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I don't want to just come out and say you're wrong bluntly but...well this debate has happened on HN many times. I'm a little shocked you worked in the industry

I don't want to just come out and say you're wrong bluntly but...well this debate has happened on HN many times. I'm a little shocked you worked in the industry and can seriously assert all marketing does is consolidate the power of the top n%. More than just about any other service in finance (except maybe credit/lending and consumer banking), market making drives prices down for everyone. It's a prime vehicle for delivering efficiency. I can understand arguments that the work wasn't fulfilling, or you didn't enjoy your colleagues...but what you're saying seems to be incorrect, strictly speaking. Were you working in marketing making where most/all trades were OTC?

mverwijs 8y ago
Well - ok - I may have overstated in that: Yes, market making provides more liquidity. Yes, it makes it more efficient. Yes, for everyone, not just the marketmakers and exchanges. But no, this is not the reason marketmakers make markets. They do this in order to make more profit. The rest is a side effect that they happily spindoctor into their "raison d'etre". The company I worked for is known for being the primary source of rich people in the Netherlands. And they keep getting richer. Very much the so-called 1%. And a disclaimer: I'm an engineer. Not a trader.