs) that disseminate quotations rather than over-the-counter (OTC) market makers.5 The Proposal is unique among the four proposals in that it would apply to all securities transactions (e.g., equities, fixed income, private securities, digital assets), while the other three proposals apply only to national market system (NMS) stock.

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