Cormac:
"...Note: all direct access brokers will be able to SNET preference any ECN,..."
are you sure this is accurate (or has someone else addressed the issue), it is my understanding that with Real Tick III (via MBTrading and I suspect other Real Tick broker/dealers) a trader is unable to SNET preference ECN's, though able to SNET preference MM's.
I could be wrong, but I would be very surprised to hear that any direct access broker does not allow the option to SNET preference an ECN. The actual SNET preference feature is entirely identical for ECN's and MM's, both from the trader's perspective and the broker's. The only difference is how the order is handled by Nasdaq (i.e. how it's routed).
Certainly, no brokers has direct connections to all of the ECN's, and therefore need to go through SNET to access those ECN's for whom they do not have direct connections. Also, recognize that none of the ECN's are SOESable. Therefore, a SOES order will not work if the only quote on the inside bid/ask is an ECN. Finally, the ARCA order routing may treat ECN's differently than MM's, although I suspect they would get a higher priority in the routing table since they are always 'real'.
I'm sure an experienced MB Trading customer can better comment on some of these issues. Specifically, can you SNET preference the ECN's using MB Trading?
Thanks for the great post,
-Eric |
