[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 163 (Thursday, August 24, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40193-40196]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-17904]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-81431; File No. SR-GEMX-2017-39]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq GEMX, LLC; Notice of Filing 
and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Create the 
Market Access and Routing Subsidy Program

August 18, 2017.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(``Act''),\1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that 
on August 9, 2017, Nasdaq GEMX, LLC (``GEMX'' or ``Exchange'') filed 
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (``SEC'' or ``Commission'') 
the proposed rule change as described in Items I and II, 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance 
of the Proposed Rule Change

    The Exchange proposes to create a subsidy program, the Market 
Access and Routing Subsidy (``MARS''), for GEMX Members that provide 
certain order routing functionalities \3\ to other GEMX Members and/or 
use such functionalities themselves.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ The order routing functionalities permit a GEMX Member to 
provide access and connectivity to other Members as well utilize 
such access for themselves. The Exchange notes that under this 
arrangement it will be possible for one GEMX Member to be eligible 
for payments under MARS, while another GEMX Member might potentially 
be liable for transaction charges associated with the execution of 
the order, because those orders were delivered to the Exchange 
through a GEMX Member's connection to the Exchange and that Member 
qualified for the MARS Payment.
    Consider the following example: Both Members A and B are GEMX 
Members but A does not utilize its own connections to route orders 
to the Exchange, and instead utilizes B's connections. Under this 
program, B will be eligible for the MARS Payment while A is liable 
for any transaction charges resulting from the execution of orders 
that originate from A, arrive at the Exchange via B's connectivity, 
and subsequently execute and clear at The Options Clearing 
Corporation or ``OCC,'' where A is the valid executing clearing 
Member or give-up on the transaction. Similarly, where B utilizes 
its own connections to execute transactions, B will be eligible for 
the MARS Payment, but would also be liable for any transaction 
resulting from the execution of orders that originate from B, arrive 
at the Exchange via B's connectivity, and subsequently execute and 
clear at OCC, where B is the valid executing clearing Member or 
give-up on the transaction.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's 
Web site at www.ise.com, at the principal office of the Exchange, 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 Exchange 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 these 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 aspects of such 
statements.

A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose
    GEMX proposes a new subsidy program, MARS, which would pay a 
subsidy to GEMX Members that provide certain order routing 
functionalities to other GEMX Members and/or use such functionalities 
themselves. Generally, under MARS, GEMX proposes to make payments to 
participating GEMX Members to subsidize their costs of providing 
routing services to route orders to GEMX. The Exchange believes that 
MARS will attract higher volumes of equity and ETF options volume to 
the Exchange from non-GEMX market participants as well as GEMX Members.
MARS System Eligibility
    To qualify for MARS, a GEMX Member's order routing functionality 
would be required to meet certain criteria. Specifically the Member's 
routing system (hereinafter ``System'') would be required to: (1) 
Enable the electronic routing of orders to all of the U.S. options 
exchanges, including GEMX; (2) provide current consolidated market data 
from the U.S. options exchanges; and (3) be capable of interfacing with 
GEMX's API to access current GEMX match engine functionality. The 
Member's System would also need to cause GEMX to be one of the top four 
default destination exchanges for (a) individually executed marketable 
orders if GEMX is at the national best bid or offer (``NBBO''), 
regardless of size or time or (b) orders that establish a new NBBO on 
GEMX's Order Book, but allow any user to manually override GEMX as the 
default destination on an order-by-order basis.
    The Exchange would require GEMX Members desiring to participate in 
MARS \4\ to complete a form, in a manner prescribed by the Exchange, 
and reaffirm their information on a quarterly basis to the Exchange. 
Any GEMX Member would be permitted to apply for MARS, provided the 
above-referenced requirements are met, including a robust and reliable 
System. The Member would be solely responsible for implementing and 
operating its System.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ If a GEMX Member desires to qualify for MARS, that Member 
must submit an application and certify to the System Eligibility 
requirements for the entire time period in which the Member will be 
eligible for MARS Rebates. A GEMX Member may apply anytime during 
the month in which the GEMX Member desires to participant in MARS 
and would be eligible for the entire month, provided the GEMX Member 
certified System Eligibility for that entire month. For example, a 
GEMX Member submitting an application on the 15th of the month, 
would have to certify System Eligibility for that entire month. A 
form must be submitted no later than the last business day of the 
month in which the GEMX Member desires to participate in MARS. The 
application will require the GEMX Member to identify the GEMX Member 
seeking the MARS Payment and must list, among other things, the 
connections utilized by the GEMX Member to provide Exchange access 
to other GEMX Members and/or itself. MARS Payments would be made one 
month in arrears (i.e., a MARS Payment earned for activity in 
September would be paid to the qualifying GEMX Member in October), 
as is the case with all other transactional payments and assessments 
made by the Exchange.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

