Flash boys in the pan
An iconoclastic stock exchange loses a battle—but not yet the war
导读：本文主要讲美国交易所上市业务竞争激烈，小型交易所IEX由于无法与纽交所、纳斯达克竞争，因此宣布取消其上市业务而专注于交易和服务。文章的标题Flash boysin the pan可谓一语双关：Flash boys (汉译《闪击者》)是2014年的一本关于高频交易的畅销书，书中提到了InvestorsExchanges(IEX)，并对其创始人Brad Katsuyama高度评价，认为他是反对市场操纵的捍卫者；而flashin the pan是一个俚语，意思为昙花一现。Flash boys in thepan 寓意昙花一现的闪击者(暗指IEX的上市业务昙花一现)。不过文章的副标题，这个打破传统的证券交易所输掉一战，但没有输掉战争(An iconoclastic stock exchange loses a battle—but not yet the war)则表明IEX虽然在上市业务中屡屡失意，但在其他方面却暗流涌动。
Technology has robbed stock exchanges of their theatrics. Opening days are an exception. Blue-chipfirms listing on Nasdaq, America’s second-biggest exchange, get an hour of exclusive advertising on its tower in Times Square. On the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the biggest, they earn the right to be deafened by a bell above a 116-year-old trading floor.
技术已经抢夺了证券交易所的戏份，只有在上市的第一天除外。在美国第二大证券交易所——纳斯达克——上市的蓝筹公司会获得时代广场塔楼一个小时的独家广告时间。
而在美国第一大证券交易所——纽约交易所——上市的公司则能够在这个拥有116年历史的交易大厅中举行隆重的敲钟仪式。
Yet behind the pageant, competition for listings iscut-throat. Last year Nasdaq snatched 18 listings from NYSE; six went the otherway. Now Investors Exchange (IEX), an independent upstart created in 2012, is giving up the fight. On September 23rd it said it would shut its listings unit to focus on trading and new services. “We’ve spent many, many, many hours flying around the world trying to educate companies,” says Brad Katsuyama, its boss. “The return on our efforts was not where it needed to be.”
然而在‘选美’背后，上市业务的竞争极其激烈。去年纳斯达克从纽交所抢走了18家上市公司。另外6家则选择在纽交所上市。现在，IEX(Inverstors Exchange)这家成立于于2012年的独立新贵正打算放弃这场战斗。9月23日，IEX宣布它将关闭上市业务，而专注于交易和新的服务项目。“我们已经花费了很多时间穿梭于全球，尝试对多家公司进行教育培训，”公司的老板Brad Katsuyama说道，“我们的努力没有得到应有的回报。”
Yet after 18 months IEX had secured just one: Interactive Brokers, an electronicbrokerage that switched from Nasdaq last October (this week it said it would goback). Market participants say IEX may have been held back by its relatively low trading volumes (see chart). Exchanges determine the opening and closing prices of stocks they list; more bids should mean more accurate, less volatile quotes. Price discovery seems to have mattered more to prospective listers than iex’s modest fees and championing of the little guy.
然而18个月后，IEX仅仅获得Interactive Brokers 这一家公司的上市业务。Interactive Brokers是一家电子经纪业务公司，去年十月从纳斯达克转到IEX (本周它宣布要重返纳斯达克)。市场参与者说IEX也许已经被他相对低的交易量而拖累。交易所决定了在该所上市股票的开盘和收盘价格。投标书越多意味着报价精确度越高、波动性越小。对于潜在的上市公司而言，价格发现看起来比上市费用和反对操控市场立场更重要。
And IEX has helped focus attention on its pet issues. Supported by large asset managers, the Securities and Exchange Commission, America’s main financial regulator, is waging court battles against NYSE and Nasdaq over data and transaction fees. Other newcomers, such as the Long-Term Stock Exchange and Members Exchange, are also gearing up to trade equities. Meanwhile, IEX’s main innovation is being copied. By 2020 a dozen markets, from Toronto to Moscow, plan to use some sort of speed bump. Enough, perhaps, to ring alarm bells in Times Square.
IEX已经帮助人们聚焦于它看好的议题。在大资金经理的支持下，美国主要的金融监督机构——证券交易委员会——正在与纽交所和纳斯达克就交易费和数据问题展开法庭斗争。其他新来者，如长线交易所(Long-Term Stock Exchange)、会员交易所(MembersExchange)也在为交易普通股票而做准备。与此同时，IEX的主要创新目前正在被其他机构复制。截止2020年，从东京到莫斯科的十多个市场将计划启动某种“限速带”。也许这足够在时代广场敲响警钟了。
