What is a national market system plan?

A US system which governs the collection, processing and dissemination of data relating to securities transactions.

Where have you heard about national market system plans?

Their purpose is to improve the ability of self-regulatory organisations and the Securities Exchange Commission to oversee and regulate the securities market. One of the benefits of NMS plans is that exchanges are required to provide individual investors with the same access to quotes as institutional investors.

What you need to know about national market system plans.

The national market system (NMS) was established by Congress in 1975. It regulates the disclosure and execution of trades and requires all stock exchanges to provide everyone with the same access to stock prices.

National market system plans facilitate the process of collecting and disseminating information across multiple stock exchanges and regulatory bodies. These include:

• Implementation of a consolidated audit trail and central repository for information on orders in NMS securities, including customer identity
• Plans governing the collection, processing and distribution of quotation and transaction information for issues listed on the NASDAQ and other exchanges
• A uniform system for selecting and reserving security symbols