MARS Eligible Contracts
    A MARS Payment would be made to GEMX Members that have System 
Eligibility and have routed the requisite number of Eligible Contracts 
daily in a month, which were executed on GEMX. For the purpose of 
qualifying for the MARS Payment, Eligible Contracts would include Non-
Nasdaq GEMX Market Maker (FARMM) \5\, Firm Proprietary \6\/Broker-
Dealer \7\ and Professional Customer \8\ Orders that are executed. 
Eligible Contracts do not

[[Page 40194]]

include qualified contingent cross or ``QCC'' Orders \9\ or Price 
Improvement Mechanism or ``PIM'' Orders.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ A ``Non-Nasdaq GEMX Market Maker'' is a market maker as 
defined in Section 3(a)(38) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 
as amended, registered in the same options class on another options 
exchange.
    \6\ A ``Firm Proprietary'' order is an order submitted by a 
Member for its own proprietary account.
    \7\ A ``Broker-Dealer'' order is an order submitted by a Member 
for a broker-dealer account that is not its own proprietary account.
    \8\ A ``Professional Customer'' is a person or entity that is 
not a broker/dealer and is not a Priority Customer.
    \9\ A QCC Order is comprised of an originating order to buy or 
sell at least 1000 contracts that is identified as being part of a 
qualified contingent trade, as that term is defined in Supplementary 
Material .01 below, coupled with a contra-side order or orders 
totaling an equal number of contracts. See Rule 715(j).
    \10\ Price Improvement Mechanism (``PIM'') is the Exchange's 
price improvement mechanism for crossing transactions. See Rule 723.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    GEMX Members using an order routing functionality provided by 
another Member or its own functionality will continue to be required to 
comply with best execution obligations. Specifically, just as with any 
Priority Customer \11\ order and any other routing functionality, a 
GEMX Member will continue to have an obligation to consider the 
availability of price improvement at various markets and whether 
routing a Priority Customer order through a functionality that 
incorporates the features described above would allow for access to 
such opportunities if readily available. Moreover, a GEMX Member would 
need to conduct best execution evaluations on a regular basis, at a 
minimum quarterly, that include its use of any router incorporating the 
features described above.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ ``Priority Customer'' is a person or entity that is not a 
broker/dealer in securities, and does not place more than 390 orders 
in listed options per day on average during a calendar month for its 
own beneficial account(s), as defined in GEMX Rule 100(a)(37A). 
Unless otherwise noted, the term ``Priority Customer'' includes 
``Retail.'' A ``Retail'' order is a Priority Customer order that 
originates from a natural person, provided that no change is made to 
the terms of the order with respect to price or side of market and 
the order does not originate from a trading algorithm or any other 
computerized methodology.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

