SEC宣布彻查高频交易

    上周四，在华尔街投资会议上，美国证券交易委员会（SEC）主席玛丽•乔•怀特宣布将展开一系列调查，改变相关潜规则，同时采取监控措施，目的是为了重点打击高频交易（HFT）。

    这项调查的清单十分冗长。怀特说，SEC将调查高频交易公司是否获得交易所的允许，借助比其他交易商更为有利的方式来提交买卖订单。SEC还将调查是否应强制所谓的“暗池”交易参与者上报更多的交易数据，因为部分投资者通过“暗池”交易掩盖自己真正的交易活动。怀特还提到，SEC将调查交易所是否应该将交易数据提前透漏给高频交易公司。此外，SEC也将调查交易所是否应尝试遏制快速交易。

    怀特表示，她也会关注证券交易市场是否过于分散。SEC的一个委员会将负责对此事进行调查，同时也将对整个市场结构进行评估。

    因此，涉及高频交易的方方面面基本上都将受到调查。

    人们可能会据此认为，在关注高频交易多年之后，SEC终于得出了结论——高频交易不是好事，但也有例外：在怀特所做的声明中，与打击高频交易公司直接相关的内容似乎寥寥无几。怀特所提到的大部分潜在的变化都与交易所有关。

    高频交易面临的一个重大变化就是，它们必须通过注册成为SEC麾下的经纪商。长期以来，高频交易公司一直都声称自己只是做市商，帮助他人（间接地）开展交易。一旦这些公司注册成为经纪商之后，哪怕它们所从事的唯一交易是在花自己的钱，SEC基本上也就证实了这些公司是在为市场和其他交易商提供服务。因此，尽管此举能让SEC更为密切地监控高频交易公司，但是它也会让这些公司的举动稍微具有一些合法性。

    就在迈克•路易斯《快闪小子》（Flash Boys）一书出版不到一个月，SEC就提出了这一动议。这本书对高频交易进行了介绍，还把所有的高频交易公司称之为一帮恶棍。因此，SEC做出这个声明也在情理之中，因为它的职责就是让市场看起来更为公平。当然，如果你不知道到底应该怎么做的话，宣布一个面面俱到的调查方案也不失为一个可行的策略。但是，它也意味着，SEC最终可能决定撤销的内容也少不了。（财富中文网）

    译者：翔

    On Thursday, SEC Chair Mary Jo White, speaking at a Wall Street investment conference, announced a slew of investigations, potential rule changes, and monitoring methods that could lead to a significant crackdown of high-frequency trading (HFT).

    The list of investigations was lengthy. White said the SEC is looking into whether exchanges allow HFT firms to place their buy and sell orders in ways that give them an advantage over other traders. The SEC is looking into whether so-called dark pools, where some investors try to mask their trading activity, should be forced to report more of their transaction data. White also noted that the SEC is looking at whether exchanges should be giving trading data to some HFT firms faster than everyone else. On top of that, the SEC is going to look at whether exchanges should try to de-emphasize speedy trading.

    White said that she is also examining whether the market is too fragmented. There’s an SEC committee looking into that, and market structure in general, as well.

    So, pretty much everything you can think of about high frequency trading is under review.

    That might lead you to believe that the SEC, after years of looking at HFT, has finally came to the conclusion that it is bad, except for this: There is very little in what White announced that directly seems like a crackdown of high frequency trading firms. Most of the potential changes White announced had to do with the exchanges.

    The one major change for HFT firms is that they have to register as brokers with the SEC. HFT firms have long made the argument that they are basically market making firms, helping others, albeit indirectly, trade. By having them register as brokers, the SEC basically validates the argument that these firms service the market and other traders, even if the only trading they do is with their own cash. So, while the SEC will get to monitor HFT a little more closely, its moves will also make HFT a little more legit.

    The SEC’s initiatives come roughly a month after the publication of Michael Lewis’ Flash Boys, an account of HFT that basically calls all HFT firms a bunch of crooks. So you can’t fault the SEC for announcing something. Its job is to make the market look fair. And if you don’t know what to do, announcing that you are reviewing everything you can think of isn’t the worst approach. But it’s also a sign that in the end the SEC might end up deciding not to do a heck of a lot.