Dominated and Controlled Markets Meaning & Definition

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Definition of Dominated and Controlled Markets

FINRA’s 5% markup policy is a guideline for charging markups and commissions for transactions in securities with active and competitive markets. Some small OTC securities do not have active and competitive markets because of lack of national interest in the company. As a result the market for these securities can be dominated or controlled by one market maker. Market makers who dominate or control the market for a security must base the markup charged to the customer on their contemporaneous cost, not on the inside market for the security.

Applying "Dominated and Controlled Markets" to Securities Exams:

• Series 24 Exam Prep Study Materials

To understand how this poin may be tested on your series 24 exam or on any other relevant FINRA exam review the following example:

Market Maker 1 is one of two market makers in MNBV an OTC BB security. Market Maker 1 brought MNBV public and is the only firm with a retail sales force recommending the stock to its customers. Market Maker 1 has been accumulating shares from its customers who are selling MNBV at 6.00 per share, when the market for MNBV was 6.25 to 6.75. After accumulating a significant number of shares, Market Maker 1 raises its quote to 10.00 to 10.50 knowing that it will not have to purchase shares from other dealers at this level. In this case if Market Maker 1’s sales force recommends MNBV to its customers and the customer purchases the stock at the current market price of 10.50 plus a 50 cent markup, Market Maker 1 would have a profit of $5 per share. Because Market Maker 1 can display any quote it wants for the stock, the inside market displayed may not have any relation to the actual market for the stock. In these cases, the markup must be based on Market Maker 1’s actual cost for the security, or $6.00 in this example. Firms and registered representatives who charge or receive excessive markups can be held accountable for their actions. Traders who execute the transaction can also be held accountable for excessive markups, as one of the responsibilities of a trader is to determine the inside market for a security in addition to executing orders. Master these and other important test points for the series 24 exam with these exceptional training materials