HFT and algo's could send us Back to the fututre? Return of the block trading desks and brokers? As WSJ reports, in fact the big boys are conducting more upstairs trades, in which deals are executed among big institutions, bypassing the broader market, because the proliferation of algorithmic trading and other structural issues, including the fragmentation of the market, are hurting their ability to get the best prices and execute large trades quickly. While the concerns aren't all new, big investors say the cat-and-mouse games are growing more elaborate - and counterproductive - by the day.