• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch

2

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

3

Current price of oil as of July 1, 2026

1

As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch

2

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

3

Current price of oil as of July 1, 2026
FinanceHigh Frequency Trading

Senate panel backs high frequency trading, and gets nowhere

By
Stephen Gandel
Stephen Gandel
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Stephen Gandel
Stephen Gandel
Down Arrow Button Icon
July 9, 2014, 2:13 PM ET
<h1>Jeff Sprecher </h1>
<strong>Founder and CEO, <a href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=ICE&amp;source=story_quote_link" title=""><strong></strong>IntercontinentalExchange<strong></strong></a> </strong>

In November the Wisconsin native's ICE completed its acquisition of NYSE Euronext, creating a powerhouse with 16 exchanges worldwide.
<h1>Jeff Sprecher </h1> <strong>Founder and CEO, <a href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=ICE&amp;source=story_quote_link" title=""><strong></strong>IntercontinentalExchange<strong></strong></a> </strong> In November the Wisconsin native's ICE completed its acquisition of NYSE Euronext, creating a powerhouse with 16 exchanges worldwide. Adam Rountree/Bloomberg—Getty
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

The United States Senate took on high frequency trading and lost, I guess. Well, it didn’t win.

On Tuesday, the Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on the controversial trading practice. The hearing featured a number of boldfaced Wall Street names, including hedge fund titan and sometime-high-frequency-trader Ken Griffin; Jeff Sprecher, the head of the company that owns the New York Stock Exchange; and Joe Ratterman, the CEO of BATS, the stock exchange that is one of the chief “bad guys” featured in Michael Lewis’ recent book on HFT.

All of them said that high frequency trading is good for the market and should not be banned. The hearing contained no information to refute those facts.

Even Senator Elizabeth Warren took a shot and missed. Warren asked Griffin, just for context, how profitable his high frequency trading fund was. Griffin said he didn’t have a high frequency trading fund, which is technically true. He’s got a tactical fund that used to be all about high frequency trading but now is bigger and does a bunch of things, only one of which is high frequency trading. So it’s not solely a high frequency fund. Question deflected.

Griffin said we need high frequency trading to keep prices of exchange traded funds fair and accurate. But there have been lots of instances in which ETFs have been mis-priced. And shouldn’t making sure ETFs work be the job of BlackRock or others who rake in billions of dollars a year on such products?

There were even some swipes at Michael Lewis and his recent book Flash Boys, which vilified HFT. Griffin said the author had never spoken to him. Sprecher in a backhanded compliment said he admired IEX, the trading venue whose head Brad Katsuyama comes across as the hero of Lewis’ book. “I very much appreciate the IEX exchange, they have four order types,” Sprecher said. “I would love to get to four order types. They also have less than 1% market share.” The market, Sprecher was saying, has spoken, and they don’t want IEX.

All of the participants called for more disclosure of the fees that brokerage firms collect when they decide where to send their clients orders. They all agreed that there are too many places where stocks can trade, creating a potential for investors to get ripped off or for another so-called flash crash.

In fact, there seems to be a growing consensus from law makers and regulators, who are likely being guided by people like Sprecher and Griffin, that the real problem with the market is complexity; not lightning-quick trading that may or may not be picking investors’ pockets. Both Griffin and Sprecher said dark pools should be subject to the same regulations that exchanges are subject to. Sprecher says he would like to eliminate the fees that traders and brokers are paid to trade at one exchange over another.

All of those changes sound reasonable. But people who are likely to benefit the most from those changes are people like Sprecher and Griffin. The NYSE and trading venues like Griffin’s have to pay those fees. And, of course, Sprecher would like to go back to the days in which the market was simpler. Back then, the NYSE handled 90% of the trading volume.

Dark pools were formed, with different rules, in part because institutional investors thought they were not getting a good deal on exchanges. And there are “fair” dark pools, like IEX. But as Sprecher pointed out, no one trades there.

About the Author
By Stephen Gandel
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Finance

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Finance

Best private student loans for medical school
Personal Financestudent loans and debt
Best private student loans for medical school
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 2, 2026
3 hours ago
Michael Burry just shorted Caterpillar’s 172% AI rally. One analyst says his bet won’t even matter
Investingstock prices
Michael Burry just shorted Caterpillar’s 172% AI rally. One analyst says his bet won’t even matter
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 2, 2026
4 hours ago
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
EconomyDebt
AI’s $2.2 trillion deficit fix is already half fake, economists say
By Tristan BoveJuly 2, 2026
5 hours ago
s
Personal FinanceSports
The sports economy is unaffordable at the bar, let alone the stadium
By Catherina GioinoJuly 2, 2026
5 hours ago
sb
North AmericaU.S. Department of the Treasury
Scott Bessent goes after the top Mexican cartel’s new billion-dollar business: gas stations
By Fatima Hussein and The Associated PressJuly 2, 2026
5 hours ago
eggs
LawAntitrust
Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs
By Wyatte Grantham-Philips and The Associated PressJuly 2, 2026
5 hours ago

Most Popular

As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch
Big Tech
As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 1, 2026
2 days ago
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
Success
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
8 days ago
Current price of oil as of July 1, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of July 1, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 1, 2026
1 day ago
Today, Emily Blunt is worth $80 million thanks to her Hollywood career—but she actually wanted to be a UN Spanish translator on $80K
Success
Today, Emily Blunt is worth $80 million thanks to her Hollywood career—but she actually wanted to be a UN Spanish translator on $80K
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJuly 2, 2026
17 hours ago
Trump got a $78K pension from the Screen Actors Guild in 2025 because he appeared in Home Alone 2 in 1992
Politics
Trump got a $78K pension from the Screen Actors Guild in 2025 because he appeared in Home Alone 2 in 1992
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 1, 2026
1 day ago
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
Success
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
By Preston ForeJune 27, 2026
6 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.