Brokerage

May 6, 2010, is a day that will long be remembered by investors. Known as the "flash crash," the events that unfolded that tumultuous trading day will likely shape equities trading for the next several years.

Buyside traders are looking for increased transparency from their brokers about where their orders are routed and filled. This information, the buyside argues, is important because it gives them a leg up on determining the best places to trade for price and size in a fragmented market of multiple exchanges and 40 dark pools.

Brokers now can connect to the National Stock Exchange at near co-location speeds without co-locating their servers at an NSX facility.

BTIG is entering the wholesaling business.

At the end of October, agency broker Investment Technology Group bought Majestic Research, a research provider. The move is part of a growing trend in this year of low institutional trading volumes: agency brokerages offering research as another way to get paid

The Section 31 securities tax, a key trading cost, will rise next year, but securities industry officials fear that in 2012 the business will be hit with a much bigger tariff.

Jamil Nazarali, senior managing director and global head of the electronic trading group at Knight, spoke with Traders Magazine recently about several issues affecting equity trading. Among the topics discussed were the "flash crash," transparency in order routing and the role of market makers.

Incoming House Majority Leader Eric Cantor stirred up a fair amount of controversy lately by speaking in favor of, or at least not dismissing out of hand, a plan by the Virginia legislature to amend the U.S. Constitution to provide that a two-thirds vote of the states could overturn any duly enacted federal law.

Volume Drop and Tight Margins Doom OES and Selero.

ITG now has its trades in Canada cleared by Fidelity Investments' clearing arm. ITG, which self-clears in the United States, says it plans to remain self-clearing in the U.S.