SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-106477; File No. SR-NYSEARCA-2026-100]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate
Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change to Modify the NYSE Arca Options Fee Schedule
to Amend the Exchange’s Port Fees
September 23, 2026.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1)1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Act”), 2 and Rule
19b-4 thereunder,3 notice is hereby given that on September 17, 2026, NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE
Arca” or the “Exchange”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
“Commission”) the proposed rule change as described in Items I and II below, which Items have
been prepared by the self-regulatory organization. The Commission is publishing this notice to
solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons.
I.
Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed
Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to modify the NYSE Arca Options Fee Schedule (“Fee
Schedule”) to amend the Exchange’s port fees. The Exchange proposes implementing the fee
change effective September 17, 2026. The proposed rule change is available on the Exchange’s
website at www.nyse.com and at the principal office of the Exchange.
II.
Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the
Proposed Rule Change
In its filing with the Commission, the self-regulatory organization included statements
concerning the purpose of, and basis for, the proposed rule change and discussed any comments it
1
15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
2
15 U.S.C. 78a.
3
17 CFR 240.19b-4.
received on the proposed rule change. The text of those statements may be examined at the places
specified in Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared summaries, set forth in sections A, B, and
C below, of the most significant parts of such statements.
A.
Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Purpose of, and the Statutory Basis
for, the Proposed Rule Change
1.
Purpose
The Exchange proposes to modify the Fee Schedule to amend the Exchange’s port fees. 4
The Exchange proposes to implement the fee change effective September 17, 2026. 5
The Exchange makes available ports that provide connectivity for OTP Holders 6 and
OTP Firms 7 to connect to the Exchange’s trading systems (“Order/Quote Entry Ports”) and
charges a monthly fee of $510 per port for the first 40 ports and $170 for each additional port. 8
4
See Fee Schedule, Floor Broker Fixed Cost Repayment Incentive Program (the “FB Prepay Program),
Port Fees. The Exchange last modified its port fees as of March 3, 2025, to increase the port fees for
Order/Quote Entry Ports by up to 13.3% to account for inflation that had occurred since 2017. See
Securities Exchange Act Release No. 102551 (March 10, 2025), 90 FR 12194 (March 14, 2025) (SRNYSEARCA-2025-21) (“NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed
Rule Change To Increase Port Fees”). Prior to that, the Exchange had not increased port fees for
Order/Quote Entry Ports since 2014.
5
The Exchange originally filed to amend the Fee Schedule on July 31, 2026 (SR-NYSEARCA-2026-83).
SR-NYSEARCA-2026-83 was withdrawn on August 11, 2026, and replaced by SR-NYSEARCA-2026-86.
SR-NYSEARCA-2026-86 was withdrawn on August 25, 2026 and replaced by SR-NYSEARCA-88. SRNYSEARCA-2026-88 was withdrawn on September 8, 2026 and replaced by SR-NYSEARCA-2026-95.
SR-NYSEARCA-2026-95 was withdrawn on September 17, 2026 and replaced by this filing.
6
Pursuant to Rule 1 Definitions, the term "OTP Holder" shall refer to a natural person, in good standing,
who has been issued an OTP, or has been named as a Nominee. An OTP Holder must be a registered
broker or dealer pursuant to Section 15 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or a nominee or an
associated person of a registered broker or dealer that has been approved by the Exchange to conduct
business on the Exchange’s Trading Facilities. An OTP Holder will have status as a "member" of the
NYSE Arca, Inc. as that term is defined in Section 3 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
7
Pursuant to Rule 1 Definitions, the term "OTP Firm" shall refer to a sole proprietorship, partnership,
corporation, limited liability company or other organization in good standing who holds an OTP or upon
whom an individual OTP Holder has conferred trading privileges on the Exchange’s Trading Facilities
pursuant to and in compliance with these Rules. An OTP Firm must be a registered broker or dealer
pursuant to Section 15 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. An OTP Firm will have status as
a "member" of the NYSE Arca, Inc. as that term is defined in Section 3 of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended.
8
See Fee Schedule, Floor Broker Fixed Cost Repayment Incentive Program (the “FB Prepay Program),
Port Fees.
2
For purposes of calculating the number of Order/Quote Entry Ports, the Exchange aggregates the
ports of affiliates.9 The Exchange proposes to modify this fee structure to maintain the monthly
$510 per port fee for the first 40 Order/Quote Entry Ports and the monthly $170 per port fee for
Order/Quote Entry Ports 41 - 300, but add varying fee levels for additional ports 301 and above.
