Book Review: ‘Flash Boys’

Much is bandied about in financial media on high-frequency trading (HFT) and the implications for institutional and individual investors. The overarching thought is that the capital markets are gamed by high-frequency traders, known as flash boys, and there isn’t anything we can do about it, unless, of course, you’re a portfolio manager who decides to trade on an exchange that is devoted to evening out the playing field. That is what IEX is attempting to do, as the first equity-trading venue dedicated to eliminating the predatory practices of HFT. A new book by Michael Lewis entitled “Flash Boys” provides readers with a glimpse of this esoteric world, and PondelWilkinson’s Evan Pondel reviewed the book for IRupdate in this month’s issue.