How should firms handle 'best price' commitments when dealing with multiple clients?

• A. Favor certain clients with preferred pricing
• B. Strive for best execution and avoid favoritism; use approved methodologies to determine optimal pricing
• C. Randomly assign prices
• D. Disclose client identities to other clients

Answer: (B)

When multiple clients are involved, the priority is fair treatment and achieving best execution for each order. The firm should seek the best available price under current market conditions for every client, rather than steering trades to favored clients. Relying on approved pricing methodologies ensures decisions are objective, consistent, and based on factors like price, speed, and likelihood of execution, reducing the risk of bias or favoritism. This approach upholds fairness and compliance with MSRB rules. Favoring some clients, assigning prices randomly, or disclosing client identities to others would undermine fairness and could breach regulatory standards.