Morgan Stanley to exit US equity options market-making unit – Bloomberg
Investing.com-- Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) is closing its automated market-making unit for U.S. equity options, marking a retreat from a growing corner of the derivatives market popular with retail traders, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg said the move reflects challenges faced by traditional banks competing with proprietary firms like Citadel Securities and IMC Trading, which dominate the space with advanced technology and fewer regulatory hurdles.
Morgan Stanley was the last major bank paying retail brokers for options order flow, a practice now led by high-frequency firms. In Q1, it accounted for 6.4% of such payments, as per the Bloomberg report.
Some employees may be reassigned internally, the report added.
