Andy Brooks and Gus Sauter can’t agree on what to make of the Wall Street phenomenon of high-frequency trading, according to the Washington Post.

Brooks, head of U.S. equity trading at Baltimore-based T. Rowe Price [profile], sees the high-speed traders as a nuisance, even a threat. Sauter, chief investment officer at the Vanguard Group [profile], sees them as beneficial to all investors.

According to the article, Brooks sees high frequency traders as opportunists that are out to game the system without any regard for the fundamentals of the market.

“Their game is about speed. It has nothing to do with investing,” Brooks says in the article. “They’ve found a loophole that needs to be closed.”

Meanwhile, Sauter says these traders are a lubricant for the stock market’s engine, providing liquidity and helping cut down transaction costs for all long-term investors.

“We do disagree on this one,” said Sauter, responding to Brooks’s comments. “I believe that there are some high-frequency traders who are trying to take advantage of us, but we are far better off with high-frequency trading than we are without it.”

To learn more about Brooks' and Sauter's differing opinions on EFT, go to the Washington Post article. 

Edited by: Tommy Fernandez


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