Lit primary continuous venues recorded the lowest market share value to date, at around 29% in September, according to Liquidnet.

In addition, total lit volumes for Q3 reached record lows, amounting to 45.5% of overall volumes in September, compared to 57% in 2020. Direct year-on-year comparisons for Q3 represented 47.5% in 2024 versus around 50% in 2023.

Liquidnet attributed the continued decline to record high investments in passive ETFs and trading in the closing auction.

The closing auction was noted for its major role in lit markets, with over 38% of total lit volumes occurring through the mechanism.

Market share at the close has continued to grow, according to Liquidnet’s report, averaging 25% of total liquidity in Q3. This was down slightly from Q2 where volumes reached around 26%, but still up year-on-year for the same window.

The average over the year-to-date period has also increased from 22.5% last year to 25% this year.

“It is a common maxim that liquidity begets liquidity, and it seems likely that other investors are also choosing to move more flow to the end of the day,” said Liquidnet in its report.

“Popular algorithms that base their volume curves on historical data compound this volume shift by allocating an increasing portion of their volume to the close. This helps reduce their slippage against the VWAP benchmark.”

Dark volumes also showed increased activity this year – following a plateau for a few years – reaching almost 11% of total trading volumes in Q3. Within this bracket, volumes peaked at 11% in July.

Q3 2024 trading volumes of just under 11% were up from just under 10% in Q2 2024 and around 9% in Q3 last year.

“Dark market activity, after years of maintaining its 8 to 10% market share, has started to increase,” added Liquidnet. “This is in line with the renewed interest in block liquidity, where above-LIS fills have witnessed annual growth.”

In recent weeks, the push towards dark trading has seen increased interest from market participants.

Read more: Deutsche Börse’s Maximilian Trossbach on their new dark pool

SIX’s BME launched a new dark pool this week in a bid to provide an additional source of liquidity for Spanish securities. Elsewhere, Deutsche Börse’s new dark trading offering also launched on Monday.

The post Continued decline in lit volumes sees closing auctions and dark pools become more prevalent appeared first on The TRADE.

Jesper Bremholm joined Katamaran Capital as an execution trader following a year and a half as equity trader at Kuvari Partners. Bremholm began his new role on 2 December, with the move following Kuvari’s decision to give back external capital in September and become a family office, The TRADE understands. Bremholm has previously served at firms including: BLS Capital Fondsmæglerselskab, Nykredit, and Nordea.

Paul Atkins was appointed chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), following Gary Gensler’s departure – set for 20 January 2025. Atkins was initially appointed by President George W. Bush as a commissioner of the SEC in July 29 2002, where he served until August 2008. set for 20 January 2025.

Liquidnet made three new hires into its European Execution & Quantitative Services (EQS) team as it seeks to grow its execution offering across the region. Among the new hires is Prashanth Manoharan who has been named head of execution consulting, EMEA. He was most recently director of cash equities analytics at BNP Paribas.

Oliver Ekers also joined the team, as an execution trader, having most recently served in the same role – focused on Europe – at Instinet. At Liquidnet he will cover sales trading across both high-touch and algo trading. The third new hire is Henry Baugniet, who joins as an execution analyst, leveraging his wealth of experience as a data scientist. Previously, Baugniet built a real-time trading strategy for the Betfair exchange.

Societe Generale made three new appointments to its Global Markets Activities team in a bid to enhance its fixed income and equities offerings. Francisco Oliveira was appointed co-head of global markets activities and head of fixed income and currencies. He joined from BNP Paribas and his move is effective as of 6 January 2025.

Meanwhile, New York-based Sylvain Cartier was appointed head of global markets for the Americas, effective from 1 January 2025. Elsewhere, Mohamed Braham was appointed deputy head of fixed income and currencies. He will begin his role on 6 January 2025 and be based in Paris.

The post People Moves Monday: Alana Capital, Katamaran Capital, SEC and more… appeared first on The TRADE.

EQS advises Liquidnet’s buy-side members on topics including trade analytics, algorithmic strategies, and quantitative products and services. 

Among the new hires is Prashanth Manoharan who has been named head of execution consulting, EMEA, set to focus on enhancing the firm’s core algorithmic trading offering, as well as assessing market microstructure and enhancing execution quality alongside Liquidnet’s members. 

In addition, Manoharan will contribute to Liquidnet’s multi-asset analytic and execution consulting capabilities expansion.

