Quote from danjos:
DOT vs ECNs
i only trade nyse listed and always use dot or/and direct +. so far never attempted to send order to ecns due to unfamiliarity and my satisfaction with dot (although they sometimes specialist screw your fills). Can somebody help to explain what's the benefits of using ecns vs dots to trade nyse listed stocks?
Comment on comparison of speed , execution prices when sending orders to DOT vs ECNs will be interesting from those who already do this.
Thanks
Speed vs. price is the basic discussion these days. ECN's simply reflect a smaller but more diverse group of bids and offers from other traders. You can trade small size well on most ECN's.
Be careful of the pricing....you can buy or sell a dollar away from the real price...in fact many people have programs to show bids and offers with the same decimals, but different big dollar amount to catch others ....this is extremely deceptive, and yet happens all day long. You're selling a stock at 37.23, and you see a 38.15 offer and, because you want to be quick to snag it, you click too quickly and pay up a whole dollar...and (trust me) this happens.
For the most part, our traders "rely" on the DOT (NYSE Open Book helps a lot), but "snag" an ECN every so often for a quick fill.
It's best to understand the whole game, and do what is best at that particular moment...don't be afraid of using both.
Don