A compliance officer at a broker-dealer is conducting a trade surveillance review to identify illegal trading behaviors. Which of the following scenarios describe prohibited market manipulation techniques? Select all that apply.
- A trader places non-bona fide buy orders that are intended to be canceled prior to execution, solely to artificially inflate bid prices and drive up the execution price of a sell order.Answer
- An investor simultaneously enters matching buy and sell orders for the same security across different brokerage accounts, resulting in no actual change in beneficial ownership.Answer
- CA firm sells equity securities directly to a customer out of its existing proprietary inventory while charging a markup disclosed on the trade confirmation.
- DA trader enters matching buy and sell orders to generate synthetic trading volume, an activity defined under federal securities laws as spoofing.
Answer
The prohibited market manipulation techniques are the scenario involving non-bona fide orders placed and canceled to manipulate prices (spoofing) and the scenario involving simultaneous matching orders with no change in beneficial ownership (wash trading).
The scenario describing non-bona fide orders entered and intended for cancellation (spoofing) and the scenario describing simultaneous matching orders with no change in beneficial ownership (wash trading) are both illegal market manipulation techniques under FINRA Rule 2010 and SEC Rule 10b-5.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Prohibited Market Manipulation and Fraudulent Practices