Step 1: Access Your Broker's Rule 606 Report
Go to your broker's website and search for 'Rule 606 report' or 'order routing disclosure.' Every SEC-registered broker must publish quarterly reports disclosing where it routes customer orders. Look for the table showing percentage of orders sent to each market maker — Citadel Securities will typically appear as 'Citadel Securities LLC' or 'Citadel Execution Services.'
Step 2: Find the PFOF Payment Amounts
The Rule 606 report will also disclose the net payments your broker received from each market maker. This is the dollar amount your broker was paid per share (or per order) for routing to Citadel. For most major discount brokers, this number will be in the range of $0.001 to $0.005 per share.
Step 3: Access Rule 605 Execution Quality Reports
SEC Rule 605 requires market execution centers — including Citadel Securities — to publish monthly execution quality statistics. These reports compare actual execution prices to quoted prices, effective spreads, and price improvement statistics. Citadel's Rule 605 reports are available on its website and through SEC EDGAR.
Step 4: Compare to Non-PFOF Options
Compare your broker's disclosed execution quality to brokers that offer direct market routing. If your broker's effective spread statistics show consistently worse execution than exchange-direct alternatives, you are paying a real cost for the 'free' trading your broker advertises.