Читать книгу Investment Banking For Dummies - Matthew Krantz - Страница 64

Next time you log onto your online brokerage account to buy a stock, don’t think there’s a human on the other end selling to you. More likely than not, you’re buying the stock from a computer that trades in and out of stocks millions of times a day.

Wall Street has been taken over by an army of computers that buy and sell stocks as easily as you may shoot down aliens in a video game. Some sources estimate that 70 percent or more of the trading on the major stock market exchanges is being done by computer programs. These programs, often referred to as algorithmic trading, program trading, or automated trading, are a big area of interest for many investment banking operations.

Computerized trading can be used for a number of reasons, including the following:

 Serving needs of clients: Sometimes computers are employed to serve the customers of investment banks, helping them sell large positions of stock. Selling for big customers takes a bit of finesse — if all the stock is dumped at one time, the stock price can be pushed lower and cause the seller to reduce his or her own proceeds. Investment bankers have systems in place to help them sell more gradually to avoid these problems.

 Part of market-making responsibilities: Computerized trading may also be part of investment banks’ role as market makers. Investment banks certainly trade to try to make a profit, looking for chances to buy and sell stocks for a gain. But in some cases investment banks can also serve a secondary role. When making a market, investment banks aren’t necessarily trading to make a profit (although they probably don’t complain when they do). They’re the buyer of last resort, standing on the market looking to buy and sell when there are people looking to sell and buy. They’re providing liquidity.