Big Blocks…Trading a Little at a Time?

At Credit Suisse’s AES Equity Derivatives Trading Forum in Miami at the end of February, Rob Maher, who heads AES sales in Europe, made the case in a presentation that trading lots of small orders algorithmically is often more efficient and cheaper than going the traditional block route. However, not all block traders have caught on. Maher offered a summary of buyside traders’ common complaints regarding block trading.

Top Five Trader Comments:

> How can I avoid “every trader’s nightmare” and ensure that I don’t miss a big print?

> I want to trade with like-minded institutions.

> I want to avoid all these annoying little prints, want to avoid the noise.

> I want to get back to trading blocks the way we used to.

> These (expletive, expletive, expletive) algorithm guys have ruined the market!!!

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