never said MM's should be obliged to be waiters or eat up a collapse. but yes, they will provide liquidity as long as they can make money.
Before I share that information, I need to check with the firm to ensure that it's o.k. to disclose that information about them. Walt
In my experience sub-penny trades are one of three things: 1. Broker internalization 2. Dark pool trades 3. Specific types of order sent to certain ECNs/exchanges that sometimes execute at partial penny increments. Normal prop firms can't access broker internalization pools. Granted, this is where a lot of the partial penny trades happen. Hopefully most prop firms have access to at least a couple sources of dark liquidity. If you can't route directly to a pool, you should still be able to hit SOME dark stock through specific types of orders through the public ECNs. Most of the major exchanges and ECNs allow for orders that can execute in between the spread. Some partial penny prints are these types of orders.
again, i never said a market maker should be a cashier at mcdonalds. however, stock prices should be based on true supply and demand. not fragmented liquidity across 80 darkpools whenever the MM programs feel like providing liquidity.
Why don't prop traders provide liquidity? Every time the SEC tries to come down on prop traders, they always cry "don't hurt us, we provide liquidity to the market."
that's the current politically correct excuse to give. they all say that. "we provide value to the markets".
btw, what's the difference between a market maker and prop trading? goldman still has it's billions of dollar market making biz but shed it's "prop". people are rewriting the dictionary.
gs didn't shed it's prop, it shifted it to offshore hedge funds they're seeding to their existing traders. no way in hell gs is giving up it's golden goose.
Right I know that, but when the HFT algos pull away from the market, what is stopping Don and Bob Bright from stepping in and providing liquidity? Or ECho Trade or whoever. Or some daytrader at IB. Why does it have to be Getco or Traderworks? Isn't this the pot calling the kettle black?