MARS Payment
    GEMX Members that have System Eligibility and have executed the 
requisite number of Eligible Contracts in a month would be paid the 
following per contract rebates:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           Average daily
                  Tiers                       volume       MARS payment
                                             (``ADV'')
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.......................................          10,000           $0.07
2.......................................          15,000            0.10
3.......................................          20,000            0.13
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The specified MARS Payment will be paid on all executed Eligible 
Contracts that add liquidity, which are routed to GEMX through a 
participating GEMX Member's System and meet the requisite Eligible 
Contracts ADV. No payment will be made with respect to orders that are 
routed to GEMX, but not executed. This three-tiered proposal is 
intended to encourage GEMX Members to execute the maximum number of 
contracts to achieve the highest rebate.
    No payment will be made with respect to orders that are routed to 
GEMX, but not executed.\12\ Further, a GEMX Member would not be 
entitled to receive any other revenue \13\ for the use of its System 
specifically with respect to orders routed to GEMX.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\ A GEMX Member will not be entitled to receive any other 
revenue for the use of its System specifically with respect to 
orders routed to GEMX.
    \13\ This requirement would not prevent the Member from charging 
fees (for example, a flat monthly fee) for the general use of its 
System. Nor would it prevent the Member from charging fees or 
commissions in accordance with its general practices with respect to 
transactions effected through its System.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Exchange proposes to add the MARS to Section II as Part B of 
the Fee Schedule, entitled ``Market Access and Routing Subsidy 
(``MARS'').'' Additionally, the Exchange proposes to amend the Table of 
Content to include the new section.
2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that the proposed MARS program is reasonable 
because it is designed to attract higher volumes of equity and ETF 
options volume to the Exchange, which will benefit all GEMX Members by 
offering greater price discovery, increased transparency, and an 
increased opportunity to trade on the Exchange. Moreover, the Exchange 
believes that the proposed subsidy offered by MARS is both equitable 
and not unfairly discriminatory because any qualifying GEMX Member that 
offers market access and connectivity to the Exchange and/or utilizes 
such functionality themselves may earn the MARS Payment for all 
Eligible Contracts.
MARS System Eligibility
    The Exchange believes that requiring GEMX Members to maintain their 
Systems according to the various requirements set forth by the Exchange 
in order to qualify for the proposed MARS program is reasonable because 
the Exchange seeks to encourage market participants to send higher 
volumes of orders to GEMX, which will contribute to the Exchange's 
depth of book as well as to the top of book liquidity. The Exchange 
also believes that the proposed MARS program is reasonable because it 
is designed to enhance the competitiveness of the Exchange. The 
Exchange believes that requiring Members to maintain their Systems 
according to the various requirements set forth by the Exchange in 
order to qualify for MARS is equitable and not unfairly discriminatory 
because these requirements will uniformly apply to all market 
participants desiring to qualify for MARS.
    The Exchange's proposal to require a Member's System to cause GEMX 
to be the one of the top four default destination exchanges for (a) 
individually executed marketable orders if GEMX is at the NBBO, 
regardless of size or time or (b) orders that establish a new NBBO on 
GEMX's Order Book, but allow any user to manually override GEMX as the 
default destination on an order-by-order basis is reasonable. Offering 
Members the ability to select either of the aforementioned requirements 
to qualify for System Eligibility would incentivize GEMX Members to 
quote at the NBBO on GEMX to qualify for MARS. Also, the Exchange seeks 
to encourage market participants to send higher volumes of orders to 
GEMX, which will contribute to the Exchange's depth of book as well as 
to the top of book liquidity. The MARS program is designed to enhance 
the competitiveness of the Exchange and the Exchange believes that 
these proposed requirements will cause GEMX to be an attractive market 
to send orders. The Exchange also notes that The NASDAQ Options Market 
LLC currently offers a MARS program today with similar 
requirements.\14\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \14\ See NOM's Rules at Chapter XV, Section 2(6).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Exchange's proposal to require Members to cause GEMX to be the 
one of the top four default destination exchanges is equitable and not 
unfairly discriminatory because these requirements will uniformly apply 
to all Participants desiring to qualify for MARS. Any GEMX Member 
desiring to participate in MARS would be required to meet the 
aforementioned System Eligibility requirements.
MARS Eligible Contracts
    The Exchange believes that excluding the volumes attributable to 
QCC and PIM Orders is reasonable, equitable, and not unfairly 
discriminatory for the reasons below. Today, GEMX reduces taker fees 
for any GEMX Member that achieves a certain volume threshold as 
displayed in Table 1 of the Schedule of Fees.\15\ Today, QCC and PIM 
Order volume is counted towards the Total Affiliated Member average 
daily volume to meet those tier thresholds and reduce taker fees. The 
Exchange does not desire to pay an additional subsidy on top of 
offering discounted taker fees for QCC and PIM Orders. Because the 
Exchange would calculate Eligible Contracts in the same manner for all 
GEMX Members seeking to qualify for MARS, and the calculation would 
exclude QCC and

[[Page 40195]]

