We examine how the confusion and regulatory uncertainty generated by the imposition of short sale restrictions in September 2008 impacted equity option markets. We uncover three primary findings. First, investors seeking short exposure in financial stocks did not migrate to the option market to...

Brokers who route both market and limit orders to wholesalers are generally paid less for their orders than brokers who bifurcate their order flow. Since nonmarketable limit orders have priority over wholesalers at a price, limit orders routed to wholesalers may experience enhanced execution...