I feel sorriest for Nas, most talented among the investors. I bet they never explained to him that he'd be working for Citadel. They probably pitched this as some kind of profitable, rebel altruism.
When will you ever learn a cheap trade is not a cheap trade? If your broker can get you $.03 per contract on a spread of $1.20 x $1.34 instead of paying $1.34 all the time, what's cheaper? Paying $.03 x 50 contracts is $150.00 price improvement or $.45x50 vs $.35x50+ $.03x50 contracts since often your not getting any price improvement? These smaller Brokers won't route to better pools getting you the best price, one thing to consider!
I tested two different Brokers, one got me $.19 extra on 19 contracts, the other costed a big spread. The little Brokers make their bank selling that order routing, IB save's you cash and reduces your rates depending how much you trade.
There's a reason they're not offering auction orders, they can't make a dime on those. They're just milking newbies who think commissions are the biggest expenditure.
It's going to be a slaughter. Apex will sell the flow to Citadel, who will buy the orders on a "not held" basis, which are subject to (apparently) legal front-running. https://www.citadelsecurities.com/_...4/02/CES-I-Annual-Disclosures-2014-2-7-14.pdf Not Held Orders A “not held” order is one in which you give CES Institutional discretion as to the time and price at which to execute your orders. All orders handled by a CES Institutional algorithm will be traded as not held. All other orders accepted by CES Institutional will be handled as not held unless otherwise intended and explicitly instructed by you or your representative at the time of submission. While handling a not held order, Citadel Securities may trade a security for its own accounts ahead of and/or at prices equal to or better than the prices at which CES Institutional executes “not held” orders for you in the same security. However, Citadel Securities will do so only to the extent such trading is consistent with applicable law and its obligation to seek the best execution of your orders. CES Institutional will handle your orders pursuant to any special handling instructions you provide.