Securities Exchange Surveillance Commission and HFT

Tokyo Stock Exchange: The document, obtained by Bloomberg News, also seeks to establish whether high-speed clients have access to dark pools and under what conditions, according to The Japan Times. Brokers have to reply by Feb. 12. The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission sent a questionnaire to brokerage firms this week, posing queries about the services they provide to HFT clients, including preferential treatment and products and differences in fees between HFT and non-HFT customers. The agency mentioned algorithmic trading in its annual administration report for the first time last year. HFT accounted for 53 percent of trades on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Sept. 7, according to Deutsche Bank AG. That up from about 10 percent at the start of 2010, when the exchange switched to a faster trading system. The SESC has been criticized for doing little to police speed traders, which made up more than half of trading as recently as September. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.