The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday voted to propose a package of rule changes, including measures that could affect, but not block, the controversial practice known as payment for order flow.
In this practice, brokers send many small orders from individual investors to market makers or other venues, who compensate the brokers for the order flow. The brokerage industry argues that the practice, which is banned in several countries, offers a net saving to investors, allowing for zero-commission trades and otherwise…