Original Summary:

Brad Katsuyama came to work on Wall Street when he was twenty three. He worked for Royal Bank of Canada, trading energy stocks, then tech stocks. He soon became head of that desk, managing about twenty people. In 2006, RBC bought an electronic trading firm. That is when Katsuyama says “all of our troubles began”(Lewis). At first, Katsuyama thought that it was only and internal problem, but after speaking to some friends at other large banks and hedge funds, he found out that the problem was systematic. Everyone was experiencing it. He turned the blame to the newly acquired electronic trading firm. Katsuyama found out that some funds and banks have been using algorithms to trade the market at lightening speed, a practice known as high-frequency trading. Brad Katsuyama left RBC to create a new exchange, one that is not dominated by “quant” traders. The effects of high-frequency trading are highly noticeable, and have had a profound effect on the markets.

Revised Summary:

Royal Bank of Canada, the fifth largest bank in the United States, was a complete nobody on Wall Street. That was where Brad Katsuyama took his first job on the Street at the age of twenty three. In his early years at the bank, Katsuyama traded energy stocks, then tech stocks. He eventually went on to become head of that trading desk. RBC had bought an electronic trading firm in 2006, which is when “his troubles began”(Lewis). Initially, Katsuyama thought the problem was strictly internal. But, by June 2007, “the problem had grown too big to ignore”(Lewis). There was no way that this was an internal problem. He started calling friends from other banks and hedge funds and “he came to realize that they were dealing with the same problem”(Lewis). The newly acquired electronic trading firm soon found the blame. As it turns out, they, along with other banks, have been using algorithms to trade the market at lightening speed, a practice known as high-frequency trading. Katsuyama has had enough of it. He left RBC to create his own exchange, one that is not dominated by “quant” traders.

Lewis, Michael. “The Wolf Hunters of Wall Street.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 05 Apr. 2014. Web. 06 Nov. 2014.