5 States Ask for Trade Speed Over Best Price

Five additional U.S. states have joined California in asking the Securities and Exchange Commission to let investors opt for faster execution of stock trades instead of waiting for an exchange to find the best price.

Officials from Minnesota, Ohio, Louisiana, Illinois and Alabama said the SEC’s so-called trade-through rule, which requires exchanges to make price the No. 1 priority, puts more than $128 billion in state-employee pension funds at a disadvantage.

The $148.8-billion California Public Employees’ Retirement System in March endorsed changing the rule.