Trading group seeks to win the 'microseconds' war
Jump Trading LLC, a major US financial player, erects antennas next to the world's biggest futures exchange
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IT WAS an odd transaction from the outset: US$14 million, double the going rate, for a 12.5 hectare plot of flat, undeveloped land just west of Chicago. In the nine months since, the curious use of the space has only added to the intrigue. A single, nondescript pole with two antennas was erected by a row of shrubs. Some supporting equipment was rolled in. That's it.
But those aren't ordinary antennas. And the buyer of the property isn't your typical land investor. It's an affiliate of a company called Jump Trading LLC, a legendary and secretive trading firm that's a major player in some of the most important financial markets. Just across the street, it turns out, lies the data centre for CME Group Inc, the world's biggest futures exchange. By placing its antennas so close to CME's servers, Jump may be trying to shave maybe a microsecond - one-millionth of a second - off its reaction time, potentially enough to separate a winning from a losing bid in trading that takes place at almost the speed of light.
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