PIM Order volume, the proposal to exclude these volumes from the MARS 
Payment is not inequitable or unfairly discriminatory.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \15\ See GEMX's Schedule of Fees in Section I.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Exchange further notes that while MARS is only being offered to 
qualifying GEMX Members for Non-Nasdaq GEMX Market Maker (FARMM), Firm 
Proprietary/Broker-Dealer and Professional Customer equity option 
Orders and is not including Priority Customer or Market Maker \16\ 
Orders volume the Exchange believes this is reasonable, equitable and 
not unfairly discriminatory for the reasons below. With respect to 
Priority Customer orders, the Exchange notes that, today, Priority 
Customer Orders may earn the highest Market Maker rebates available on 
GEMX.\17\ The Exchange believes that the availability of these rebates 
for Priority Customer Orders does not warrant paying an additional 
subsidy on Priority Customer Orders for MARS. With respect to Market 
Maker Orders, today the Exchange offers certain rebates on Market Maker 
Orders.\18\ The Exchange believes that these rebates provide ample 
incentive for attracting Market Maker Orders to the Exchange and that 
no further subsidy is warranted at this time.\19\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \16\ The term ``Market Makers'' refers to ``Competitive Market 
Makers'' and ``Primary Market Makers'' collectively. See GEMX Rule 
100(a)(25).
    \17\ See GEMX's Schedule of Fees in Section I.
    \18\ Id.
    \19\ Market Maker and Priority Customer Orders are eligible for 
higher maker rebates based on achieving volume thresholds in Table 1 
below. GEMX Members who do not achieve a higher Tier under Table 1 
will receive Tier 1 maker rebates. See GEMX's Schedule of Fees in 
Section I.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Further, the proposed MARS Subsidy is designed to attract higher 
margin business to the Exchange. To offer the proposed subsidy on 
Priority Customer or Market Maker Orders would require funding from 
some other source, such as raising fees for other participants. As a 
result, the Exchange believes it is appropriate to only count Non-
Nasdaq GEMX Market Maker (FARMM), Firm Proprietary/Broker-Dealer and 
Professional Customer Orders toward the Eligible Contracts, which 
unlike Priority Customer and Market Maker Orders are not eligible for 
Market Maker rebates today beyond $0.25 per contract on GEMX. The 
Exchange notes that it is commonplace within the options industry for 
exchanges to charge different rates and/or offer different rebates 
depending upon the capacity in which a participant is trading. For 
these reasons, the Exchange believes that the proposal to only count 
certain order flow as Eligible Contracts is reasonable, equitable and 
not unfairly discriminatory for the reasons mentioned herein.
MARS Payment
    The Exchange's proposal to pay a MARS Payment based on certain 
average daily volumes for Eligible Contracts, which add liquidity, is 
reasonable because the Exchange believes that the MARS program will 
attract order flow which would be beneficial for all GEMX Members in 
that it would generate greater price discovery, increased transparency, 
and an increased opportunity to trade on the Exchange. The MARS 
Payments should enhance the competitiveness of the Exchange. Further, 
the proposed tier structure would allow GEMX Members to price their 
services at a level that will enable them to attract order flow from 
market participants who would otherwise utilize an existing front-end 
order entry mechanism instead of incurring the cost in time and money 
to develop their own internal systems to be able to deliver orders 
directly to the Exchange's System. The Exchange also seeks to reward 
market participants that bring a greater amount of order flow to the 
Exchange by paying a higher rebate based on the average daily volume 
that qualified as Eligible Contracts.\20\ The Exchange believes that 
the tiers are reasonable because the Exchange is incentivizing GEMX 
Members to transact a greater amount of qualifying volume to earn the 
rebate. The additional order flow will benefit all market participants.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \20\ The Exchange proposes to pay a $0.07 per contract rebate to 
qualifying GEMX Members who transact 10,000 ADV; a rebate of $0.10 
per contract to qualifying GEMX Members who transact 15,000 ADV and 
a $0.13 per contact to qualifying GEMX Members who transact 20,000 
ADV.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Exchange's proposal to pay a MARS Payment based on certain 
average daily volumes for Eligible Contracts, which add liquidity, is 
equitable and not unfairly discriminatory because the Exchange will 
uniformly pay all GEMX Members the proposed rebates specified in the 
proposed MARS Payment tiers provided the GEMX Member has executed the 
requisite number of Eligible Contracts. Moreover, the Exchange believes 
that the proposed MARS Payments offered by the Exchange are equitable 
and not unfairly discriminatory because any qualifying GEMX Member that 
offers market access and connectivity to the Exchange and/or utilizes 
such functionality themselves may earn the MARS Payment for all 
Eligible Contracts. The Exchange believes that the tiers are equitable 
and not unfairly discriminatory because the Exchange would pay the same 
rebates to all qualifying GEMX Members who transact the requisite 
volume to earn the rebate.
    The Exchange believes that it is reasonable, equitable and not 
unfairly discriminatory to pay the proposed MARS Payment to GEMX 
Members that have System Eligibility and have executed the Eligible 
Contracts, even when a different GEMX Member may be liable for 
transaction charges resulting from the execution of the orders upon 
which the subsidy might be paid. The Exchange notes that this sort of 
arrangement already exists on The NASDAQ Options Market LLC (``NOM'') 
with its MARS Program.\21\ The intent of the MARS Program is to 
incentivize GEMX Members to offer order routing functionalities to 
other GEMX Members and/or use such functionalities themselves. By 
paying the MARS Payments to GEMX Members that have System Eligibility, 
the Exchange is providing an incentive for GEMX Members to offer the 
order routing functionalities described in this proposal. Also, all 
qualifying GEMX Members would be uniformly paid the subsidy on all 
qualifying volume that was routed by them to the Exchange and executed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \21\ See note 14 above.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Exchange believes that preventing Members from receiving any 
other revenue for the use of its routing system, specifically with 
respect to orders routed to GEMX is reasonable because Members could 
still charge fees for the general use of its order routing system as 
well as charging fees or commissions in accordance with its general 
practices with respect to transactions effected through its system. The 
Exchange believes that preventing Members from receiving any other 
revenue for the use of its routing system, specifically with respect to 
orders routed to GEMX is equitable and not unfairly discriminatory 
because the Exchange would uniformly apply the MARS requirements to all 
qualifying GEMX Members.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    The Exchange 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. In terms of inter-market 
competition, the Exchange notes that it operates in a highly 
competitive market in which market participants can readily favor 
competing venues if they deem fee levels at a particular venue to be 
excessive, or rebate opportunities available at other

