It's nearly June, and the Chicago Cubs are only 4 1/2 games behind the division leader St. Louis Cardinals. As a Cub fan...this is the year...2015! (a refrain usually dismissed by most by the end of May).

 But Hollywood made the call in 1985.  A film called 'Back to the Future' starring Michael J. Fox, predicted what would transpire in 2015. Thrust into the future...Michael J Fox's character Marty McFly  revisted, repaired, and rewrote history...and in that picture the Cubs were World Series Champions (the first since 1908)!

 Our industry must feel a lot like Marty this year, revisting issues and debates we thought long settled by Reg NMS. Repairing confidence and integrity, and working with regulators and legislators, focused on the goal of making our markets better. Not more complex, but more transparent and better.

 Encapsulating that theme...our title to this year's conference is "Back to the Future: Trading and Regulation 2015". We will debate, review and advocate those issues most pressing to our industry, our members and the Washington powers that be. 

 Back in Washington (and as Yogi Berra once said it's "déjà vu all over again"), our 82nd annual conference is slated for September 30-October 2nd.  Once again, Affiliate SEC and Hill visits will kick off this year's event. And this year's venue, the JW Marriott on Pennsylvania Avenue, is a much larger facility and will easily accommodate our anticipated uptick in attendance from last year's 625 registrants. 

 Early commitments from speakers: SEC Commissioner Kara Stein and Charlie Cook are just some of the expected participants. Panels on Options: Where have all the market makers gone?; The Tick Pilot: Now the Hard Part; Unbundling: Value and Institutional Transparency;  Retail & Institutional: Discrepancy and Dependency, are among the many panels, fireside chats and multiple speakers that will address todays issues confronting us. 

 We expect this year's event to build on the success of years past and welcome all to attend. Lastly, we would like to thank all our sponsors. We appreciate your support and partnerships, for without you, the STA could not achieve its intended goals. A list of all of our Sponsors is below and for those firms who are still considering a sponsorship, we encourage you to view this year's package. 

 Here's to wishing all a great summer and looking forward to seeing you in DC in October for another outstanding conference (and hopefully, a Cubs pennant too!)

View all current sponsors and partners HERE