White House Reviews Ban on Trading Through Best Price on Stocks

The White House is reviewing whether to amend and potentially scrap a decades-old rule governing stock trading that’s meant to make sure investors get better prices for their transactions.

A proposal to modify the so-called trade-through rule was posted Monday on the Office of Management and Budget’s website. The Securities and Exchange Commission adopted the current version of the rule in 2005, when now-Chairman Paul Atkins was a commissioner there.

The measure prohibits exchanges, alternative trading systems and wholesalers like Citadel Securities or Virtu Financial Inc. from executing trades that ignore or “trade through” the national best bid or ...