Market makers like CINN, TRAC, BRUT... how do these guys get fills? On many of the brokerage platforms you see order routing options like ARCA, INET, NYSE... etc. I rarely see one that routes to a specific market maker. When you send an order to an exchange like Island, is island sometimes routing out these orders to fill the market makers? What are their charges for ecn fees? I don't really understand the role of a market maker. If it is to provide liquity, why not just post on an exchange?
The market maker is there to provide liquidity, ie. when you want to make a trade, you are guaranteed to be able to trade because of the market maker. They are obligated to have limit buy and sell orders in the market always. They make money from the bid-ask spread and the benefit of low commissions. They are the real arbitrageurs.
The precise obligations of the market makers depend on the exchange. However, I'm sure that most have to provide a bid and offer at all times.
they do have to post to stay on the box, but if they have no orders and don't want to be involved they can keep their qoute out of the way