In his recent research on the role of high frequency traders and short sellers, SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business Professor of Finance Ekkehart Boehmer highlighted that the analysis of terabits of trading data has provided evidence for the value of short sellers and high frequency traders to the market’s ecosystem. Through the lens of financial econometrics, he has discovered that they contribute to more transparent and accurate share prices in the stock market, something that policy makers and investors may ultimately benefit from. For the most part, his research suggests that short sellers do drive share prices towards their fundamental values. Prof Boehmer also pointed out that high frequency traders compete with each other, rather than just copy each other, and in the process improve liquidity. He recently described his findings in the paper, “Correlated High-Frequency Trading”.