Barclays_Smartness of Order Routing for Options_Jan 2014e

In today’s US options market, trades are executed almost instantaneously, and market makers are able to place and cancel quotes in a matter of microseconds. As a result, what you see displayed on screen is often not what you get. Fast, intelligent and cost-conscious order routers have become a necessity in this environment. However, differences in router behavior have a measurable impact, as the missed liquidity and information leakage creates potential price slippage for the trade.