Is it good for day traders to have market makers and specialists in the mix, or would it be nice to do without them?
IMO market makers are fine.... They are in the Nasdaq and can't manipulate the spreads. Specialists on the other hand have had a long history of manipulating prices to their advantage. The entire NYSE auctioneer system is perceived to be outdated. Many traders actually prefer not to trade NYSE listed stocks for this reason. Also, without market makers and specialists, it would be much more difficult to trade. They are essentially dealers. Without them, you would have to directly trade without someone else. MMs and specialists make it easier by matching the orders for you. So its not a question of not having them. It's more about how the system operates. MMs systems are more technologically advanced IMO and their practices are more fair. All this being said, take it as one opinion nevertheless. I have never worked on the floor nor have I ever been a market maker. If you read any introductory book on day trading though, it will note this issue with specialists and the NYSE.
************** WHY WAS THIS POST MOVED??????????? IT WAS ORIGINALLY POSTED IN CATAGORY STOCKS. WHY DO YOU FEEL THE NEED TO MOVE IT????
I make a lot of money from scalping UBSS orderflow. Maybe the retarded dumb money I make is from UBS customer orders that are tagged UBSS vs. the actual MMs, given that there is no way to differentiate I have no idea, but I like the MMs. More liquidity.