SIPs to Propose Extended Operating Hours

The Securities Information Processors Move Toward 24-Hour Availability, Pending SEC Approval

NEW YORK, May 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Operating Committees of the Securities Information Processors ("Processors" or "SIPs") today announced that they will soon submit a Plan Amendment to the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") to extend their operating hours. The change to operating hours will occur as soon as practicable after approval of the Plan Amendment.

Close to 24 Hours, Sunday Evening Through Friday Evening

The proposed Hours of Operation are to be set as close as technically feasible to 24 hours per day—from 8:00 pm Sundays to 8:00 pm (ET) Fridays, excluding holidays—with the incorporation of one technical pause during each 24-hour period. 

This technical pause will allow the Processors, Plan Participants, and other market participants to refresh their systems. The pause will begin at 8:00 pm (ET), Monday through Thursday, and the new trade date will commence immediately thereafter. It will be as brief as technically feasible, but not greater than one hour. The Processors anticipate being able to eventually shorten the length of the pause.

Current Hours vs. Proposed New Hours

Current Hours of Operation, excluding holidays:

- Early Hours: 4:00 am – 9:30 am (ET)
- Regular Hours: 9:30 am – 4:00 pm (ET)
- Late Hours: 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm (ET)

Proposed Hours of Operation, excluding holidays:

- Extended Early Hours: Conclusion of the pause – 9:30 am (ET)
- Regular Hours: 9:30 am – 4:00 pm (ET)
- Late Hours: 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm (ET)

The Path to Implementation

The Plan Participants will submit a Plan amendment to the SEC for approval. The Commission has up to 300 days to approve or disapprove the Plan amendment. Additionally, the Plan Participants have agreed that the following conditions must occur before the SIP operating hours are extended. These include:

1) Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation ("DTCC") has to offer clearing during the Proposed Hours of Operation.

2) The Processors must be technically capable of disseminating all quotes and trades, including off-exchange trades, during the Proposed Hours of Operation. The Plan Participants will ask the SEC to determine whether extending TRF operating hours to facilitate real-time dissemination of off-exchange trades outside of current operating hours is a prerequisite for implementation.

3) The Listing markets must be able to support these changes. For example, the Processors will need to be able to change symbol directory messages, which will affect the Listing markets.

The Operating Committees have instructed the Processors to formulate plans to extend hours of operation, which they will do promptly upon completion of SEC-mandated and other important updates to the SIPs involving round lots, fractional shares, and odd lots. Once the SIPs have made such plans, the Operating Committees will share details on the anticipated timing of the extension of the hours of operation.

"We know the industry is eager to move toward 24-hour trading, and the SIPs are determined to make the changes necessary to make available the market data that will facilitate that," said Jeff Kimsey, Chairman on the SIP Operating Committees.

About the SIPs

The "SIPs" (Securities Information Processors) link the U.S. markets by processing and consolidating all protected equities bid/ask quotes and trades from every registered exchange and FINRA's Alternative Display Facility (ADF) into a single, easily consumable data feed. The SIPs are an asset unique to U.S. market structure and play a critical role in making the U.S. equities markets transparent and accessible to investors worldwide.

Although often referred to in the singular, there are actually two SIPs: the combined CTA (Consolidated Tape Association) and CQ (Consolidated Quotation System) SIP, and the UTP (Unlisted Trading Privileges) SIP. The CTA/CQ SIP is responsible for the dissemination of real–time quote and trade information in New York Stock Exchange listed securities (sometimes called "Network A" or "Tape A" securities) and Cboe, NYSE Arca, NYSE American, and other regional exchange listed securities (sometimes called "Network B" or "Tape B" securities). The UTP SIP handles Nasdaq-listed securities (sometimes called "Network C" or "Tape C" securities). This structure has been in place since the late 1970s, when the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") mandated that all registered exchanges that trade Network A, B, or C securities send their trades and quotes to the SIPs for consolidated worldwide distribution.

Each SIP is governed by a Plan and run by an Operating Committee ("OC") comprised of its Plan Participants. The OCs are counseled by an Advisory Committee made up of individuals representing firms from across the industry and representing the diverse viewpoints of the market. Among other duties, the OCs set their individual Plan policies, select a Processor that is responsible for providing the technology to power it, and review the performance of both the Processor and the network administrators, which are responsible for the administrative functions for each SIP, such as contracting, billing, auditing, policy development, and vendor relations. The New York Stock Exchange serves as the Administrator for the CTA/CQ SIP Plans and the Securities Industry Automation Corporation is the Processor. Nasdaq business units serve as the Administrator and Processor for the UTP SIP.

One of the primary objectives of both SIPs is transparency. Both the CTA/CQ Operating Committee and UTP Operating Committee meet quarterly, and the summary of the General Sessions of those meetings are posted to their respective websites: www.ctaplan.com and www.utpplan.com. Also provided on those websites are their Plans' announcements, policies, quarterly and monthly performance metrics, the pricing schedules, technical specifications, and more. 

Media Contact
Rafi Reguer
Forefront Communications for the SIP Operating Committees
+1 (718) 781-4946
[email protected]

SOURCE SIP Operating Committees