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Regulation8 min readPublished 2026-02-02Updated 2026-02-03

SEC & FINRA Supervision for Autonomous Trading

Firms must demonstrate supervision of automated trading systems, ensure record retention, and prevent market manipulation.

Key Takeaways

  • Supervision must be demonstrable with logs and controls
  • Recordkeeping rules demand immutable retention
  • Pre-trade controls reduce regulatory exposure

Supervision and compliance controls

FINRA emphasizes supervisory procedures for algorithmic trading.

Controls should be policy-driven with clear escalation paths.

Record retention requirements

SEC 17a-4 requires tamper-evident recordkeeping.

Audit trails should be exportable and time-stamped.

Market integrity safeguards

Controls for wash trading, spoofing, and excessive order rates are essential.

A governance engine should enforce thresholds before orders reach venues.

Francesco Tomatis

CEO & Founder, Kuneo

Read our full guide on AI Governance

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice.