An interesting piece from Bloomberg:
“Patent application
no. 14/451,356 has one goal: to outrun the speed demons of Wall Street.
The 16-page document
was quietly published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in February.
Replete with schematic drawings, the filing describes a novel way for
“executing synchronized trades in multiple exchanges.” The invention consists
of not only sophisticated algorithms and a host of computer servers, but atomic
clocks -- precisely calibrated to vibrations of irradiated cesium atoms -- to
sync orders to within a few billionths of a second.
And if it works as
advertised, one of the most illustrious names in the hedge-fund business could
gain exclusive U.S. rights to a weapon capable of thwarting even the most
predatory of high-speed traders.
The application
belongs to Renaissance Technologies, the ultra-secretive and highly profitable
$32 billion firm founded by mathematician and former code breaker Jim Simons.
And the lengths it’s been willing to go to build and patent its own
computer-driven technology -- at a potential cost of tens of millions of
dollars -- underscores just how big a threat high-frequency traders have become
to the industry’s largest and savviest players.”
Profile of Jim Simons – Mathematician Turned Billionaire
Hedge Fund Manager