Briefly ...
There are no "market makers".
Orders to buy cannot be "held back" ... buy and sell orders are matched by computer to ensure the best price for both buyer and seller. If you are first in line bidding to buy 5000 shares of ABC at $1.25 and I enter an order to sell 4000 shares "at market" I will get the $1.25 price from the computer, your order to buy cannot be held back to force my "market order" to be filled at a lower price.
When there are multiple bids or offers at the same price, it's "first come first served". So, for example, if you are selling 20,000 shares at $1.25 and I want to buy 400 shares at $1.25 (and I'm first in line) but there is second offer to buy 20,000 shares at $1.25, I will get filled for my 400 shares, the next order will get 19,600. My order cannot be "held back".
Brokerages must always fill all client orders first, if possible, before executing trades for their own accounts, so if I'm competing against a brokerage house to buy or sell shares, I will always get filled first.
Basically, it's a lot fairer system, without much opportunity for the "trading houses" to "manipulate" the market. |
