TED on HFT

My apologies to the HFT crowd and those in know as this video will be very much an informative rehash for you. That said, I know there are a lot of prospective monkeys here with questions about high frequency trading. Many others struggle in your debates, arguments and discussions with non-industry folks as to what HFT really is and how it has changed the market game. In hopes of getting some of you thinking and talking about the subject in greater detail here's a brief primer. By no means exhaustive or close to all encompassing, hopefully it can answer some of the basic questions you guys have been asking. Enjoy.


14 Comments
 

From knowing people in the industry here's a bit more light:

  • Goes back to the 80's
  • HFT's foundation is based on the Miles equation
  • A co-location booth in Nasdaq goes for $24,000 for one slot in a rack
  • Exchanges are located in military grade facilities
  • Data needs to be buffered and translated
  • HFTs trade mostly in dark pools
  • A good set up goes for about $40,000.00
  • Algorithms are easy as cake to create with MatLab
  • Most HFTs make money from market making rebates
  • This guys voice is annoying
"The higher up the mountain, the more treacherous the path" -Frank Underwood
 
barboonFrom knowing people in the industry here's a bit more light:
  • Goes back to the 80's
  • HFT's foundation is based on the Miles equation
  • A co-location booth in Nasdaq goes for $24,000 for one slot in a rack
  • Exchanges are located in military grade facilities
  • Data needs to be buffered and translated
  • HFTs trade mostly in dark pools
  • A good set up goes for about $40,000.00
  • Algorithms are easy as cake to create with MatLab
  • Most HFTs make money from market making rebates
  • This guys voice is annoying

can you elaborate a bit more on the point about the miles equation? what is it and what is its connection to hft?

 
aintnospam
barboonFrom knowing people in the industry here's a bit more light:
  • Goes back to the 80's
  • HFT's foundation is based on the Miles equation
  • A co-location booth in Nasdaq goes for $24,000 for one slot in a rack
  • Exchanges are located in military grade facilities
  • Data needs to be buffered and translated
  • HFTs trade mostly in dark pools
  • A good set up goes for about $40,000.00
  • Algorithms are easy as cake to create with MatLab
  • Most HFTs make money from market making rebates
  • This guys voice is annoying

can you elaborate a bit more on the point about the miles equation? what is it and what is its connection to hft?

In simple terms "If you ping at the spread enough times you will eventually find yourself selling at the ask and buying at the bid".

"The higher up the mountain, the more treacherous the path" -Frank Underwood
 
trazer985
dazedmonkBarboon, can you explain the market making rebates?

On some exchanges, you get paid to put liquidity into the market, and you pay to remove it.

Also, market makers typically get a better deal from the exchange. If they make a certain number of quotes, within a certain spread they get either zero fees or some other incentive to do so.

Thanks for saving me the troubles.

"The higher up the mountain, the more treacherous the path" -Frank Underwood
 

HAL: "It can only be attributable to human error."

- Bulls make money. Bears make money. Pigs get slaughtered. - The harder you work, the luckier you become. - I believe in the "Golden Rule": the man with the gold rules.
 
Best Response

Will people PLEASE apply some commoke to n sense to this hyberbole.

75% of trades are done by algorithms? THEY ARE TRADING AGAINST EACH OTHER BY DEFINITION.

trades are done by machines not humans. Eh? Is this even a point

I see opportunities as a human trader. I'd like to trade them, but its easier if i get a computer to do it for me. You don't use stop losses? I still set the limits, ALL the computer does, is what i want to be able to do, just a hell of a lot quicker. It isn't skynet, it's not some machine that makes money for the machine invasion. It's written by humans for humans. I don't see people complaining when machines make their calculations or communications easier, but when someone else uses it to make money in a way the dont understand or dont like to compete against because it's not cricket, they get all upset.

I'll let you in on one big secret.

A lot of big HFT shops have been losing money hand over fist because the infrastructure required to keep up with this game is immense and ridiculously expensive. Imagine upgrading your computer every time intel releases a chip, or ripping up your entire copper wire network because fibreoptics comes out. If you play the latency game, these updates are mandatory. Just because the trades they make are very low risk and generate high revenues there are still costs involved.

As I said, lots of shops have lost money, and pulled out of this game, because of it. Get busy living or get busy dying.

 

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