Goldman Sachs is one step ahead of the market.
The Wall Street firm has been criticizing high-speed electronic trading of late, but it’s still dumping the human side of the business — its NYSE “market-maker” unit.
Goldman bought specialist firm Spear Leads & Kellogg for $6.5 billion in 2000. It’s now worth a mere $30 million.
The Wall Street firm has already lined up a buyer for the unit, according to reports. Neither NYSE nor Goldman would comment.
The news comes, ironically, when the technological advances that put specialists out of business are coming under fire in a new book by Michael Lewis called “Flash Boys.”
Electronic trading has largely done away with the role once played by market makers, with individuals buying and selling shares of publicly traded companies.
Even though the electronic exchanges are cheap and fast, the high-frequency trading that they cater to has created new problems.
Goldman has its hand in those exchanges, too. It is an investor in BATS Global Markets, whose clients, critics allege, can trade ahead of other investors.