The last few decades has seen an ever-increasing growth in the way activities are productized and associated with a financial cost. This phenomenon, termed financialization, spans all areas including government, finance, health and manufacturing. Recent developments within finance over that past decade have radically altered the way trading occurs. This paper analyses high-frequency trading (HFT) as a necessary component of the infrastructure that makes financialization possible. Through interviews with HFT firms, a software vendor, regulators and banks, the effects of HFT on market efficiency, and its impact on costs to long-term investors are explored. This paper contributes to the literature by exploring the conflict that exists between HFT and traditional market makers in today’s fragmented markets. This paper argues that society should be unconcerned with this conflict and should instead focus on the effects these participants have on the long-term investors, for whom the markets ultimately exist. In order to facilitate the best outcomes, regulation should be simple, aimed at keeping participants’ behavior stable, and the interactions among them transparent and straightforward. Financialization and HFT are inextricably linked, and society is best served by ensuring that the creative energy of these market participants is directed on providing liquidity and removing inefficiencies.

中文翻译：

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金融市场的高频交易与冲突

在过去的几十年里，活动的生产方式和与财务成本相关的方式不断增长。这种被称为金融化的现象涵盖了包括政府、金融、健康和制造业在内的所有领域。过去十年金融领域的最新发展从根本上改变了交易的方式。本文将高频交易 (HFT) 分析为使金融化成为可能的基础设施的必要组成部分。通过对高频交易公司、软件供应商、监管机构和银行的采访，探讨了高频交易对市场效率的影响及其对长期投资者成本的影响。本文通过探讨当今分散的市场中高频交易与传统做市商之间存在的冲突，为文献做出贡献。本文认为，社会不应关心这种冲突，而应关注这些参与者对长期投资者的影响，而市场最终是为他们而存在的。为了促进最佳结果，监管应该简单，旨在保持参与者的行为稳定，以及他们之间的互动透明和直接。金融化和高频交易密不可分，通过确保这些市场参与者的创造性能量用于提供流动性和消除低效率，才能最好地为社会服务。旨在保持参与者的行为稳定，以及他们之间的互动透明和直接。金融化和高频交易密不可分，通过确保这些市场参与者的创造性能量用于提供流动性和消除低效率，才能最好地为社会服务。旨在保持参与者的行为稳定，以及他们之间的互动透明和直接。金融化和高频交易密不可分，通过确保这些市场参与者的创造性能量用于提供流动性和消除低效率，才能最好地为社会服务。