Studies find fast traders get data from SEC seconds early | Forex Factory

  • Studies find fast traders get data from SEC seconds early

    From reuters.com

    Hedge funds and other rapid-fire investors get access to market-moving documents before other users of the Securities and Exchange Commission's system for distributing company filings, giving them a possible edge on the rest of the market, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing two independent studies. The two sets of researchers have been examining when paying subscribers receive SEC filings compared with when they become available on the agency's website, the newspaper reported. They found a wide variation in the lag time, from no delay to one lasting more than a minute. The ability to get the information before ... (full story)

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traderathome
Oct 29, 2014 10:23am
Permalink
Quoting tindalo
Hey "guest" you are so really stupid or you are just proving our limits? In a 100mts race every competitor listen the shoot at barely the same time, thats fair, giving the signal seconds before to one or two competitors is not fair in anyway!!! Is the reality and i accept it, but is not fair, and is not fine!!!
I agree, technically it is not fair, not fine, and it should be corrected. On the other hand, it presents no problems for me, as I find it takes me at least a few seconds for my trigger finger to find and press the "order" key! And that does not even consider the relatively huge amount of time it takes me to key in my order price! ......LOL!
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Forextrapain
Oct 29, 2014 10:48am
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I think all opinions stated so far are valid based on each person's analysis of the given information. The only question I have would be, how is this different than insider trading? If one person, or a group of people, can gain access to information that is crucial to the movements of the market quicker than other traders, is it not a great advantage to those, while leaving others to react? That could also be said of news releases. Case in point. If a trader is in a position where they are selling the AUD/USD but then the price starts to turn, for whatever reason, but only a hand full of people get this info ahead of time, and they happen to be big enough players, MM, hedgies, bankers, etc. they can then move the market in that direction, thus crushing the average retail trader's position, netting a huge gain. That is no different than if I am an accountant at GM, and call my buddies and say "sell, we are getting ready for another major recall". Yes, a good trader would have stops in place to prevent major losses, and technically, the price was going to go against them anyway, but the fact still remains that the info was not privy to them as to a select few, thus giving them a chance to close their existing positions, and go against the grain, so to speak. Only they know to do this at that moment. I do like the analogy above about the starting signal of a race. It would never be fair for anyone to "jump the gun", and still be allowed to win. This should hold true in trading as well. Just my 2 penny rant.
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Forextrapain
Nov 2, 2014 10:25pm
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Quoting wlarimer
In the US, that stuff is illegal for tax-payer funded agents to engage in. This has nothing to do with lower latency, by running off the trunk around the block. This is companies, buying info from a government regulator. Maybe where you're from, that is legal in some backhanded way. Here it is not.
I think you are wasting your time with this one. He doesn't get what you're saying, nor does he want to. He's either a troll, or an ostrich, but either way, doesn't like the answers given, so he is compelled to claim them as false. You can only teach those that are willing to learn, and don't feel like they already know it all.
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wlarimer
Oct 30, 2014 7:40pm
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Quoting Guest
that's fine... they also have to act on that data within miliseconds which is the hard work so let them be... they're not doing no one any harm and its not like they're just getting free arbitrage.. it's hard work doing hft'ing and just like all other market participants they deserve what they earn.
Huh? Are you a trader or a long-term investor? It is an enormous give away to traders that can get relevant info even 3 or 4 seconds early, let alone up to one minute. Do you even trade currency? Do you like getting raped for 60 pips in a few seconds? You must be trolling.
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wlarimer
Oct 30, 2014 10:00pm
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Paying extra for insider information is wrong, immoral and illegal. I run a fast connection, but am on the west coast which puts me a quarter second behind right off. I am not so worried about fractions of a second. I am worried by trading houses buying access to data from the SEC. A rather public institution. Can you see anything that might be shifty in buying inside information from a gov't regulator?
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wlarimer
Nov 2, 2014 9:51pm
Permalink
In the US, that stuff is illegal for tax-payer funded agents to engage in. This has nothing to do with lower latency, by running off the trunk around the block. This is companies, buying info from a government regulator. Maybe where you're from, that is legal in some backhanded way. Here it is not.
Reply
tindalo
Oct 29, 2014 9:20am
Permalink
Quoting Guest
that's fine... they also have to act on that data within miliseconds which is the hard work so let them be... they're not doing no one any harm and its not like they're just getting free arbitrage.. it's hard work doing hft'ing and just like all other market participants they deserve what they earn.
Hey "guest" you are so really stupid or you are just proving our limits? In a 100mts race every competitor listen the shoot at barely the same time, thats fair, giving the signal seconds before to one or two competitors is not fair in anyway!!! Is the reality and i accept it, but is not fair, and is not fine!!!
Reply
Charlzz
Oct 29, 2014 8:05am
Permalink
Reaaaalllllyyyy? I didn`t know lol Facepalm! The whole system is serving the rich ones... it is always been like this and it will be... they can only be changed during revolution which will happen sooner or later...
Reply
Trader#B702
Oct 29, 2014 7:26am
Permalink
that's fine... they also have to act on that data within miliseconds which is the hard work so let them be... they're not doing no one any harm and its not like they're just getting free arbitrage.. it's hard work doing hft'ing and just like all other market participants they deserve what they earn.
Reply
Trader#B702
Oct 30, 2014 9:24pm
Permalink
Quoting wlarimer
Huh? Are you a trader or a long-term investor? It is an enormous give away to traders that can get relevant info even 3 or 4 seconds early, let alone up to one minute. Do you even trade currency? Do you like getting raped for 60 pips in a few seconds? You must be trolling.
no wlarimer, none of the above... so wlarimer let me ask you something... if you have high speed internet connection and your neighbor has only dial-up... does that mean it is "unfair" advantage or a "fair" advantage that you have over the neighbor... now the neighbor, he has the opurtunity and the right to get hsi but he can't afford it so he just goes with dial-up.... so wlarimer you are telling me that if you lost 60pips and you are trading with dial-up,, are you going to blame it all on your connection and then also complain about how the neighbor has it faster and that is unfair? because that is all that this is,, some people with faster connections get the info faster then the ones with slower connection.... so next time keep this in mind before you accuse somebody as "raping" you just because they pay extra for faster connection, something that you have every right and opurtunity to do so your self but just can't afford it, and your 60pip loss has everything to do with the decision that YOU made in the market and your loss has nothing to do with anybody else EXCEPT for you... just face that fact and accept it
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Trader#B702
Oct 30, 2014 10:15pm
Permalink
Quoting wlarimer
Paying extra for insider information is wrong, immoral and illegal. I run a fast connection, but am on the west coast which puts me a quarter second behind right off. I am not so worried about fractions of a second. I am worried by trading houses buying access to data from the SEC. A rather public institution. Can you see anything that might be shifty in buying inside information from a gov't regulator?
well,, you can't confuse realstate with inside information... paying the sec for server allocation is the same as paying for a seat on the trading floor on walstreet 10years ago - its not insider trading, it's just the cost you have to pay for being as close to the exchange as you can. now if the private sector were to regulate the allocation fees then that would raise some red flags for sure, but since this is a public exchange it only makes sense that the government regulates the fees for front row seats if you will, so that way they can stay on top of any foul play that may go on, granted they are a few light years behind compared to the technology of the supercomputers, but that is a mute point, what matters is that if you want front row seats to an auction then feel lucky you do not need an invite as it is not private but public access that you your self can attend to but you have to pay a higher fee to attend the front row seat, im sure you can understand that, right?
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