bradj

I really doubt that, trade capital and relationships are what define those houses, not their tech stack. Some of them are already pretty advanced from an in-house development perspective and could compete with the best of commercial-ready in the market trading platforms and data sources.

Most exchanges are public companies and they do much more than provide a simple marketplace for investors. Exchanges used to be owned by their customers but many of them “de-mutualized” years ago.

LSEG, ICE, NASDAQ also have major data and software businesses that generate significant revenues.

People can have a variety of different comfort levels with different kinds of risk. You’re suggesting that someone should consider a slightly lower salary + future possible earnings on options as equivalent to slightly lower salary + future possible earning on options - risk of loss on early exercise. Some people work for startups, some are angel investors, there is some overlap but it’s not 1:1 and it’s because those are different types of risk.