[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 77 (Thursday, April 21, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22427-22429]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-9648]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-64304; File No. SR-CBOE-2011-028]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Board Options Exchange, 
Incorporated; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a 
Proposed Rule Change To Establish Transaction Fees for CBOE Gold ETF 
Volatility Index Options

April 15, 2011.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(the ``Act''),\1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given 
that on April 8, 2011, the Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated 
(the ``Exchange'' or ``CBOE'') filed with the Securities and Exchange 
Commission (the ``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described 
in Items I, II, and III below, which Items have been prepared by the 
Exchange. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments 
on the proposed rule change from interested persons.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance 
of the Proposed Rule Change

    CBOE proposes to amend its Fees Schedule to establish fees for 
transactions in CBOE Gold ETF Volatility Index (``GVZ'') options. The 
text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's Web 
site (http://www.cboe.org/legal), at the Exchange's Office of the 
Secretary, and at the Commission's Public Reference Room.

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 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 received approval to list and trade options on the 
CBOE Gold ETF Volatility Index (``GVZ''), which is an up-to-the-minute 
market estimate of the expected volatility of the SPDR Gold Trust 
(``GLD'') calculated by using real-time bid/ask quotes of CBOE listed 
GLD options.\3\ GVZ uses nearby and second nearby options with at least 
8 days left to expiration and then weights them to yield a constant, 
30-day measure of the expected (implied) volatility. The Exchange will 
begin listing GVZ options on April 12, 2011.
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    \3\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 62139 (May 19, 
2010), 75 FR 29597 (May 26, 2010) (approving SR-CBOE-2010-018).
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    The purpose of this rule change is to clarify that the existing 
transaction fees for ``Volatility Indexes'' shall apply for 
transactions in GVZ options, except that the existing Surcharge Fee 
(currently $.10 per contract for Volatility Index options) will not 
apply to GVZ options.\4\ In addition, the Exchange's marketing fee \5\ 
shall not apply to GVZ options.
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    \4\ This fee is assessed to help the Exchange recoup license 
fees the Exchange pays to the different index licensors in order to 
list options on the respective indexes.
    \5\ See Footnote 6 of the Fees Schedule. In 2007, the Exchange 
amended its Fees Schedule to broaden the application of existing 
transaction fees for VIX options to options on all volatility 
indexes calculated by CBOE. At that time, the Exchange replaced all 
references to ``VIX'' in its Fees Schedule with ``VOLATILITY 
INDEXES.'' The reference to ``VIX'' in Footnote 6 was inadvertently 
omitted in that filing. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 
56660 (October 15, 2007), 72 FR 59315 (October 19, 2007). 
Accordingly, the Exchange is proposing to make a technical change to 
Footnote 6 to change the reference from ``VIX'' to ``VOLATILITY 
INDEXES.''
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    For reference, the existing Volatility Index transactions fees that 
will apply to GVZ options are as follows:
     $0.40 per contract for customer transactions;

[[Page 22428]]

