Merrin reveals fears over HFT arms race

Moves by stock exchanges to invest in system upgrades to accommodate high-speed trading have been likened to an arms race that threatens to destroy value and undermine market integrity. Striding into the technological warzone is Seth Merrin, president and founder of Liquidnet, an institutional buy-side venue whose clients seek to trade in large blocks (too big for most HFTs). Merrin argues that recent trading glitches – such as erroneous orders by market-maker Knight Capital and…