Sure there were high-touch traders, they were still employed up to and around 2017-2018. Since the early 201x's bonuses have been pared to fractions of what they were and each month, every bulge bracket bank lets some formerly well-paid traders go. Fixed income notwithstanding, it's been a tough road for those guys since 2007, have you been to the floor of a major exchange lately? It's lonely. Gone are all those seven-figure a year specialists. No, low-latency and HFT are the dominant paradigm, they are business today. Want more change? Downtown Manhattan used to be all financial. Every block had dozens of Wall St. firms, trading houses, research organizations, etc. Today, it's residential. It's lots of city, state and Federal Government offices. The legions of well-dressed yuppies rushing to get to the trading floor by 7:30 AM... they're gone. Perhaps your experience is different, but this is the reality.