Brokers and Order Flow Leakage: Evidence from Fire Sales

Andrea Barbon, Marco Di Maggio, Francesco Franzoni and Augustin Landier

No 24089, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Using trade-level data, we study whether brokers play a role in spreading order flow information. We focus on large portfolio liquidations, which result in temporary drops in stock prices, and identify the brokers that intermediate these trades. We show that these brokers’ best clients tend to predate on the liquidating funds: at the beginning of the fire sale, they sell their holdings in the liquidated stocks, to then cover their positions once asset prices start recovering. The predatory trades generate at least 50 basis points over ten days and cause the liquidation costs for the distressed fund to almost double. These results suggest a role of brokers in fostering predatory behavior and raise a red flag for regulators. Moreover, our findings highlight the trade-off between slow execution and potential information leakage in the decision of optimal trading speed.

JEL-codes: G12 G14 G23 G33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-mst
Note: AP
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published as ANDREA BARBON & MARCO DI MAGGIO & FRANCESCO FRANZONI & AUGUSTIN LANDIER, 2019. "Brokers and Order Flow Leakage: Evidence from Fire Sales," The Journal of Finance, vol 74(6), pages 2707-2749.

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Related works:
Journal Article: Brokers and Order Flow Leakage: Evidence from Fire Sales (2019)
Working Paper: Brokers and Order Flow Leakage: Evidence from Fire Sales (2018)
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