[jimmydef]

HFTs do not create demand. Most of the time, they flatten their positions at the end of the day. As such, their impact on the market is minimal.

And anyone who can claim that HFTs front run trades simply do not understand the basics of what is happening. HFTs simply make money off being the glue in fragmented markets.

[calmworm]

Care to explain further or provide a link or two Specifically on the “being the glue” part.

[bigtiger]

Sometimes identical products trade at different venues, often different products at different venues are highly correlated. HFTs reduce the friction of value transfer between these many different markets. They are, in a sense, building the neurons that make up the global economic central nervous system. It's a natural and healthy market phenomenon. The benefits are systemic, which requires some perspective to appreciate. In the course of a decade or two, HFT has permanently cemented itself into the fabric of the finance.

All this talk about front running is uninformed utter nonsense.