[[Page 40196]]

venues to be more favorable. In such an environment, the Exchange must 
continually adjust its fees to remain competitive with other exchanges 
and with alternative trading systems that have been exempted from 
compliance with the statutory standards applicable to exchanges. 
Because competitors are free to modify their own fees in response, and 
because market participants may readily adjust their order routing 
practices, the Exchange believes that the degree to which fee changes 
in this market may impose any burden on competition is extremely 
limited.
MARS System Eligibility
    The Exchange believes that requiring Members to maintain their 
order routing systems according to the various requirements set forth 
by the Exchange in order to qualify for MARS does not create an undue 
burden on intra-market competition because the proposed requirements 
will uniformly apply to all market participants desiring to qualify for 
MARS.
MARS Eligible Contracts
    The Exchange believes that excluding QCC and PIM Orders does not 
create an undue burden on intra-market competition because these types 
of orders will uniformly be excluded from the volume calculation for 
all qualifying GEMX Members for MARS.
    The Exchange believes that excluding Priority Customer and Market 
Makers Orders from the types of orders that would be eligible for MARS 
does not create an undue burden on intra-market competition because 
Priority Customer and Market Makers Orders are eligible for rebates 
today and reduced fees.
MARS Payment
    The Exchange believes that paying the proposed tiered MARS Payments 
to qualifying GEMX Members that have System Eligibility and have 
executed the Eligible Contracts does not create an undue burden on 
intra-market competition, even when a different GEMX Member, other than 
the GEMX Member receiving the subsidy, may be liable for transaction 
charges, because this sort of arrangement should encourage GEMX Members 
to offer order routing functionalities to other market participants.
    The Exchange believes that paying the proposed tiered MARS Payments 
to qualifying GEMX Members that have System Eligibility and have 
executed the Eligible Contracts in a month, does not create an undue 
burden on intra-market competition because the Exchange would count all 
Non-Nasdaq GEMX Market Maker (FARMM), Firm Proprietary/Broker-Dealer 
and Professional Customer Order volume toward the Eligible Contracts. 
Priority Customer and Market Maker Orders are offered other pricing 
incentives today in the form of enhanced rebates and lower fees.\22\ 
The MARS Program should generate increased order flow which should 
bring increased liquidity to the Exchange for the benefit of all market 
participants. To the extent the purpose of the proposed MARS program is 
achieved, all market participants should benefit from the improved 
market liquidity.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \22\ See GEMX's Schedule of Fees at Section I.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Exchange believes that preventing Members from receiving any 
other revenue for the use of its routing system, specifically with 
respect to orders routed to GEMX does not create undue burden on intra-
market competition because the Exchange would continue to uniformly 
apply its MARS requirements to all GEMX Members.

C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed 
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others

    No written comments were either solicited or received.

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

    The foregoing rule change has become effective pursuant to Section 
19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act,\23\ and Rule 19b-4(f)(2) \24\ 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: (i) Necessary or 
appropriate in the public interest; (ii) for the protection of 
investors; or (iii) otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of the 
Act. If the Commission takes such action, the Commission shall 
institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule should be 
approved or disapproved.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \23\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
    \24\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 email to [email protected]. Please include 
File Number SR-GEMX-2017-39 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

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

All submissions should refer to File Number SR-GEMX-2017-39. This file 
number should be included on the subject line if email 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 
10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the 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 available publicly. All 
submissions should refer to File Number SR-GEMX-2017-39 and should be 
submitted on or before September 14, 2017.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\25\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \25\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Robert W. Errett,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-17904 Filed 8-23-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8011-01-P