The Persisting Human Element of the Electronic Trading Habit

Abstract

The move towards electronic trading was believed by some to narrow the scope of information available to traders, due to the difference between the old paper-based and new IT-enhanced work environment. It was expected that a trader’s job performance would transform from a physical, social, embodied experience, into an individualized, rational, and detached operation. In this chapter, we discuss how the human element to trading has remained central to job performance, by illustrating how particular trading companies have excelled under the new job environment. Drawing on a data collected on electronic trading firms between mid-2007 to late 2010, we focus on a smaller set to illustrate our findings. We find that trading has remained a human endeavor; traders group together for learning and coordination benefits. Furthermore, firms now tap into a global talent pool, and have incorporated monitoring benefits made possible by electronic monitoring of positions for better risk management.