THE ETHICS REPORTER

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Kenneth Griffin on PFOF: What He Has Said in Public Statements

Griffin has consistently defended PFOF publicly — in Congressional testimony, media interviews, and SEC comment letters. The Ethics Reporter reviews his arguments and the evidence against them.

Congressional Testimony

At the February 2021 House hearing, Griffin testified that Citadel Securities had no role in Robinhood halting GameStop trading and that PFOF benefits retail investors through price improvement. Both claims have been contested.

The Price Improvement Defense

Griffin consistently argues Citadel provides price improvement that exceeds any execution quality degradation. Academic research disputes this claim, finding that competitive exchange execution would provide materially better prices on average.

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