January 21, 2014
Will the SEC institute a pilot program to evalute tick sizes in small and mid cap companies this year? It has been almost a year since the SEC roundtable on decimalization and almost 2 years since the JOBS Act's passage.
I have stated before that I believe with a greater tick size (a nickel) we will see an increase in market making in any stock trading in larger than penny increments. Wider spreads makes market making profitable. Any entity willing to risk capital making markets should be rewarded with a reasonable return for risk. In turn you will see more depth and liquidity in these stocks which will in turn attract more investors and traders into these stocks which will again increase depth and liquidity. In the long run, larger tick sizes will strengthen stocks and their underlying companies.