Earlier this week, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada released proposed guidance in which it confirms that certain trading strategies, including "layering", "quote stuffing" and "spoofing" are considered to be manipulative and deceptive trading practices under UMIR. The guidance was published in light of the evolution in recent years towards automated order systems, including algorithmic trading and high frequency trading. According to the IIROC notice, while no consensus definition exists on what constitutes "high frequency trading" or "HFT", recent industry estimates suggest HFT activity makes up between 25% and 40% of trades on Canadian marketplaces.
IIROC is accepting comments on the proposed guidance until October 15, 2012. For more information, see IIROC Notice 12-0221.
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