The Securities and Exchange Commission has unveiled the comprehensive agenda and list of panelists for its upcoming roundtable on trade-through prohibitions, scheduled for September 18, 2025. This significant event will take place at the SEC’s headquarters located at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C., from 9:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. ET.
The roundtable is open to the public, with doors opening at 8:00 a.m. ET for in-person attendees. Those planning to attend in person are required to register in advance and will be subject to security checks. For broader access, the entire event will be webcast live on www.sec.gov. Online participants do not need to register; a direct link to the webcast will be available on the SEC website on September 18, and a recording will be provided at a later date. Further information, including instructions on how to submit comments, can be found on the SEC Trade-Through Prohibitions Roundtable’s dedicated event page.
The day’s discussions will commence at 9:15 a.m. with opening remarks delivered by SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, and Jamie Selway, Director of the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets. Following this, at 9:45 a.m., the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets' Office of Analytics and Research will present key data, led by Jesse Brady, Arun Manoharan, and Dan Mathisson.
The morning will continue with Panel One, starting at 10:15 a.m., which is titled “Market Participants’ Experience with Trade-Through Prohibitions.” Moderated by Michael Piwowar of the Milken Institute and Jamie Selway, this session will delve into the past two decades of market participants’ interactions with these prohibitions. Discussions are set to cover their effects on market participants and structure, including any unintended consequences; their impact on retail and institutional trading; compliance costs across various market participants; differing experiences in the equity versus options markets; and insights from markets operating without such prohibitions.
After a lunch break at 11:45 a.m., the afternoon program will begin at 12:45 p.m. with remarks from SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins. This will be followed at 1:00 p.m. by Panel Two, “A Trade-Through Prohibition’s Role in Today’s Market Structure,” moderated by Andre Owens of WilmerHale and Jamie Selway. This panel will examine the necessity and objectives of trade-through prohibitions within today’s highly automated and interconnected market landscape, exploring their intersection with best execution obligations, supporting ancillary rules like those restricting locking or crossing quotations and access fee caps, and whether they introduce unnecessary complexity.
Following a brief break at 2:30 p.m., the final session, Panel Three, “Forward Thinking,” will commence at 2:45 p.m. Moderated by Elad Roisman of Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Jamie Selway, this panel will explore potential future directions for trade-through prohibitions. Topics will include maintaining the status quo, considering exemptions or modifications (such as market share thresholds for protected quotes or block trade exceptions), or even rescinding the prohibitions entirely. The discussion will also address any necessary complementary changes if these prohibitions are altered or removed, including amendments or rescissions of other rules, or the provision of new guidance to market participants, such as additional best execution guidance. The program is slated to conclude at 4:15 p.m. ET.