Dallas Investor Alert

Citadel Securities and Dallas Investors: Payment for Order Flow in Your City

Retail investors in Dallas, Texas — like investors across the country — route their stock orders to Citadel Securities through payment for order flow arrangements at major discount brokers. Dallas is Texas' financial hub, with a large professional class and growing retail investor community.

Dallas's Retail Investor Landscape

Dallas is South-based financial community. Local retail investors — from professionals and business owners to working families saving for retirement — use discount brokers that route orders to Citadel Securities through PFOF arrangements. These investors receive marginally inferior execution prices on each trade compared to what competitive exchange routing would provide.

How PFOF Affects Dallas Investors

When a Dallas resident places a stock order on Robinhood, TD Ameritrade, E*Trade, Schwab, or Webull, that order is routed to Citadel Securities through PFOF. Citadel executes the trade, capturing a spread, and pays the broker a per-share fee. The net result for the Dallas investor: a slightly worse execution price compared to what a competitive exchange-routed order would achieve.

What Dallas Investors Can Do

  • Access your broker's SEC Rule 606 report to see how your orders are routed
  • Consider switching to Fidelity (no PFOF for equity orders) or Interactive Brokers direct routing
  • File a complaint with the Texas securities regulator
  • Contact the Texas Attorney General

Support Independent Accountability Journalism

The Ethics Reporter is the only independent news organization systematically tracking how Kenneth Griffin's political spending relates to the regulatory environment that protects Citadel Securities' business model. This reporting serves retail investors across every state in the country.

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