An electronic request for detailed information about trades sent to clearing firms, broker dealers and market makers by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Electronic blue sheets include the name of the security, its price, the date of the transaction, the size of the transaction and the parties involved.
Historically, this information request was mailed to clearing firms on blue forms, but as the daily volume of securities increased, this process has moved to an electronic system in order to facilitate collection.
Collection of this information is undertaken in order to give the SEC a better understanding of developing trading strategies by institutions and professional traders. The SEC also uses the information to determine if securities laws are being broken, especially those related to insider trading. The information is also used to examine the causes of extreme security volatility, with the SEC reconstructing the transactions over a period time.