     $0.40 per contract for voluntary professional 
transactions;
     $0.40 per contract for professional transactions
     $0.20 per contract for CBOE Market-Maker/DPM transactions; 
\6\
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    \6\ This is the standard rate that is subject to the Liquidity 
Provider Sliding Scale as set forth in Footnote 10 to the Fees 
Schedule.
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     $0.25 per contract for Clearing Trading Permit Holder 
proprietary transactions; \7\
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    \7\ This is the standard rate that is subject to the CBOE 
Proprietary Products Sliding Scale for Clearing Trading Permit 
Holder Proprietary Orders as set forth in Footnote 11 to the Fees 
Schedule.
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     $0.40 per contract for broker-dealer transactions;
     $0.10 per contract CFLEX Surcharge Fee;
     $0.03 per contract floor brokerage fee; \8\
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    \8\ See Section 3 (Floor Brokerage and Par Official Fees) to the 
Fee Schedule and Footnotes 1, 5 and 15 of the Fees Schedule.
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     $0.015 per contract floor brokerage fee for crossed 
orders; \9\
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    \9\ Id.
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     $0.03 per contract par official fee; \10\ and
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    \10\ Id.
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     $0.015 per contract for par official fee for crossed 
orders.\11\
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    \11\ Id.
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    The Exchange is also proposing to establish a new Surcharge Fee on 
transactions in GVZ options to help the Exchange offset some of the 
costs and expenses associated with new product research and development 
and ongoing maintenance. CBOE is a recognized industry leader in 
product innovation and believes that the introduction of new products 
is beneficial for the marketplace and provides investors with new and 
important risk management tools. Product innovation necessarily results 
in costs and expenses to the Exchange and involves risk. For example, 
the Exchange conducts surveys of market participants to scope new 
products, invests in development and marketing of new products and 
engages in ongoing maintenance of new products. Similarly, it takes 
time to build liquidity in new products. As a result, the Exchange 
believes that the proposed $0.10 per contract Surcharge Fee to help 
offset some of the costs and expenses expended for product research and 
development and ongoing maintenance is appropriate and will enable the 
Exchange to continue its longstanding leadership role in options 
product innovation.
    The Exchange is proposing to codify the new ``Product Research & 
Development'' Surcharge Fee in Section 1 (Index Options) to the Fees 
Schedule by setting it forth in new subparagraph (B) under the existing 
``Surcharge Fee'' category (and renaming the category ``Surcharge 
Fees''). The new Product Research & Development Surcharge Fee will 
apply to all non-public customer transactions (i.e., CBOE and non-
Trading Permit Holder market-maker, Clearing Trading Permit Holder and 
broker-dealer), including voluntary professionals and 
professionals.\12\ The Exchange notes that the existing ``Surcharge 
Fee'' is assessed on transactions in certain index options, including 
Volatility Indexes, and the Exchange is expressly excluding GVZ options 
from this fee. In order to differentiate between the existing Surcharge 
Fee and the proposed Product Research & Development Surcharge Fee, the 
Exchange is proposing to establish a new subparagraph (A) which will be 
named ``Index License.'' Those products that are currently assessed the 
existing Surcharge Fee will be itemized under ``Index License'' and GVZ 
will be itemized under ``Product Research & Development.''
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    \12\ See existing footnote 14 to Fees Schedule, which shall 
apply to the proposed new Product Research & Development Surcharge 
Fee.
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    The Exchange is also proposing to make the first reference to 
``VOLATILITY INDEXES'' in the Fees Schedule an active hyperlink that 
will take readers to a CBOE Web site that identifies all of the 
Volatility Indexes that underlie options traded on the Exchange. 
Specifically, the first reference to ``VOLATILITY INDEXES'' in Section 
1 (Index Options, I. Customer at the third bullet point) will be 
displayed in blue text and has been embedded with the following 
hyperlink: http://www.cboe.com/products/Cash-SettledIndexOptions.aspx#Volatility.
2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes the proposed rule change is consistent with 
Section 6(b) of the Act,\13\ in general, and furthers the objectives of 
Section 6(b)(4) \14\ of the Act in particular, in that it is designed 
to provide for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees, and 
other charges among CBOE Trading Permit Holders and other persons using 
its facilities. The Exchange believes the fee changes proposed by this 
filing are equitable because they will apply uniformly to all market 
participants that trade GVZ options. In addition, the proposed fees are 
reasonable and comparable to fees that the Exchange currently assesses 
for other volatility index products. Furthermore, the proposed new 
Product Research and Development Surcharge Fee will enable to Exchange 
to offset some (although not all) of the costs and expenses associated 
with offering new products. For example, the Exchange conducts surveys 
of market participants to scope new products, invests in development 
and marketing of new products and engages in ongoing maintenance of new 
products. Similarly, it takes time to build liquidity in new products. 
Finally, the proposed fees further the Exchange's goal of introducing 
new products to the marketplace that are competitively priced.
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    \13\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \14\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
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B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    CBOE does not believe that the proposed rule change will impose any 
burden on competition not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of 
the purposes of the Act.

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.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 
Commission Action

    The proposed rule change is designated by the Exchange as 
establishing or changing a due, fee, or other charge, thereby 
qualifying for effectiveness on filing pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) 
of the Act \15\ and subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule 19b-4 \16\ thereunder. 
At any time within 60 days of the filing of the 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.
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    \15\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \16\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
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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 (http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or
     Send an e-mail to [email protected]. Please include 
File

[[Page 22429]]

Number SR-CBOE-2011-028 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

     Send paper comments in triplicate to Elizabeth M. Murphy, 
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20549-1090.

All submissions should refer to File Number SR-CBOE-2011-028. This file 
number should be included on the subject line if e-mail 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 Web site (http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all 
written statements with respect to the proposed rule change that are 
filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating to 
the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person, other 
than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the 
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for Web site viewing and 
printing in the Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between the hours of 10 
a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of such filing also will be available for 
inspection and copying at the principal office of the Exchange. All 
comments received will be posted without change; the Commission does 
not edit personal identifying information from submissions. You should 
submit only information that you wish to make publicly available. All 
submissions should refer to File Number SR-CBOE-2011-028 and should be 
submitted on or before May 12, 2011.
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    \17\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\17\
Cathy H. Ahn,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-9648 Filed 4-20-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P