One of the most interesting questions we ask our participants in the annual Market Structure and Trading Technology study is which technologies have the most potential to be truly impactful on the trading desk. In other words, where does the hype (...

Ah, the siren song of easy money—that is what the idea of a financial transaction tax (FTT) conjures up for legislators. After all, the reasoning goes, a small charge added to every securities transaction cannot possibly cause any harm and can...

The latest shock to the markets isn’t what is happening in the S&P or the Dow Industrials, but what is happening slightly behind the scenes. In a somewhat unusual presentation on Monday, June 22, 2020, the SEC and the Anti-Trust Division of...

The COVID crisis turned the trading world on its head. Amid unprecedented volume and volatility, the financial industry also undertook a revolutionary move to adapt to COVID by moving nearly the entire workforce to work from home. One area that...

As COVID-19 plunged equity markets into turmoil in mid-March, volatility and trading volume exploded. At the same time, the health crisis forced brokers abruptly away from their trading floors, threatening to disrupt their ability to maintain...

Over the past six weeks, investors around the globe have experienced some of the most significant equities market volatility and disruption ever. Both the buy side and sell side have had to adjust quickly to market movements and continued...

On October 17, 2019, the SEC published its Statement on Market Structure Innovation for Thinly Traded Securities (the “Statement”). The SEC’s Statement recognizes that markets in liquid securities function well, but believes that the “one-size-fits-...

In our role as market analysts, we are lucky enough to attend some of the most interesting industry events in capital markets and fintech. In that vein, Symphony asked us if we could attend their Innovate conference in New York this past fall and...

When Regulation NMS (Reg NMS) came into effect in the mid-2000s, many benefits sprung to life immediately. For example, retail orders were provided protection, markets were made more interconnected, and decimalization was further codified under Rule...

Call them what you will – non-bank liquidity providers, principal trading firms, high frequency traders, electronic market makers – but this not-so-new-anymore breed of market participants is increasingly important to market liquidity,...