In arranging for the execution of equities and listed options orders, Schwab seeks out industry-leading execution services and access to the best-performing markets. Schwab routes equity and options orders for execution to UBS Securities LLC (“UBS”) and other broker-dealers, who may act as market maker or manage execution of the orders in other market venues. Schwab also routes orders directly to all major exchanges and alternative trading systems, including ECNs (electronic trading networks). Schwab may receive remuneration such as liquidity or order flow rebates from a market venue to which orders are routed, but at all times is committed to best execution.
Schwab considers a number of factors in evaluating execution quality among market venues, including execution price and opportunities for price improvement, market depth and order size, the trading characteristics of the security, speed and accuracy of executions, the availability of efficient and reliable order handling systems, liquidity and automatic execution guarantees, and service levels and the cost of executing orders at a particular market or firm. Price improvement occurs when an order is executed at a price more favorable than the displayed national best bid or offer. Schwab regularly monitors the execution quality provided by the various market venues to ensure orders are routed to markets and firms that have provided high-quality executions over time.
Quarterly information regarding the market venues to which we route orders, and remuneration received, is provided below. Information regarding the routing destination and time of execution of your orders for up to a six-month period is also available upon request.
The report is divided into four sections:
Securities Listed on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") and Reported as a Network A Eligible Security
Securities Listed on the NYSE Amex or Regional Exchanges and Reported as a Network B Eligible Security
Securities Listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market ("NASDAQ")
Exchange-Listed Options
For each section, this report identifies the principal venues to which Schwab routes non-directed orders, sets forth the percentage of various types of orders routed to each of the venues, and discusses the material aspects of any arrangements Schwab may have with these venues
.| Summary Statistics | NYSE |
| Non-directed orders as percentage (%) of total customer orders: | 98.8% |
| 1. Market Orders as % of total non-directed orders | 46.6% |
| 2. Limit Orders as % of total non-directed orders | 46.8% |
| 3. Other Orders as % of total non-directed orders | 6.6% |
| Venues Receiving Significant % of Total Non-Directed Orders | ||||
| Venue | % of Non-Directed Order Flow Received | Order Composition as a % of Total Non-Directed Order Type | ||
| NON DIRECT | MARKET ORDERS | LIMIT ORDERS | OTHER ORDERS | |
| UBS Securities LLC | 99.2% | 99.4% | 99.1% | 99.1% |
| Citadel Derivatives Group LLC | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.7% | 0.7% |
| CITIGROUP | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
Arrangements with Market Venues
| Summary Statistics | NYSE Amex/Regionals |
| Non-directed orders as percentage (%) of total customer orders: | 98.9% |
| 1. Market Orders as % of total non-directed orders | 56.7% |
| 2. Limit Orders as % of total non-directed orders | 38.0% |
| 3. Other Orders as % of total non-directed orders | 5.4% |
| Venues Receiving Significant % of Total Non-Directed Orders | ||||
| Venues | % of Non-Directed Order Flow Received | Order Composition as a % of Total Non-Directed Order Type | ||
| NON DIRECT | MARKET ORDERS | LIMIT ORDERS | OTHER ORDERS | |
| UBS Securities LLC | 99.7% | 99.8% | 99.6% | 99.5% |
| Citadel Derivatives Group LLC | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.5% |
Arrangements with Market Venues
| Summary Statistics | NASDAQ |
| Non-directed orders as percentage (%) of total customer orders: | 98.1% |
| 1. Market Orders as % of total non-directed orders | 39.9% |
| 2. Limit Orders as % of total non-directed orders | 53.3% |
| 3. Other Orders as % of total non-directed orders | 6.9% |
| Venues Receiving Significant % of Total Non-Directed Orders | ||||
| Venues | % of Non-Directed Order Flow Received | Order Composition as a % of Total Non-Directed Order Type | ||
| NON DIRECT | MARKET ORDERS | LIMIT ORDERS | OTHER ORDERS | |
| UBS Securities LLC | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.8% |
| CITIGROUP | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Citadel Derivatives Group LLC | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
Arrangements with Market Venues
| Summary Statistics | Listed Options |
| Non-directed orders as percentage (%) of total customer orders: | 100.0% |
| 1. Market Orders as % of total non-directed orders | 12.8% |
| 2. Limit Orders as % of total non-directed orders | 82.9% |
| 3. Other Orders as % of total non-directed orders | 4.3% |
| Venues Receiving Significant % of Total Non-Directed Orders | ||||
| Venues | % of Non-Directed Order Flow Received | Order Composition as a % of Total Non-Directed Order Type | ||
| NON DIRECT | MARKET ORDERS | LIMIT ORDERS | OTHER ORDERS | |
| Chicago Board Options Exchange | 7.7% | 17.0% | 80.6% | 2.5% |
| Boston Options Exchange | 3.3% | 8.5% | 91.1% | 0.4% |
| NASDAQ OMX PHLX | 15.9% | 14.2% | 81.7% | 4.1% |
| NYSE-Amex Options | 8.1% | 5.8% | 90.6% | 3.6% |
| International Securities Exchange | 9.7% | 13.1% | 85.1% | 1.9% |
| BATS Options Exchange | 11.9% | 4.8% | 95.2% | 0.0% |
| NYSE Arca | 18.2% | 2.0% | 97.5% | 0.5% |
| Nasdaq Option Market | 24.1% | 16.8% | 83.2% | 0.0% |
| C2 Options Exchange | 0.4% | 35.7% | 63.7% | 0.6% |
| NSDQ OMX BX | 0.7% | 11.7% | 88.3% | 0.0% |
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