Specifically, the Exchange proposes the following fee structure: 10
•
Ports 1-40: $510 per port per month
•
Ports 41-300: $170 per port per month
•
Ports 301-1000: $250 per port per month
•
Ports 1001 and greater: $510 per port per month
The Exchange’s proposal addresses the fact that ports consume a finite shared capacity
across OTP Holders and OTP Firms and the aggregate footprint drives the infrastructure that the
Exchange must engineer, provision, staff and periodically expand to maintain performance. As
the number of ports in use grows, the Exchange must dedicate additional capacity and expense to
meet this demand. The proposed fee for the use of more than 300 ports reflects this reality and is
intended to encourage OTP Holders and OTP Firms to size their port usage efficiently.
While the Exchange’s proposal increases the fees for the use of more than 300 ports, the
Exchange’s overall port fees remain lower than the similar port fees charged by Cboe Exchange,
Inc. ("Cboe"), Nasdaq PHLX, LLC (“PHLX”) and The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”),
as detailed in the following chart:
Exchange
Type of Product/Service
Cboe*
1st to 5th FIX Logical Port
6th or more FIX Logical Port
Monthly Fee
(per port)
$750
$800
9
Id.
10
See proposed Fee Schedule Floor Broker Fixed Cost Repayment Incentive Program (the “FB Prepay
Program), Port Fees.
3
PHLX**
Nasdaq****
*
**
***
****
SQF Port Fee***
FIX Port Fee
FIX Port Fee
$1,185
$650
$650
See CBOE Fee Schedule Available at Cboe_FeeSchedule.pdf.
See PHLX Options 7 Pricing Schedule, Section 9B(1) FIX Port Fee and PHLX Options 7
Pricing Schedule, Section 9(B)(3) SQF Port Fee available at Rules | Nasdaq PHLX.
PHLX’s SQF ports are specifically designed for Market Makers to send and receive
quote/related messages, whereas FIX ports are their general-purpose order entry/related
ports. Pursuant to the PHLX Options Pricing Schedule, a Market Maker may not
subscribe to more than 250 ports. See PHLX Options 7 Pricing Schedule, Section
9(B)(3), supra.
See Nasdaq Options 7 Pricing Schedule, Section 3(i)(1) Nasdaq Options Market - Ports
and Other Services available at Rules | The Nasdaq Stock Market.
As set forth on the chart, the Exchange’s proposed port fee is less than that imposed by
similarly situated options exchanges. Specifically, the monthly fees that the Exchange will
continue to charge for the use of ports 1 through 40 ($510 per port) and 41 through 300 ($170
per port) will remain lower than the fees charged by Cboe, PHLX and Nasdaq for the same
number of ports. Similarly, the proposed new monthly tiers for ports 301-1,000 ($250 per port)
and more than 1,001 ($510 per port) are lower than the fees charged by Cboe and Nasdaq for the
same number of ports, $800 and $650, respectively.
PHLX
In general, the Exchange’s FIX port allows ATP Holders to send simple and complex
orders, quotes and other messages using FIX protocols.11 While it does not include the sending
of quotes,12 PHLX’s FIX Ports are analogous to the Exchange’s FIX Ports in that they that allow
PHLX participants to connect, send, and receive messages related to orders to and from PHLX,
which include the following: (1) execution messages; (2) order messages; and (3) risk protection
11
See generally, NYSE Pillar Options FIX Gateway Protocol Specification.
12
Market Maker quotes are sent to PHLX via SQF port fees. See PHLX Options 3, Section 7, Supplementary
Materials .03(C).
4
triggers and cancel notifications.13
Notwithstanding this difference, PHLX charges a higher monthly FIX port fee than the
one proposed by the Exchange, regardless of the number of ports being used. For ports 1 through
40, PHLX charges $140 more per month per port than the Exchange. The difference increases
for ports 41 through 300 and ports 301 through 1000, where PHLX charges $480 and $400 more
than the Exchange per month per port, respectively. For more than 1,000 ports, PHLX continues
to charge higher per month per port fee than that proposed by the Exchange ($650 compared to
$510).
