The Consolidated Tape Association (CTA) oversees the Securities Information Processor that disseminates real-time trade and quote information (market data) in New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and American Stock Exchange (AMEX) listed securities (stocks and bonds).[1] It is currently chaired by Emily Kasparov of the Chicago Stock Exchange, the first woman and the youngest chair elected to the position.
CTA manages two Plans[2] to govern the collection, processing and dissemination of trade and quote data: the Consolidated Tape Plan, which governs trades, and the Consolidated Quotation Plan, which governs quotes. The Plans were filed with and approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in accordance with Section 11A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Since the late 1970s, all SEC-registered exchanges and market centers that trade NYSE or AMEX-listed securities send their trades and quotes to a central consolidator where the Consolidated Tape System (CTS) and Consolidated Quotation System (CQS) data streams are produced and distributed worldwide. The CTA is the operating authority for CQS and CTS.