Comment Text:
10-006
COMMENT
CL-00002
From:
Sent:
To:
Cc:
Subject:
Attach:
Han, Jennifer
Tuesday, July 6, 2010 4:37 PM
secretary ; colocation
Kaswell, Stuart
Co-location/Proximity Hosting Services
CFTC co-location.7.7.10.pdf
Dear Mr. Stawick,
Managed Funds Association appreciates the opportunity to submit the attached letter in response
Commission's request for comments on its Co-location/Proximity Hosting Services proposal.
Please feel free to contact me if you have comments or questions.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Han
I Assistant
General Counsel I [email protected]
MANAGED FUNDS ASSOCIATION I 2025 M Street, NW, Suite 610 I Washington, DC 20036
main 202.367.1140 I fax 202.367.2140
The Voice of the Global Alternative Investment Industry.
www.managedfunds.org
Register for M FA's Outlook 2010, October 7-8, 2010, The Pierre Hotel, New York.
www.managedfunds.org/outlook2010July 6, 2010
Via Electronic Mail: [email protected]
David A. Stawick
Secretary
U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
1155 21st Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20581
Re:
Co-location/Proximity Hosting Services
Dear Mr. Stawick:
Managed Funds Association (“MFA”)1 appreciates the opportunity to comment on the
Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (“CFTC” or “Commission”) proposed rulemaking on
“Co-Location/Proximity Hosting Services” (the “Proposed Rule”). 2
MFA fully supports the
Commission’s efforts to require equal access to co-location and/or proximity hosting services
without artificial barriers designed to exclude some market participants. MFA feels strongly that
co-location and/or proximity hosting is a critical component to low latency technology which
should be available to market participants that pay for this service. We support the Proposed
Rule and provide some minor comments for the Commission’s consideration.
MFA suggests an interpretative clarification with respect to the Proposed Rule’s
provision on “Fees”. The Commission states that it seeks to ensure that fees charged by market
participants and third-party proximity hosting services remain equitable and do not become an
artificial barrier to effective market access.3 The Commission further states that “an equitable fee
would be a uniform, non-discriminatory set of fees for the various services provided”.4
We
believe the Commission should also clarify that in providing a “uniform” fee, a co-location
provider that offers any type of fee break or fee-reduction incentives must make the same offer
available to all similarly situated customers.
In response to the Commission’s request for comments on the disclosure of latency
information, MFA suggests that the Proposed Rule require Designated Contract Markets,
Derivatives Transaction Execution Facilities and Exempt Commercial Markets that list significant
price discovery contracts to publish latency percentiles (e.g., 10th, 20th, 30th, . . . , 90th, 95th,
1 MFA is the voice of the global alternative investment industry. Its members are professionals in hedge
funds, funds of funds and managed futures funds, as well as industry service providers. Established in 1991,
MFA is the primary source of information for policy makers and the media and the leading advocate for
sound business practices and industry growth. MFA members include the vast majority of the largest hedge
fund groups in the world who manage a substantial portion of the approximately $1.5 trillion invested in
absolute return strategies. MFA is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with an office in New York.
2 75 FR 33198 (June 11, 2010).
3 75 FR 33200.
4 Id. Mr. Stawick
July 6, 2010
Page 2 of 2
99th percentile latency) for each connectivity option rather than the longest, shortest and average
latencies. MFA believes that such latency statistics would provide market participants with more
granular metrics for comparing latency across markets and marketplaces.
We would be happy to discuss our comments or any of the issues raised by the Proposed
Rule at greater length with the Commission or its staff. If staff has any questions, please do not
hesitate to call Jennifer Han or the undersigned at (202) 367-1140.
Respectfully Submitted,
/s/ Stuart J. Kaswell
Stuart J. Kaswell
Executive Vice President & Managing Director,
General Counsel
cc:
The Honorable Chairman Gary Gensler
The Honorable Commissioner Michael Dunn
The Honorable Commissioner Bart Chilton
The Honorable Commissioner Jill Sommers
The Honorable Commissioner Scott O’Malia
Mr. Stephen Sherrod, Acting Director of Surveillance, Division of Market Oversight
Mr. David P. Van Wagner, Chief Counsel, Division of Market Oversight
