There's an easy way to game the stock market, and it's getting easier by the day bloom.bg/1NNmHPs http://t.co/GFtBhKH2fo—
Bloomberg Business (@business) July 08, 2015
The traders are simply buying stocks before they’re added to the indexes that, by definition, index funds must track.
As the popularity of index investing soars to new heights, the emergence of index front-running is raising fundamental questions about so-called passive investment strategies, as well as how indexes are compiled and the role the funds themselves play in elevating costs.
By one estimate, it gouges owners of funds tracking the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to the tune of $4.3 billion a year, a sum that can double or even triple the cost of such investments…
Take American Airlines Group Inc., which joined the S&P 500 after markets closed on March 20. Because the addition of the carrier was announced four days earlier, nimble traders had plenty of time to get in front of the less fleet-footed. American jumped 11 percent over the span.
The cost was ultimately borne by index funds, which sparked an $8 billion buying frenzy in the two minutes right before the close — an amount equal to more than two weeks of the stock’s typical volume…
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
Recent Comments