He was most recently director of cash equities analytics at BNP Paribas and his appointment at Liquidnet forms part of a longer-term strategy for the firm to strengthen its algo trading offering, The TRADE understands.

Speaking to his new role, Manoharan said: “The opportunity to further enhance our algorithmic trading capabilities and collaborate with our members to optimise executive outcomes is a key focus.” 

“As markets become more complex, it’s crucial that we continue pushing the boundaries to deliver innovative solutions that meet our clients’ needs. Liquidnet holds a unique position in championing the buy-side.” 

Read more: Liquidnet to launch multi-asset trading desk

Oliver Ekers has also joined the team, as an execution trader, having most recently served in the same role – focused on Europe – at Instinet. At Liquidnet he will cover sales trading across both high-touch and algo trading.

The third new hire is Henry Baugniet. He joins as an execution analyst, leveraging his wealth of experience as a data scientist. Previously, Baugniet built a real-time trading strategy for the Betfair exchange. 

Gareth Exton, head of execution and quantitative services, EMEA at Liquidnet, said: “As our members navigate a fragmented and complex liquidity landscape, they need a comprehensive service model from their agency partner to guide them […] Prashanth, Oliver, and Henry bring valuable expertise that will help us further enhance our service model, and I’m thrilled to welcome the to our growing team.”

The post Ex-BNP Paribas and Instinet to join Liquidnet’s buy-side facing EMEA team appeared first on The TRADE.

big xyt named Philip Lemmon head of TCA sales EMEA as it seeks to enhance its growth initiatives across the region. His move follows two and a half years as head of EMEA sales at ISS LiquidMetrix. Lemmon has experience working with exchanges, the sell- and buy-side, and has previously served at SteelEye, Abel Noser, Pipeline Financial Group and E*TRADE.  

Liquidnet appointed Ayesha Rasheed Boulware as senior trade coverage consultant, based in San Francisco. Boulware will provide primary account coverage for Liquidnet members, with a focus on strengthening relationships and meeting the trading needs of clients across the West Coast. She brings 25 years of industry experience to the role, having held positions at Portware, Tradebook, and Flextrade. Boulware also previously managed the West Coast region for ITG’s electronic products prior to its acquisition by Virtu.

The post People Moves Monday: SEC, big xyt, and Liquidnet appeared first on The TRADE.

Named SmartDark, the equities algorithm is designed to enhance institutional execution by prioritising order routing to venues with larger executions and better price stability.

“Today’s markets remain volatile and complex for buy-side traders to navigate,” said Alan Polo, head of sales and trading, Americas, at Liquidnet.  

“Although many algorithms in the market boast exceptional performance, the reality is that an algorithm’s effectiveness depends entirely on the quality of the liquidity it can reach. SmartDark is a great illustration of our ability to develop innovative solutions for the buy-side that help traders access liquidity.”

SmartDark is available in the US and incorporates a variety of yield and quality metrics to maximise liquidity exposure for traders.

The algorithm sits within Liquidnet’s Dark sphere which has an average block execution size of 28,000 shares for all trades crossed and an overall block participation rate of 44%, according to Liquidnet.

“As one of the few unconflicted, agency-only brokers with expertise in lit, dark, and block markets, we are in a unique position to craft execution strategies that effectively navigate complex markets and secure the liquidity buy-side traders need,” said Liquidnet’s head of global algo products, Scott Kartinen.

“We’re excited to see SmartDark aid our members in executing their orders more efficiently.”

The post Liquidnet launches new equities liquidity seeking algorithm appeared first on The TRADE.

Oliveira originally joined BNP Baribas as part of its corporate and institutional banking division in 2017 as deputy head of Hispanic, LATAM CIB. Since joining he has served in a number of roles across FX, commodities, local markets and global credit, rising through the ranks to his most recent role as global co-head of global macro and global credit in 2022. Prior to joining BNP Paribas, he served for almost a decade at Credit Suisse as its co-head of Brazil FID.

Luke Holmes, head of equity sales trading, US clients at Kepler Cheuvreux left the firm after five years, as revealed by The TRADE. Holmes joined Kepler in 2019 having previously served in equity sales trading roles at Sanford C. Bernstein and Goldman Sachs. His next role is unconfirmed.

Cameron Beale, head of sales trading, UK clients at Kepler Cheuvreux has also left the firm for pastures new. Prior to joining Kepler in 2019, Beale spent more than 25 years at JP Morgan, serving as equities sales trader and executive director.  