Nasdaq
While it does not include the sending of quotes, 14 Nasdaq FIX Ports are analogous to the
Exchange’s FIX Ports in that they that allow Nasdaq participants to connect, send, and receive
messages related to orders to and from Nasdaq, which include the following: (1) execution
messages; (2) order messages; and (3) risk protection triggers and cancel notifications.15
Notwithstanding this difference, Nasdaq charges a higher monthly FIX port fee than the
one proposed by the Exchange, regardless of the number of ports being used. For ports 1 through
40, Nasdaq charges $140 more per month per port than the Exchange. The difference increases
for ports 41 through 300 and ports 301 through 1000, where Nasdaq charges $480 and $400
more than the Exchange per month per port, respectively. For more than 1,000 ports, Nasdaq
continues to charge higher per month per port fee than that proposed by the Exchange ($650
compared to $510).
13
See PHLX Options 3, Section 7, Supplementary Materials .03(A).
14
Market Maker quotes are sent to Nasdaq via SQF port fees. See Nasdaq Options 3, Section 7,
Supplementary Materials .03(C).
15
See Nasdaq Options 3, Section 7, Supplementary Materials .03(A).
5
Cboe
Cboe charges higher Logical Port fees than the FIX Port fees proposed by the Exchange.
Cboe’s Logical Ports are analogous to the Exchange’s FIX Ports. In general, a FIX Port allows
an ATP Holder to send simple and complex orders, as well as other messages, to the Exchange
using the FIX protocol.16
Cboe Logical Ports allow for order entry and other messages to be sent to Cboe by
participants.17 Cboe charges $750 per month per port for the first through fifth port and $800 per
port per month for each port above that, while the Exchange’s highest proposed tier is only $510
per port per month.
2.
Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent with Section 6(b) of
the Act,18 in general, and furthers the objectives of Sections 6(b)(4) and (5) of the Act.19 In
particular, because it provides for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees, and other
charges among its members, issuers and other persons using its facilities and does not unfairly
discriminate between customers, issuers, brokers or dealers. The charges are aligned with, albeit
lower than, industry fee practices and are directly related to the resources expended and costs
related to an OTP Holder or OTP Firm’s use of a greater number of ports.
The Proposed Rule Change is Reasonable
The Exchange is subject to significant competitive forces in the market for options
securities transaction services that constrain its pricing determinations in that market. The
16
See generally, NYSE Pillar Options FIX Gateway Protocol Specification.
17
See, generally, Cboe Titanium U.S. Options FIX Specification, available at
https://cdn.cboe.com/resources/membership/US_Options_FIX_Specification.pdf.
18
15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
19
15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) & (5).
6
Commission has repeatedly expressed its preference for competition over regulatory intervention
in determining prices, products, and services in the securities markets. In Regulation NMS, the
Commission highlighted the importance of market forces in determining prices and SRO
revenues and, also, recognized that current regulation of the market system “has been remarkably
successful in promoting market competition in its broader forms that are most important to
investors and listed companies.”20
There are currently 18 [sic] registered options exchanges competing for order flow.
Based on publicly available information and, excluding index-based options, no single exchange
has more than 16% of the market share of executed volume of multiply-listed equity and ETF
options trades.21 Therefore, currently no exchange possesses significant pricing power in the
execution of multiply-listed equity and ETF options order flow. More specifically, in June 2026,
the Exchange had 10.41% market share of executed volume of multiply-listed equity and ETF
options order flow. In such a low concentrated and highly competitive market, no single options
exchange possesses significant pricing power in the execution of option order flow.
In addition, even with the proposed increase, the Exchange’s Order/Quote Entry Ports
fees are comparatively low, vis-a-vis industry peer standards. Moreover, the proposed structural
fee changes are narrowly targeted to the increased level of resources expended and costs
associated with an OTP Holder’s or OTP Firm’s increase in the number of Exchange ports
employed. Specifically, as noted above, ports consume a finite shared capacity across OTP
Holders and OTP Firms and the aggregate footprint drives the infrastructure that the Exchange
20
See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 51808 (June 9, 2005), 70 FR 37496, 37499 (June 29, 2005) (S710-04) (“Reg NMS Adopting Release”).
21
The OCC publishes options and futures volume in a variety of formats, including daily and monthly
volume by exchange, available at: https://www.theocc.com/Market-Data/Market-Data-Reports/Volumeand-Open-Interest/Monthly-Weekly-Volume-Statistics.
7
must engineer, provision, staff and periodically expand to maintain performance. As the number
of ports in use grows, the Exchange must dedicate additional capacity and expense to meet this
demand. The proposed fee for the use of more than 300 ports reflects this reality and is intended
to encourage OTP Holders and OTP Firms to size their port usage efficiently.
