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> I think it's a bit of a myth that (ignoring FPGAs) that writing a low-latency software trading system is a time/cost expensive process.

This depends a lot on the complexity of the trading system and the trading venue specifics. A system to trade single stocks or futures can be built, certified and running in 3 months. A system for options market making will take a lot longer.

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Yes, stocks and futures was exactly what I was talking about. Though we also hit the market with options models within another couple of months.

The big costs for small firms are historic data (if you don't have any), colo, distance to exchange, and number of connections.

From the number of job specs I see, it feels like the HFT/low latency market place is healthy enough that there are always new firms appearing. It's competitive, so it's hardly surprising that if someone has new ideas they'll find a backer.

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