Book of the week: Flash Boys
There’s no denying that the stock market is a gamble. Whether you’re a long-time investor, or buying your first share, the element of chance plays a critical role in your potential success.
But what if there’s more to this seemingly conventional truth? What if some players in the market have unfair, and often unseen, advantages in the market? What if some of the world’s biggest financial firms are rigging the system – and getting away with it?
In Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt, Michael Lewis explores and explains the world of high-frequency trading, offering readers a chance to look behind the curtain of some of Wall Street’s best kept secrets.
High- frequency trading refers to the use of automated trading programs by big banks and professional investors. These programs are inaccessible to everyday people, giving those banks and brokers a leg up in the market.
From stolen algorithms, to FBI investigations, to secretive cables, Flash Boys outlines the nefarious, and potentially illegal, ways in which the market is secretly “rigged” and the people who tried to change it.
While it is no surprise that this book shook up Wall Street (an FBI investigation into high-frequency trading was launched shortly after its release), Flash Boys is a fascinating, if not anger-inducing, read for anyone— even if they’ve never dedicated a single cent to the market.
