An individual Commissioner of the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission delivered remarks at the Division of Trading and Markets’ roundtable on options market structure, pointing to recently released SEC data indicating that long-standing market structure concerns seen in equities may be even more pronounced in options. The Commissioner invited public feedback on how SEC rules could be modernized to improve execution quality and competition across the options market. The remarks highlighted a decade of change in the options landscape, including increased retail participation and growth in short-dated and ultra-short-dated strategies, which the Commissioner linked to shifts in order-flow dynamics, execution pathways, and liquidity provision economics. Specific issues flagged for review included options market fragmentation across 15 exchanges with more than 1% market share and its potential impact on retail marketable order execution, as well as institutional-facing questions around market maker entitlements, data asymmetries, competitive barriers, and whether existing floor auction incentives remain appropriate. The Commissioner indicated that input from the roundtable and related supporting data published by the Division of Trading and Markets would help inform consideration of potential reforms, while noting the remarks reflected the Commissioner’s personal views rather than those of the full Commission.
U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission 2026-04-16
U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission hosts options market structure roundtable as Commissioner urges review of fragmentation and market maker entitlements
A Commissioner of the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, speaking at the Division of Trading and Markets’ roundtable on options market structure, highlighted SEC data suggesting that long-standing equity market structure concerns may be even more pronounced in options. The remarks cited increased retail participation, growth in short- and ultra-short-dated strategies, and fragmentation across 15 options exchanges, and raised questions on execution quality, market maker entitlements, data asymmetries, competitive barriers, and floor auction incentives. The Commissioner invited public feedback to inform potential modernization of SEC rules.