Passive algos and patient traders

It’s widely understood by investors that the more patient you’re prepared to be, the cheaper on average you can trade. But in return you must run some market risk – the risk that the market might drift further if you take an hour to patiently work an order than if you push the same order through in ten minutes.

Execution specialists who aim to reduce costs across a large portfolio of algo orders – accepting market risk on individual orders – will often opt to trade patiently. And this is