I've seen this argument advanced several times now, but it doesn't make sense to me. Looking at the investors of IEX -- David Einhorn, Dan Loeb, Bill Ackman, Capital Group -- these are some very, very smart people. They're not idiots that were sold a bill of goods by a lying, bumbling team of Lewis and Katsuyama. And while they may have a vested interest via their investments in IEX, it's dwarfed by their interest in reducing slippage on their own trades. IOW, it doesn't seem like they are talking their book. It seems like they are really seeking a fairer market. (Obviously, what's "more fair" to one party may be "less fair" to another)
I was simply pointing out that fairness is a matter of perspective, and in a sense, arbitrary. If I were an HFT I would no doubt think that IEX would be unfair to me.
I will claim that the proposed solution (IEX) creates a fairer market for the vast majority of market participants.
