SEC Directs Equity Exchanges and FINRA to Improve Governance of Market Data Plans

The Securities and Exchange Commission today issued an order directing the equity exchanges and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) (the participants) to file a new national market system plan (NMS plan) to replace the three existing national market system plans that govern the public dissemination of real-time, consolidated equity market data for national market system stocks. The order follows a May 6, 2020, Commission order that was reviewed by the D.C. Circuit and, among other things, was upheld with respect to the Commission’s requirements that the new plan allocate votes by exchange group and provide for an independent administrator.