SEC, CFTC to Discuss Responses to Flash Crash

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Friday will discuss potential responses to the May 6 Flash Crash, after revisiting its findings at a joint meeting.

At a public meeting to be held from 9 a.m. to noon, the joint advisory committee on market structure of the two agencies will receive a summary and recap from their staffs on the findings released October 1.

That staff report said the trigger event for the crash was a large, programmed effort by a mutual fund complex to sell 75,000 E-Mini futures contracts, worth $4.1 billion.

That complex is widely reported to be Waddell & Reed, a 73-year-old asset manager based in Overland Park, Kansas, that indicated it was engaged in normal trading activities and had no intent of affecting overall market direction.

The joint committee is conducting a review of the market events of May 6, 2010 and making recommendations related to market structure issues that may have contributed to the volatility, as well as disparate trading conventions and rules across various markets.

Besides going over the recap of the report, the joint committee will hear a report from the subcommittee on cross-market linkages; hear a report from the subcommittee on pre-trade risk management; and discuss potential recommendations and responses.

The meeting will be held in the Lobby Level Hearing Room at the CFTC’s Headquarters: Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street, NW, Washington, D.C.

Viewing/Listening Information:

• Watch a live broadcast of the meeting via webcast on 
 http://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/pr5928-10.html

• Call in to a toll-free telephone line to connect to a listen-only live audio feed.

Call-in participants should be prepared to provide their first name, last name and affiliation. Conference call information listed below:

• U.S./Canada Toll-Free: 877-951-7311
 

• Participant Passcode: 6960577 http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2010/2010-206.htm

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Money Management Executive
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