The Proposed Fees Are Equitably Allocated and Not Unfairly Discriminatory
The Exchange believes that the proposed fee change is equitably allocated and not
unfairly discriminatory because it would apply to all OTP Holders and OTP Firms that utilize
Order/Quote Entry Ports to connect to the Exchange in the same manner and are not targeted at a
specific type or category or market participant engaged in any particular trading strategy. The
Exchange also believes that the proposal represents an equitable allocation of reasonable dues,
fees and other charges because it will be assessed uniformly across all market participants and is
narrowly targeted to the increased level of resources expended and costs associated with an OTP
Holder’s or OTP Firm’s increase in the number of Exchange ports employed. The proposed fee
will be assessed solely based on the number of FIX Ports an entity selects and not on any other
distinction applied by the Exchange, allowing all OTP Holders and OTP Firms the ability to
access all matching engines.
B.
Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
In accordance with Section 6(b)(8) of the Act, the Exchange does not believe that the
proposed rule change would impose any burden on competition that is not necessary or
appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
Intramarket Competition. The Exchange believes that the proposed fees do not put any
market participants at a relative disadvantage compared to other market participants. Port fees
are based on the number of ports utilized by OTP Holder and OTP Firms. The proposed port fees
8
would not impose a barrier to entry to smaller OTP Holders and OTP Firms as such participants
would only be charged for their relative use of Exchange resources (i.e., the number of ports). To
the extent that there is an increase, it will be assessed uniformly across all market participants
and are narrowly targeted to the increased level of resources expended and costs associated with
an OTP Holder’s or OTP Firm’s increase in the number of Exchange ports employed.
Intermarket Competition. The Exchange believes that the proposed fees do not impose a
burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate. The Exchange believes that the
proposed Port fees do not place certain market participants at a relative disadvantage to other
market participants because they will apply to all OTP Holders and OTP Firms in the same
manner and are not targeted at a specific type or category of market participant engaged in any
particular trading strategy. The proposed fees do not depend on any distinctions between market
participants. The proposed fee will be assessed solely based on the number of FIX Ports an entity
selects and not on any other distinction applied by the Exchange.
The Exchange operates in a highly competitive market in which OTP Holders and OTP
Firms can determine whether to connect directly to the Exchange based on the value received
compared to the cost of doing so. Should any OTP Holder or OTP Firm find the proposed port
fees unattractive, OTP Holder or OTP Firm has numerous alternative trading venues to which
they may connect and on which they may participate.
C.
Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed Rule
Change Received from Members, Participants, or Others
No written comments were solicited or received with respect to the proposed rule change.
9
III.
Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for Commission Action
The foregoing rule change is effective upon filing pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A)22 of
the Act and subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule 19b-423 thereunder, because it establishes a due, fee, or
other charge imposed by the Exchange.
At any time within 60 days of the filing of such proposed rule change, the Commission
summarily may temporarily suspend such rule change if it appears to the Commission that such
action is necessary or appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or
otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. If the Commission takes such action, the
Commission shall institute proceedings under Section 19(b)(2)(B)24 of the Act to determine
whether the proposed rule change should be approved or disapproved.
IV.
Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views and arguments concerning the
foregoing, including whether the proposed rule change is consistent with the Act. Comments
may be submitted by any of the following methods:
Electronic Comments:
•
Use the Commission’s internet comment form
(https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or
•
Send an email to rule-comments@sec.gov. Please include file number
SR-NYSEARCA-2026-100 on the subject line.
22
15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
23
17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
24
15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B).
10
Paper Comments:
•
Send paper comments in triplicate to Secretary, Securities and Exchange
Commission, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549-1090.
All submissions should refer to file number SR-NYSEARCA-2026-100. This file
number should be included on the subject line if email is used. To help the Commission process
and review your comments more efficiently, please use only one method. The Commission will
post all comments on the Commission’s internet website (https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml).
Copies of the filing will be available for inspection and copying at the principal office of the
Exchange. Do not include personal identifiable information in submissions; you should submit
only information that you wish to make available publicly. We may redact in part or withhold
entirely from publication submitted material that is obscene or subject to copyright protection.
All submissions should refer to file number SR-NYSEARCA-2026-100 and should be submitted
on or before [INSERT DATE 21 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL
REGISTER].
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.25
Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
25
17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
11
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