Is algorithmic trading making markets less efficient & gaming the system?
themistrading.com
themistrading.com
If you can identify the bubble, you can make money. These guys have figured out how the game works now they need to exploit it, in the name of free market capitalism of course.
To illustrate, let’s use an institutional algo order pegged to the NBBO with discretion to pay up to $20.10. First, the predatory algo uses methods similar to the liquidity rebate trader to spot this as an institutional algo order. Next, with a bid of $20.01, the predatory algo goes on the attack. The institutional algo immediately goes to $20.01. Then, the predatory algo goes $20.02, and the institutional algo follows. In similar fashion, the predatory algo runs up the institutional algo to its $20.10 limit. At that point, the predatory algo sells the stock short at $20.10 to the institutional algo, knowing it is highly likely that the price of the stock will fall. When it does, the predatory algo covers.
Insider-Trading
Invest via IPOs
Mutual FundsAs Goldman Sachs is now proving though, it can be wildly profitable. What happens if it eventually becomes the dominant form of trading? What does the stock market then represent? Surely not the value of a company, based on research and bets on the future. Doesn't it just become a high speed game where computers try to steal pennies from each other?
As for machine trading or stat-arb, high freq, whatever...i don't think it is any better than a random walk. Risk was (is?) just being hidden somewhere and lied about.