High-Speed Trading article and thoughts

The Wolf Hunters of Wall Street

You should read the NY Times article about high-speed trading at the above link if you haven't yet. It is fascinating in and of itself.

It confirms my belief that I can make more money investing in or trading stocks with a long-term view (1 to 3 year time horizon) than I could as a short-term or day trader. Sitting here, with a 3-second satellite delay, the trades still seem instant in human time. Of course my trades are so small that they only affect stock prices on infrequently traded small caps, and then only for a second or two.

It is kind of funny, though. Big guys, whales, getting sucked dry by a team of Russian-American computer programmers. Sometimes it isn't so bad being plankton. If I get screwed by a penny or two a share, in the long run I make it back because most of these guys have no long term strategy.

I bought some more Mylan (Mylan) today. Was the price fair today? It doesn't matter much to me: in three years, in retrospect, it will (highly likely) look like a great price.