Modern Markets Initiative, an 11-year-old education and advocacy group focused on technology and efficiency in capital markets, has shut down operations, CEO Kirsten Wegner shared in a LinkedIn post earlier today.
“I feel much of MMI’s initial mission has been achieved with the public’s greater understanding of the benefits of high frequency trading,” Wegner said in an e-mail to Traders Magazine. “Automated trading has been widely adopted across financial services, with electronic liquidity provision entering the mainstream. It’s now beyond any reasonable doubt that investors have never had it better as far as narrowed bid-ask spreads and low and no-cost trading platforms.”
Wegner joined MMI in 2016. Recently she has advocated on industry issues such as the consolidated audit trail (CAT), U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rule making, and retail investors’ market experience.
“I’m proud of my work over the past eight years with MMI in educating the public on automated trading,” she told Traders. “We can celebrate a successful run over the past decade, and look back knowing we’ve left a positive impact.”
“I will continue to author studies, op-eds, and other content from my base here in Washington DC,” Wegner said. “With the elections coming up, I am keeping a close ear to the ground, and continue to foster a bipartisan approach, and think having a presence in Washington is more valuable than ever with so many issues in market structure, AI, and fintech on the agenda. It’s important for the industry to stay focused on issues at the intersection of Wall Street and Main Street.”
Wegner wrote on LinkedIn: “As I begin to explore what’s next, I plan to continue to pursue the projects I’m passionate about, including influencing policy on AI and financial technology, supporting my peers in our women in fintech community, and continuing to help people stay connected with policy makers and consensus-builders.”