Janus Henderson Investors appointed Francesca Alesi as a junior equity trader, based in London. Alesi joined the asset manager from GSA Capital, where she spent the last two years. Most recently, Alesi served as an execution trader – a position she held for just over a year. Prior to that, she served as an analyst at the firm.

Liquidnet appointed Amanda Lee Volk as trade coverage/execution consultant for its New York desk. As part of the role, Volk will focus on providing primary account coverage for Liquidnet ATS members, which includes institutional, hedge, quant, multi-strategy and index funds. Volk brings 18 years’ experience to the role from Nomura, with particular expertise in the ATS block and algo trading space.

The post People Moves Monday: BNP Paribas, Kepler Cheuvreux, Janus Henderson and more… appeared first on The TRADE.

As part of the role, Volk will focus on providing primary account coverage for Liquidnet ATS members, which includes institutional, hedge, quant, multi-strategy and index funds.

Volk brings 18 years’ experience to the role from Nomura, with particular expertise in the ATS block and algo trading space.

“Her extensive knowledge and proven track record will enhance Liquidnet’s service offerings, supporting the firm’s commitment to delivering best-in-class service, products, and technology,” said Liquidnet in a statement.

In addition, Volk will provide daily coverage of Liquidnet’s algo offerings and block trading capabilities, supporting institutional asset managers with their trading and liquidity needs.

Her appointment follows that of Jeffrey Crane, who was named head of international for the Americas, as part of the firm’s continued investment in its cross-border business.

Crane joined from SageTrader where he most recently served as managing director and head of sales, overseeing new business growth for domestic and international trading.

The post Liquidnet names new trade coverage and execution consultant for New York desk appeared first on The TRADE.

Speaking to The TRADE, Chris Jackson, global head of equity strategy and head of equities, EMEA, explained: “There’s a number of different pieces that we’re drawing together. We operate in over 50 markets and block trading in equities is our main calling card so to speak. It is a business that we have evolved beyond just block trading, with a set of execution services, including algorithmic trading and high touch.

Balraj Briah

“Clients have been asking us increasingly to take those core values, and the Liquidnet approach, and apply that to helping them simplify the complexity of multi-asset trading so that’s what we’re doing, leveraging our unconflicted model and a technology-driven approach.”

Read more – Building an agile multi-asset business

Balraj Briah has been appointed head of multi-asset services, having most recently served as managing director at BTIG. He has also previously served in sales trading roles at Citi, Nomura, and BNY Mellon. 

“The trading landscape is evolving and so are our members’ needs, that’s why we’re really excited to have Balraj on board. He brings a breadth of experience across multiple asset classes,” Jackson tells The TRADE. 

Alongside Briah, David Cannon joined Liquidnet last month as head of multi-asset execution. He previously spent almost 17 years at Louis Capital Markets, most recently as head of equity trading.

“Dave has a huge amount of experience in the execution space that he has gained over many years on both the buy- and sell-side,” asserts Briah. 

The addition of Briah and Cannon builds on several other new recent hires, including the appointment of multi-asset traders for the desk, with plans also in place for a senior hire in the analytics space – a major focus as part of the multi-asset push, The TRADE understands. 

Briah explained: “Data analytics is becoming more unified and lends itself better to cross-asset trading. This move is really improving traders’ relationships with their portfolio managers, enhancing their ability to act as their ‘eyes and ears’ in the market and overall increasing their trading performance.” 

Across the market the shift towards multi-asset trading has been clear to see, in particular given the advancement of technological capabilities, an increased focus on risk management, and increasing market intricacies. 

Read more – The multi-asset multiverse: Anticipating the trading landscape of the future with Mark Govoni

Speaking to the timeliness of the move, Briah tells The TRADE that a key recent trend he has been observing is the acceleration towards multi asset trading amongst the buy-side.

“I worked for many years at a large asset manager and we had separate dealing desks for each asset class, with each trader then having a very-clearly defined role.[…] This specialism meant there was, in some cases, only one expert in a particular product and, over time, people have started to realise that it isn’t an optimal set-up.

“Traditionally, multi-asset trading desks were more common at hedge funds but larger asset managers are increasingly adopting this model. Where before they didn’t necessarily have the resources to dedicate to different dealers, different desks, over time that has changed, especially as asset classes become more electronic.”

