Australian regulators should consider banning high-frequency...

Australian regulators should consider banning high-frequency trading in the equities market, according to Industry Super Network, an organisation promoting the country’s $1.3 trillion pension funds industry, Bloomberg reports.

High-frequency trading, in which computer algorithms are used to buy and sell stocks in fractions of a second, can exacerbate slumps in the stock market and undermine investor confidence, the group on its website. ISN represents Australian pension funds that have about 5 million individual members, according to its website.

“There is a compelling need for a moratorium on HFT and careful consideration of market structure reform to promote fairness and efficiency,” Zachary May, head of regulatory policy at ISN, says in a submission to the regulator. “Unlike other jurisdictions where high-frequency trading is prevalent, Australia still has time to get ahead of this issue.”