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February 2015

Feature Article

"Da Bears" and "Da STA"

by Rory O'Kane, Chairman

I was working on the CBOE in 1985 when the Bears took the NFL by storm and won their first Super Bowl, against this year's champion the New England Patriots. Back then the Bears looked like a dynasty in the making. They had Mike Ditka, that stout defense, Walter Payton, and all of those characters. No change needed nor wanted was the consensus among fans. If we took a survey the week after that Super Bowl asking everyone which one of these teams will go on to play in 7 more Super Bowls and win 4, the results on a national level would have been predominately for "Da Bears". Easy answer-easy decision with what we knew and witnessed back then. But the data today now tells us it would have been the wrong answer.

What happened?

read more

News From the Hill

Senator Crapo letter on FINRA CARDs

Senator Crapo sent a letter to FINRA expressing concerns with the FINRA CARDS "big data proposal" here

SEC Speaks with report by W&J

SEC Commissioners provide an update on the Commission's current initiatives & priorities for coming year. here

FINRA issues report on cybersecurity practices and investor alert

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued a new report on cybersecurity, which details practices that firms can tailor to their business model as they strengthen their cybersecurity efforts. here

Senators' letter to Chair White on Tick Pilot

In a letter to Chair White, Senators Mark Warner and Pat Toomey urge the Commission to among other things; "re-examine the market capitalization limits for participation". here

STA comment letter on SEC Market Structure Committee

On January 23 STA filed its comment letter recommending the SEC add a qualified retail brokerage representative to its newly formed Equity Market Structure Advisory Committee. here

Open Call

presented by eSentire CEO, J Paul Haynes

FINRA Cybersecurity Report/eSentire - February 11, 2015

After conducting a series of assessment initiatives in 2014, FINRA issued its report on "Cybersecurity Practices". In addition the Securities & Exchange Commission released various publications that address cybersecurity at brokerage and advisory firms and provide suggestions to investors to protect their online accounts.

The STA in partnership with eSentire will be hosting a call this evening to review FINRA's report and provide tips on how individuals can protect themselves from cyberattacks.

view call materials

Taking Stock

brought to you by JonesTrading

Yes, we censored the survey results.- February 24, 2015

by Jim Toes

At or around the time when Mark Zuckerberg was in elementary school, someone within Merrill Lynch's HR Department had an "out-of-the-box" idea to make anonymous surveys part of the year-end review process for all employees. Co-workers within similar departments had the ability to log onto a company site, scroll through hundreds of names and write anonymous comments. By the time I walked in to receive my year end review, my boss Steve had already dealt with scores of complaints on personal attacks and demands for the identities of the individuals. In describing his response to this problem, I recall Steve making the following statement. more

General Announcements

Brought to you by BATS

The STA announces 2015 Trading Committees

The STA is proud to announce its 2015 Trading Issues Advisory Committees. As an association of members serving members the STA relies heavily on its Advisory Committees for providing input on relevant and timely issues.

Read full announcement here.

View all STA General Announcements here

UPCOMING EVENTS

STA Los Angeles
80th Annual Conference
March 20-22, 2015 Details

The STA Events calendar keeps you informed on both national and local STA events. Join other security trading professionals to connect, learn and be inspired by the wide variety of panel discussions, keynote speakers, exhibitors and networking opportunities.

Brought to you by KCG

STA EVENTS CALENDAR