Matt Levine’s Money Stuff: Floor Traders Want Their Seats Back

Floor traders

Trading floors used to be natural monopolies. Some brokers get together and start trading stocks with each other under one particular tree, or in one particular coffeehouse, and they keep coming back every day; over time they get themselves a dedicated exchange building with a comfortable trading floor where they can meet and trade stocks. If you are a broker with stock to sell, you will naturally go to the exchange with the most potential buyers; if you are a broker who wants to buy stock, you will naturally go to the exchange with the most sellers. If ...