Written by David Campbell
Financial markets are never static. Over the past two decades, trading has shifted dramatically: high-frequency, algorithmic and dark-pool trading now dominate much of equity volume. As a result, small- and mid-cap issuers — which once relied on traditional, manual market-making and broker-driven liquidity — often find themselves vulnerable to “toxic” order flow that can distort pricing, widen spreads, and undermine investor interest.