The robot trader who just made a loss one day ever now valued at 15 … – Business Week

The robot trader who just made a loss one day ever now valued at 15 … – Business Week

After Singapore’s state-owned investment fund Temasek bought heavily in högfrekvenshandlaren valued now at over 15 billion.

The exchanges so-called high-frequency traders have been widely criticized in both the media and from the highest political direction. That does not stop the Singapore investment fund from buying into one of the largest trading giants. The company is valued at over 15 billion.

Temasek, Singapore’s state-owned investment fund, pay according to the Wall Street Journal $ 200 million, more than 1.5 billion for 10 percent of US Virtu. Sellers are venture capital firm Silver Lake.

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Virtu is not just any broker anywhere. It trades in over 200 markets around the world, including on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, and profitability is high and consistent. During the 1238 trading days up to and including the end of 2013, the company reported a loss just a single day. Net profit landed at $ 182 million and revenues of 665 million for the full year 2013.

Virtu sighted earlier this year in an IPO in which it intended to bring in 200-250 million. The plans, however, was on the ice since the criticism of high frequency trading has accelerated and, not least, the US authorities that the SEC discussed the need for greater regulation and supervision.

The company’s CEO, Doug Cifu, would not say whether a new trial should be done next year, but tells the WSJ that Temaseks investment is a “sign of confidence.”

The criticism of högfrekvenshandlarna flows often in these Gaining an unfair advantage over regular mutual funds, including by placing their computers in close proximity to exchanges and by being able to act on the information before it reaches the rest of the market.

From Temaseks page shown no concern about the criticism. The proportion of Virtu seen as an investment in a world where electronic commerce becomes increasingly dominant.

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“It bothered us is not that the IPO was stopped because of the controversy around high frequency trading. We are long term investors and short-term noise has no effect on us,” says a spokesman for Temasek.

Temasek owned by the state of Singapore, but acts independently of political influence. The Company’s investments amounted to the equivalent of nearly 1,300 billion.