Is anyone here a specialist or has ever been one? I would like to know what it all looks like through the eyes of a specialist. All I know is some specialists seem to "work with me" and try to fill me right at the top/bottom, almost as if to reward me for helping them provide liquidity, others (like GD) don't seem to care one way or the other, and again others (like JNJ) seem to want to make it clear that they alone will make a profit trading their stocks and if you dare reach for a little piece of the cake they will rip off your arm and feed it to the crowd. I wonder what the motivations are for the different kinds of behavior towards little daytraders. Are those specialists that give us good fills just less skilled than the tough ones or do they get something out of traders like me trading their stocks and are therefore interested in allowing us to profit?
human nature...is rough... maybe the JNJ guy got beat up alot as a kid... you never know what makes them tick... they are human beings just like the rest of us...
I have also seen very similar behaviour. Sometimes you work a stock real nice with the specialist and when its time he gives you a nice fill. Other times it seems like the specialists main goal is just to see you lose money. Its comical when you want out of a position and you have only 200 shares left and he will still try as hard as possible to bleed you. Sometimes i think the specialist is losing money himself just making sure that i lose as well.
i don't know any of them, but when i think of them, a picture of newman always pops into my head... maybe it's how slimy and conniving they are...
Depending on the size lot your trading the specialist may never have anything to do with your order. Each specialist has an assistant that works the box and takes care of most small orders. On a day the stock seems choppy your right the specialist is making a nice buck..but on the days a stock pretty much trades strongly in one direction they are fighting not to lose too much..remember they are the only person that HAS to buy when everyone wants to sell and sell when everyone wants to buy...and depending on the stock and its volume they have guidelines of how much liquidity they should be providing every 1/4 point or so. For over 1 year I sat on the train next to 2 SLK specialist assistants everyday...another thing is they try to be close to flat everyday..they are daytraders for sure.