May 19, 2010
Stop it, stop it now before it ruins everyone’s retirement accounts.
High frequency trading does only one thing and that is creating unnecessary volatility while not increasing liquidity. What do you all think makes the market dive so fast? It’s the big traders running away and leaving the markets not stepping in and providing order and liquidity like a specialist would.
Speaking for the retail investor, my client base, we don’t want to be whipped around by the big giant institutional traders. How is this investing? It is more akin to gambling in a casino than investing money for ones future retirement.
Go back to a reasonable spread of maybe a nickel. This will bring some semblance of order back to the market place and make it unprofitable to the HF trader.
I have been a top producing advisor for 30 years and an Finra arbitrator for 6 years. I have seriously considered selling my practice because it is exceedingly difficult to advise clients about how to save and invest when the regulators condone a gambling and screw the little guy attitude.
Alan K. Scheff
CEO, SIG
Branch Manager, RJFS
Scheff Investment Group LLC