Excerpts courtesy of June 26 NYT column by Nathaniel Popper

MarketsMuse Editor’s Note:  Though we generally spotlight the most relevant leading news media articles profiling the trading of ETFs and Options, on a selective basis, our editorial team also makes mention of compelling profiles of investment managers, traders and institutional brokers. A good example is our recent sharing of this video clip.

Today’s  NYT front page includes an equally compelling profile of Royal Bank of Canada’s trading desk. The ‘take-away’s taken from that article “Putting the Brakes on Trading” include the following:

“..Critics of modern markets say that recent innovations in trading have ended up creating conflicts of interests between banks with extensive trading operations and the customers who send them trades to execute. In some cases, the banks have an incentive to trade in exchanges that reward them with rebates, or in their own dark pool, rather than where they can get the best price for their customers…” Royal Bank of Canada says that its trading programs ignore the fees and rebates.

“Our philosophy is, and we sit around here all the time saying it: Doing the right thing is not always the most profitable thing,” said Robert Grubert, the head of trading at R.B.C. “As business people that’s not great, but it’s an investment in our client and the long term.” Continue reading →