Technology has fundamentally changed the financial markets over the past two decades. By and large, these changes have been positive – lower trading costs for investors, a reduction in errors, greater transparency and an overall reduction in systemic risk.
But recent volatility has reignited a decade’s old conversation about what impact automated trading has on the market. As a result, talk of robots taking over Wall Street has accelerated – in boardrooms, on trading floors, on Twitter, and in Davos. However, while the impact of technology on Wall Street should not be understated, humans remain firmly in control.