CEO Brad Katsuyama of IEX at NYC Offices.Michael Falco/The Globe and Mail
The trading system made famous in the Michael Lewis book Flash Boys raised $75-million from a group of big-name investors, including an early backer of both Twitter and Tumblr, and plans to use the money to cement its status as a stock exchange.
The New York-based market, known as IEX, was co-founded by Canadian banker Brad Katsuyama with the goal of making financial markets more fair by combating high-frequency traders who use what some believe to be predatory tricks. IEX's creation became the central tale in Mr. Lewis's best-selling book, changing Mr. Katsuyama's life in the process.
IEX Group Inc.'s original investors were fund managers who were convinced by the IEX pitch that the markets were unfair. (Mr. Lewis called them "rigged," and has stuck with that assertion even under plenty of fire.)
Names already on the shareholder roster included David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital, Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital and Dan Loeb's Third Point Partners.
This third round of funding broadens the list. In addition to Spark, there are entrepreneurs such as Jim Clark of Netscape and Steve Wynn of casino fame, venture capital firms such as Bain Capital Ventures, and mutual fund giant Franklin Resources.
Spark brings technology expertise, and a lot of it. The firm is an early investor in Twitter, Tumblr and OculusVR among others. As a lead investor, Spark will get a seat on the board of IEX, which will be filled by general partner Alex Finkelstein.
"The best way to truly improve the way that the financial markets work is by giving investors and brokers an opportunity to vote with their trades for a fairer marketplace," Mr. Finkelstein said in a press release. "We believe in IEX's vision of next-generation capital markets, and we're confident that the IEX team will successfully change the way that Wall Street operates for the better."
IEX is designed to combat what its founders say are predatory strategies employed by high-frequency traders. It's gaining popularity with investors, who are routing more and more transactions to the IEX. The market is now trading 100 million shares a day. That's still small by the huge standards of all U.S. equity trading, but the volume is growing fast. Daily trading has tripled since the beginning of the year.
The next step is to register as a stock exchange, which brings with it a heavier level of regulatory scrutiny and responsibility than simply operating as a trading system. It also brings a lot of legal bills and other costs that will require a large portion of the money raised in this latest financing.
"We are encouraged by our recent growth, which has been driven by both investors and their brokers," Mr. Katsuyama said in the release. "This additional capital enables us to build and operate a world-class stock exchange."