High-Frequency Trading and its Role in Fragmented Markets

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Haferkorn
Keyword(s):  
Market Efficiency ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Efficient Market Hypothesis ◽  
High Frequency Trading ◽  
Electronic Market ◽  
Coordination Costs ◽  
Major Transformation ◽  
Securities Trading ◽  
Term Analysis

Securities trading underwent a major transformation within the last decade. This transformation was mainly driven by the regulatory induced fragmentation and by the increase of high-frequency trading (HFT). On the basis of the electronic market hypothesis, which poses that coordination costs decline when markets become automated, and the efficient market hypothesis in its semi-strong form, we study the effect of HFT on market efficiency in the European fragmented market landscape. In doing so, we further incorporate the realm of financialization, which criticizes the increase in transaction speed. By conducting a long-term analysis of CAC 40 securities, we find that HFT increases market efficiency by leveling midpoints between Euronext Paris and Bats Chi-X Europe. On the basis of a crosscountry event study, we analyze the effect of the German HFT Act. We observe that the midpoint dispersion of blue chip securities between the two leading venues Deutsche Boerse and Bats Chi-X Europe increased. We conclude that HFT increases market efficiency in the European market landscape by transmitting information between distant markets.

scholarly journals The Flash Crash: High-Frequency Trading in an Electronic Market

2017 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 967-998 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANDREI KIRILENKO ◽  
ALBERT S. KYLE ◽  
MEHRDAD SAMADI ◽  
TUGKAN TUZUN
Keyword(s):  
High Frequency ◽  
High Frequency Trading ◽  
Electronic Market ◽  
Flash Crash

High-Frequency Trading and Conflict in the Financial Markets

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 270-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricky Cooper ◽  
Jonathan Seddon ◽  
Ben Van Vliet
Keyword(s):  
Financial Markets ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
High Frequency Trading ◽  
Market Makers ◽  
Market Participants ◽  
Software Vendor ◽  
Traditional Market ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
The Way

The last few decades has seen an ever-increasing growth in the way activities are productized and associated with a financial cost. This phenomenon, termed financialization, spans all areas including government, finance, health and manufacturing. Recent developments within finance over that past decade have radically altered the way trading occurs. This paper analyses high-frequency trading (HFT) as a necessary component of the infrastructure that makes financialization possible. Through interviews with HFT firms, a software vendor, regulators and banks, the effects of HFT on market efficiency, and its impact on costs to long-term investors are explored. This paper contributes to the literature by exploring the conflict that exists between HFT and traditional market makers in today's fragmented markets. This paper argues that society should be unconcerned with this conflict and should instead focus on the effects these participants have on the long-term investors, for whom the markets ultimately exist. In order to facilitate the best outcomes, regulation should be simple, aimed at keeping participants’ behavior stable, and the interactions among them transparent and straightforward. Financialization and HFT are inextricably linked, and society is best served by ensuring that the creative energy of these market participants is directed on providing liquidity and removing inefficiencies.

scholarly journals Capital Market Theories: Market Efficiency Versus Investor Prospects

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 849
Author(s):  
Kathleen Hodnett ◽  
Heng-Hsing Hsieh
Keyword(s):  
Market Efficiency ◽  
Behavioral Finance ◽  
Capital Market ◽  
Asset Allocation ◽  
Efficient Market Hypothesis ◽  
Capital Asset Pricing ◽  
Arbitrage Pricing Theory ◽  
Market Portfolio ◽  
Pricing Theory

This paper reviews the development of capital market theories based on the assumption of capital market efficiency, which includes the efficient market hypothesis (EMH), modern portfolio theory (MPT), the capital asset pricing model (CAPM), the implications of MPT in asset allocation decisions, criticisms regarding the market portfolio and the development of the arbitrage pricing theory (APT). An alternative school of thought proposes that investors are irrational and that their trading behaviors are driven by psychological biases such as greed and fear. Prospect theory and the role of behavioral finance that describe investment decisions in imperfect capital markets are presented to contrast the Utopian assumption of perfect market efficiency. The paper concludes with the argument of Hirshleifer (2001) that heuristics are shared by investors and asset prices may not reflect their long-term intrinsic values as indicated by efficient capital market theories.

High Frequency Trading and Circuit Breakers in the EU

2018 ◽  
pp. 308-331
Author(s):  
Steffen Kern ◽  
Giuseppe Loiacono
Keyword(s):  
High Frequency ◽  
Financial Stability ◽  
Investor Protection ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Regulatory Framework ◽  
High Frequency Trading ◽  
Circuit Breakers ◽  
Market Order ◽  
Securities Trading ◽  
The Eu

This chapter reviews the fundamental workings of the EU regulatory framework and its implications for high frequency trading (HFT) and the latest findings on the market realities in the EU. Over the last decade, securities trading landscapes have undergone significant change, with the emergence of HFT being one of the most important developments in this context. At the same time, the EU has made landmark legislative advances with the aim of increasing investor protection, market order, and financial stability, and of containing risks in those areas. As the new MiFID2 legal framework takes effect, a wealth of new data and evidence will become available in coming years that will improve understanding of HFT patterns, the effectiveness of circuit breakers, and their optimal calibration.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document