IEX Hits Industry with $39M Bill for Old Audit Trail Debts
Published Date: 5/12/2026
Notice
Summary
Investors Exchange LLC is setting new fees for industry members to cover leftover historical costs of the National Market System Plan for the Consolidated Audit Trail that happened before 2022. If you’re part of the industry, expect to pay your share of about $39 million that wasn’t billed before. These fees kick in right away to wrap up past expenses and keep the system running smoothly.
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Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 3 costs, 1 mixed.
New $0.000002 Per-Share CAT Fee
If you are an Industry Member acting as a CAT Executing Broker, you will be charged a Historical CAT Assessment 1A fee of $0.000002 per executed equivalent share to recover $38,964,855.34 of prior Consolidated Audit Trail costs. CAT Executing Brokers will receive their first monthly invoice in June 2026 based on May 2026 transactions.
Which Trades Count and How Fees Are Calculated
The fee applies to transactions in Eligible Securities executed by CAT Executing Brokers and is calculated using executed equivalent shares: each NMS Stock share counts as 1, each Listed Options contract counts per its multiplier (e.g., 100 executed equivalent shares per contract), and each OTC equity share counts as 0.01 executed equivalent share.
Buyer and Seller Brokers Share the Bill Equally
The $38,964,855.34 of unbilled Historical CAT Costs 1 will be recovered from CAT Executing Brokers collectively, with CAT Executing Brokers for the Buyer (CEBBs) responsible for $19,482,427.67 and CAT Executing Brokers for the Seller (CEBSs) responsible for $19,482,427.67.
Exchanges’ One-Third Share Handled by Loan Cancellation
Participants (exchanges) will not be charged via the Historical CAT Assessment for their one-third share of Historical CAT Costs 1 ($106,019,939.67); instead, that one-third will be satisfied by cancellation of loans made by Participants to the Company on a pro rata basis. Participants also remain 100% responsible for certain Excluded Costs of $83,253,090.
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