Haim Bodek

Haim Bodek established himself as a prominent figure in electronic trading, serving as joint global head of electronic volatility trading at UBS by 2006. Prior to this, he honed his expertise at Hull Trading Company, a firm renowned for its innovative electronic algorithmic trading strategies. In 2007, Bodek further solidified his entrepreneurial footprint, co-founding Trading Machines, LLC, an independent high-frequency options trading firm that quickly became a key player in the market. In 2011, Bodek took a definitive stand against market abuses, uncovering a significant algorithmic anomaly within high-frequency trading exchanges.

His meticulous investigation revealed undocumented order types that granted certain algorithmic trading companies an unfair competitive edge. He promptly reported these critical findings to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), initiating a multi-year federal investigation. This pivotal complaint culminated in 2015 with the BATS exchange group being penalized a record $14 million, marking a landmark enforcement action and validating Bodek’s persistent advocacy for market integrity.

Presently, Haim Bodek continues to drive market reform as the managing principal of Decimus Capital Markets, LLC, a specialized consulting and advisory firm. He provides crucial guidance to clients on navigating and avoiding order type abuses, while actively spearheading new market reform initiatives designed to foster fairer trading environments. His efforts have significantly elevated regulatory expertise in electronic trading to levels comparable with, or even surpassing, that of leading bank trading desks. Bodek is also engaged in cutting-edge trading system development, piloting an innovative system based on Erlang with a proprietary trading firm in Chicago’s options space, and strategically assembling whistleblower teams to proactively address emerging market structure abuses.