Read more – Fireside Friday with… Liquidnet’s Gareth Exton

Liquidnet’s position as an agency broker is a key factor in how the business conducts itself across asset classes, said Jackson. The business is never competing or has a competing interest with its own trading book and as such has historically placed a high importance on the use of technology to help clients improve trading performance.

As Liquidnet builds out its multi-asset capabilities, the business demonstrably already has an established approach lined up and various pieces of the puzzle in place across the organisation, as well as opportunities for collaboration with the broader group. 

Speaking to what’s front of mind at this stage, Cannon said: “Within multi-asset trading, a key consideration is that each asset class possesses its own unique trading difficulties. We need to bear in mind that there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to trading different asset classes. 

“It’s really important when we talk about technology and automation that we also look at the role of the trader. I think what makes technology very powerful is bringing it together with the trader’s knowledge and expertise to create Alpha for the desk. At Liquidnet, we’re really well positioned to do that and it’s a really exciting proposition that we hope to be able to offer to our members.” 

Briah adds that key considerations when it comes to hiring on the execution desk is first and foremost ensuring that everything is of highest quality in order to meet the demands of the complex multi-asset space. 

“When we do something at Liquidnet, we do it right and we do it in collaboration with our members. We live and die by the quality of our execution and providing the best price possible in the market.”

The post Liquidnet to launch multi-asset trading desk appeared first on The TRADE.

Ninety One trader Tom Nickalls is set to leave the asset manager after 11 years to join Morgan Stanley. According to an update on social media, Nickalls will join the sell-side next month in an emerging markets credit role. He joined Ninety One in 2013 as a client operations analyst, moving into a portfolio implementation role in 2015 and taking up his current role as fixed income trader in 2018. He was recognised as a Rising Star of Trading and Execution at Leaders in Trading in 2021.

Robert Whelan joined Citadel as equity trader following almost eight years at Pictet Asset Management. Whelan joined Pictet AM as an equity trader back in 2016. Prior to that, he worked at Morgan Stanley, initially joining as an electronic trading associate before going on to a role as equity sales trader. Whelan will act as an execution trader on behalf of the desk and his role is non-risk taking, The TRADE understands.

Lara Jacobs was appointed vice president – equities electronic trading coverage at JP Morgan following six years with Liquidnet. She most recently served as head of international client trading, EMEA. Prior to this, she worked as a market structure and strategy analyst before moving onto a role as equity trader. Before her stint with Liquidnet, London-based Jacobs worked on the debt restructuring team for fixed income at M&G Investments.

Outset Global appointed William Bradley managing director within its London office. Bradley brings considerable experience in the equity sales and trading space to the role, joining from Goldman Sachs where he served as vice president on the cross-asset sales desk in New York. Before joining Goldman Sachs, Bradley served as assistant vice president at Barclays on the equities liquid markets sales trading desk.

Bill Spencer was appointed head of client solutions at MarketAxess following five years at UBS Asset Management, most recently as executive director, multi asset centralised trading. The role is newly created, with Spencer set to hold responsibility for buy-side experience within MarketAxess’ trading system. Whilst at UBS, he worked as a senior trader on the US fixed income desk, as well as working on the daily trading of cash rates, credit, ETFs, and municipal bonds. He also lent his expertise to the trading of credit derivatives and listed futures and options. New-York based Spencer also previously held ETF-related positions at: REX Shares, Gelber Group LLC, and Chicago Trading Company.

Chris Robinson was appointed multi-asset trader at Liquidnet, joining from Louis Capital Markets where he worked for almost 13 years. He most recently served as a EMEA and US equity sales and execution trader. Prior to this he worked in equity derivatives for six and a half years, focused on Eurostoxx and sectoral indices. London-based Robinson has also previously served in a pension execution role at BDO UK LLP.

The post People Moves Monday: Millennium, Morgan Stanley, Citadel and more… appeared first on The TRADE.

He most recently served as a EMEA and US equity sales and execution trader. Prior to this he worked in equity derivatives for six and a half years, focused on Eurostoxx and sectoral indices.

London-based Robinson has also previously served in a pension execution role at BDO UK LLP.

He announced his new position in a social media post.

Read more – The multi-asset multiverse: Anticipating the trading landscape of the future with Mark Govoni

Earlier this week, Liquidnet’s head of international client trading, EMEA, Lara Jacobs announced she was leaving the firm after six years to take up a new position as vice president – equities electronic trading coverage at JP Morgan.

The post Louis Capital Markets trader joins Liquidnet appeared first on The TRADE.