> Kickbacks to brokers that are sending out retail flow allow those brokers to reduce commissions on trading. These reductions have gone all the way to zero in

> Kickbacks to brokers that are sending out retail flow allow those brokers to reduce commissions on trading. These reductions have gone all the way to zero in a lot of places. I think you are wrong here. Most consumer orders are active meaning typically the broker would pay the maker fee instead of collecting a kick back. I mean, inverted exchanges are a thing but do very little volume. Now pay for order flwo from wholesalers like Citadel is a big win for brokerages and does help to reduce trading fees.