Thanks to Michael Lewis's book, Flash Boys, and its recent publicity, high-frequency trading is getting public attention. The NY Attorney General is investigating firms involved in the unfair practices, and brokers and traders are seeking other venues to place their trades.
New York AG Sends Subpoenas To HFT Firms Including Tower, Jump and Chopper
Courtesy of ZeroHedge
Now the vacuum tubes are really in trouble. Bloomberg reports that the NY AG Schneiderman is making good on his threat to go after (it remains to be seen if this is more than a publicity stunt, and actual enforcement actions follow) several New York HFT firms. Bloomberg reports:
- NY AG SAID SEEKING INFO ON SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS WITH DARK POOLS
- NY AG SAID TO SEND SUBPOENAS TO FIRMS INCLUDING JUMP TRADING
- NY AG SAID TO SEND SUBPOENAS TO FIRMS INCLUDING CHOPPER
- NY AG SAID TO SEND SUBPOENAS TO FIRMS INCLUDING TOWER RESEARCH
Surely Goldman was in no way aware of this coming crack down wave on HFT traders when it washed its hands of the entire industry, and effectively gave up on the trading space in its current format.
We doubt this will go anywhere – after all go after HFTs and the rigged market gets it – but the idea of a vacuum tube doing a perp walk is strangely appealing.
IEX Records Its Highest Volume Day Yet
Courtesy of ZeroHedge
In a curious departure from convention, the Goldman-backed, HFT-evading pseudo dark pool IEX, made famous in Michael Lewis’ blockbuster “Flash Boys” has decided to post daily volume stats of its operations. And whether it is due to the advertising by the iconic bookwriter, or because increasingly more brokers are switching over to IEX, it appears that new trading venue is gaining traction: according to its own reporting, on April 15, IEX recorded its highest volume day yet, recording nearly 38 million single-counted trades.
Granted the data is only available for April, but what is clear is that unlike most other trading venues which are having significant problems with boosting their volumes, for IEX, at least early on, this is not an issue.
Of course, the overall orderflow still are tiny in context, but the early trend is visible, and as more traders migrate to IEX it is almost assured that the exchange will become an increasingly more popular venue for the likes of the Schwabs of the world who suddenly, after five years, figured out that HFT is nothing but a cancer and is demanding a non-frontrunnable venue.
