Speed Traders NOT 'Taking Advantage' of Other Investors

Sept. 19, 2011 - PRLog -- Stuart Theakston, Head of Quantitative Research and Automated Trading, GLC Ltd, is not shy about pointing out the biggest misconceptions about high-frequency traders. In particular, one that says that they are some-how ‘taking advantage’ of other investors; this is completely bogus, he says. "They are actually getting paid, in a very competitive market, to provide a service to other investors (that service is immediate liquidity)."

Theakston, one of the leading high-frequency traders featured in Edgar Perez's The Speed Traders: An Insider's Look at the New High-Frequency Trading Phenomenon That is Transforming the Investing World (http://www.thespeedtraders.com), manages all research and development for the quantitative models and trading systems. He started with GLC Ltd. in 2008 heading the high-frequency trading desk. Prior to GLC Ltd., Theakston founded a quantitative proprietary trading business deploying equity long/short strategies. Theakston had worked at Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank, with responsibility for delivering quantitative trading tools and high performance execution products to hedge fund clients and internal trading desks.

He continues: "As usual, the media and the public fail to understand that this is a competitive situation where abnormal risk adjusted returns are being competed away by a large number of market participants. The media fail to understand this in pretty much every context, as the ‘greedy company taking advantage of innocent consumers’ story is all too common. They also fail to understand the amount of intellectual and technology infrastructure required to engage in high-frequency trading and so think high-frequency traders are getting a ‘free lunch’. In actual fact, they are just eating each other’s lunches in an ultra competitive frenzy that ends with a large number of them being unable to cover their fixed costs and going out of business, leaving a few very competitive outfits making only normal profits. This is how competitive markets are supposed to work, and is what institutional/retail investors should want."

The Speed Traders, published by McGraw-Hill Inc., available online at amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, BORDERS, and INDIEBOUND, among multiple bookstores, is the most comprehensive, revealing work available on the most important development in trading in generations. High-frequency trading will no doubt play an ever larger role as computer technology advances and the global exchanges embrace fast electronic access. The Speed Traders explains everything there is to know about how today's high-frequency traders make millions—one cent at a time. In this new title, The Speed Traders, Perez opens the door to the secretive world of high-frequency trading. Inside, prominent figures drop their guard and speak with unprecedented candidness about their trade.

The Speed Traders Workshop 2011, "The Present and Future of High-Frequency Trading" (http://www.thespeedtradersworkshop.com), will be held in Chicago, Sao Paulo, Singapore and Hong Kong. The Speed Traders Workshop 2011 will be extremely helpful for all delegates who are working in finance and investments, from financial institutions, investment banks, hedge funds, pension funds, broker dealers, consultancy groups, prime brokers, solution providers and exchanges, who wish to gain a thorough understanding and practical knowledge of high-frequency trading.

Perez is widely regarded as the pre-eminent networker in the specialized area of high-frequency trading. He has been featured on CNBC Cash Flow with Oriel Morrison (http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=2023403523), BNN Business Day with Kim Parlee (http://watch.bnn.ca/business-day/august-2011/business-day...), TheStreet.com with Gregg Greenberg (http://www.thestreet.com/video/11144274/high-frequency-traders-not-the-enemy.html), and Channel NewsAsia Cent & Sensibilities with Lin Xue Ling, and engaged as speaker at Harvard Business School’s 17th Annual Venture Capital & Private Equity Conference, High-Frequency Trading Leaders Forum 2011 (New York, Chicago, Hong Kong, Sao Paulo, Singapore), CFA Singapore, Hong Kong Securities Institute, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University (New York), Global Growth Markets Forum (London), Technical Analysis Society (Singapore), Middle East Hedge Funds Investors Summit 2012 (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia), among other global forums.

Perez was a vice president at Citigroup, a senior consultant at IBM, and a consultant at McKinsey & Co. in New York City. Perez has an undergraduate degree from Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, Lima, Peru (1994), a Master of Administration from Universidad ESAN, Lima, Peru (1997) and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School, with a dual major in Finance and Management (2002). He belongs to the Beta Gamma Sigma honor society. Perez resides in the New York City area and is an accomplished salsa and hustle dancer.

Perez is one of the great business networkers and motivators on the lecture circuit; he is available worldwide for the following speaking engagements: Present and Future of High-Frequency Trading, The Real Story behind the "Flash Crash", Networking for Financial Executives, and Business Networking for Success.

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The Speed Traders is the most comprehensive, revealing work available on the most important trading development in generations. High-frequency trading will play an ever larger role as computer technology advances and exchanges embrace electronic access.