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Prearranged trade

A prearranged trade is one whose terms are agreed away from the market and then entered on-venue to give it the appearance of competitive execution. Most venues prohibit it outright outside defined block-trade procedures.

manipulation techniques · updated 2026-09-23

Where does prearranged trade come up?

This term is used in the following manipulation techniques, each explained in full on its own page.

Enforcement actions involving these techniques

Action Agency Filed Technique Penalty Status
SEC v. Legal & General Investment Management America, Inc. (matched orders, 2022) SEC 2022-11-21 Matched Orders $500k settled
SEC v. Ahmad Haris Tajyar and Eric Leo Marsoubian (marking the close, 2021) SEC 2021-08-13 Marking The Close , Matched Orders +1 $220k settled
SEC v. Ron Phillips (matched orders, 2021) SEC 2021-06-30 Matched Orders $30k judgment
CFTC v. Connecticut Firm (matched orders, 2021) CFTC 2021-05-18 Matched Orders , Wash Trading $500k judgment
CFTC v. Coinbase Inc. (exchange wash trading, 2021) CFTC 2021-03-19 Exchange Wash Trading , Matched Orders +1 $6.5m judgment

See also

Terms that refer here

Matched order

Back to the full glossary — 261 defined terms.