High-speed traders hit a speed bump

Slow down markets, you move too fast. The nation’s newest stock exchange has arrived, one that is looking to slow down high-frequency traders by putting speed bumps in their way.

The IEX Group won approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday to become a national stock exchange, following months of arguments with hedge funds and high-speed traders.

One of IEX’s hallmarks is imposing a delay of 350 millionths of a second on orders. That speed bump is meant to limit the influence of highspeed traders, which critics say reap unfair profits at the expense of longer-term investors, including pension funds and mutual funds.

“We are grateful and humbled by the support we’ve received from the investor community,” IEX CEO Brad Katsuyama said. “Without it, we may have faced a different result.”

IEX and Katsuyama were featured in “Flash Boys,” a bestselling book by Michael Lewis that heightened critical attention on traders that make transactions in billionths of a second. Critics say these traders can ultimately force slower investors to pay a higher price for stocks.