The total size of the HFT pie is indeed minuscule, considering the amount of hype it gets.<p>Past the high infrastructural barrier to entry, and assuming they can stay ahead of the competition, the consistency of returns does seem lucrative, but the actual magnitudes of the opportunities are hard-limited by the nature of the time scales. You can&#x27;t move any significant amount of capital in milliseconds and expect to profit. Compared to the average hedge fund, they are playing with pennies.