How Marking the Close Worked Against Retail Traders

On Wall Street, fortunes are often won and lost with the tiniest advantages. And for the past few years, one trading firm has stood out from the rest for both huge profits and careful secrecy — Jane Street Group.

But last year, one of Jane Street’s biggest and most lucrative trading strategies was unexpectedly revealed in a Manhattan courtroom. The news ricocheted around the world. It drew the attention of competitors and regulatory agencies, destabilized billions of dollars worth of trades, and called into question some of the most fundamental strategies in global finance. 

Some Planet Money episodes about finance:
- The rise and fall of Long Term Capital Management
- How George Soros forced the UK to devalue the pound

Further reading: 
- Jane Street Group, LLC v. Millennium Management LLC, Douglas Schadewald, and Daniel Spottiswood
- “Jane Street’s Indian Options Trade Was Too Good,” from Bloomberg
- SEBI's report: "Interim Order in the matter of Index manipulation by Jane Street Group"
- “Jane Street Defends India Trading Activity, Blasts Regulator,” from Bloomberg

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This episode was hosted by Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi and Mary Childs. It was produced by Eric Mennel, with production help from Sam Yellowhorse Kesler and Cooper Katz-McKim. It was edited by Jess Jiang. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Planet Money’s executive producer is Alex Goldmark.

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