SEC Announces Panelists for Roundtable on Decimalization

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the panelists who will participate in its roundtable next week on decimalization. The February 5 roundtable, which will evaluate the impact of tick sizes on the securities markets, will consist of three panels. Participants on the first panel will address the impact of tick sizes on small and mid-sized companies, the economic consequences (including costs and benefits) of increasing or decreasing minimum tick sizes, and whether other policy alternatives might better address concerns related to Section 106(b) of the JOBS Act. Participants on the second panel will address the impact of tick sizes on the securities market in general, including what benefits may have been achieved and what, if any, negative effects have resulted. Participants on the third panel will address potential methods for analysis of the issues, including whether and how to conduct a pilot for alternative minimum tick sizes. SEC staff is particularly interested in hearing what types of data that market participants should provide for use in assessing the effects of an increase or variation in minimum tick sizes for companies of different capitalizations. The roundtable will begin at 9:30 a.m. in the auditorium at the SEC’s Washington D.C. headquarters located at 100 F Street N.E. The public is invited to attend and observe the discussion with seating available on a first-come, first-served basis. The event will be webcast live on the SEC website and archived for later viewing. * * * Agenda and Panelists 9:30 a.m.Introduction 9:45 a.m.Panel 1: Evaluating Concerns Relating to Tick Size for Small and Middle Capitalization Companies Brian B. Conroy — President at Fidelity Capital Markets R. Cromwell Coulson — President, CEO, and Director at OTC Markets Group Joshua L. Green — General Partner at Mohr Davidow Ventures Scott Kupor — Managing Partner and Chief Operating Officer at Andreessen Horowitz Maureen O’Hara — Robert W. Purcell Professor of Finance at Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University Jeffrey M. Solomon — CEO at Cowen and Company, Director at Cowen Group (statement) David Weild — Senior Advisor at Grant Thornton LLP and Chairman & CEO at Weild & Co (statement) Kent Womack — Professor of Finance at Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto 11:15 a.m.Break 11:30 a.m.Panel 2: Evaluating Concerns Relating to Tick Size for the Securities Market Generally Chris Concannon — Partner at Virtu Financial LLC Kevin Cronin — Global Head of Equity Trading at Invesco Frank M. Hatheway — Chief Economist at NASDAQ OMX Group Inc. Patrick J. Healy — CEO at Issuer Advisory Group LLC Chris Isaacson — Chief Operating Officer at BATS Global Markets (statement) Paul Jiganti — Managing Director at TD Ameritrade Maureen O’Hara — Robert W. Purcell Professor of Finance at Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University Adam V. Reed — Julian Price Scholar in Finance and Associate Professor of Finance at Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina 1 p.m.Break 2:30 p.m.Panel 3: Studying the Effects of Alternative Tick Sizes Colin Clark — Senior Vice President at NYSE Euronext Frank M. Hatheway — Chief Economist at NASDAQ OMX Group Inc. Paul Jiganti — Managing Director at TD Ameritrade Maureen McCarthy — Managing Director and Director of Sales and Trading at JMP Securities Maureen O’Hara — Robert W. Purcell Professor of Finance at Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University Adam V. Reed — Julian Price Scholar in Finance and Associate Professor of Finance at Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina Stephen Sachs — Head of Capital Markets at ProShare Advisors LLC Kent Womack — Professor of Finance at Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto 4 p.m.Roundtable concludes