Liquidnet
Liquidnet is a global institutional trading network that connects asset managers with liquidity. Liquidnet trades in 41 equity markets for asset management firms who collectively manage US$12.5 trillion.[1]
Liquidnet is headquartered in New York City and has offices in Boston, San Francisco, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, and Toronto.[2]
History
Liquidnet was founded in April 2001 by Seth Merrin as a wholesale electronic marketplace where institutional investors could trade large blocks of stocks.[3]
Merrin estimated that the network needed at least 100 buy side firms live on Day One to create a critical mass. This number was revised to 75, but the company ultimately launched with only 38 institutions.[3]
Merrin describes his company as “creating marketplaces that enable institutions to trade in size with the efficiency that they sorely need.”[3] In the U.S., Liquidnet’s average execution size of 50,000 shares is 200 times the size of the 250-share average traded in all lit and dark venues. Liquidnet’s average execution in international equities is reportedly 100 times larger than the average.[3]
Liquidnet has an Equity Capital Markets and Issuer Services group which leverages its community of institutional investors to determine institutional demand for a stock.[4]
In October 2011 Liquidnet launched a private shares market.[5] As part of Liquidnet’s equity capital markets division, the Private Shares group works with institutional investors and companies looking to trade private shares.[6]
Partnerships
SIX Swiss Exchange and Liquidnet launched a platform for non-displayed equity block trading in July 2011.[7] The platform allows SIX Swiss Exchange members and Liquidnet’s buy side members to execute large block trades.[8]
In January 2010, Liquidnet announced a strategic investment in OTR Global LLC, a primary research and brokerage firm.[9]
Patents
In December 2011 the Patent and Trademark Office awarded Liquidnet two United States patents relating to its global trading network. Liquidnet currently holds five US patents.[10]
Corporate social engagement
Liquidnet’s signature project is in Rwanda, where the company built the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village for orphans of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.[11] Agahozo means "a place where tears are dried" and Shalom means "peace." [12] The Youth Village includes 32 group homes, a complete high school, science and computer laboratories, land for organic farming, a reforestation program and medical facilities.[13]
Key people
Founder and CEO, Seth Merrin
Chief Financial Officer, William Maw
External links
References
- ^ Liquidnet Continues to Dominate Block Trading Globally During Third Quarter | Reuters
- ^ Liquidnet opens fourth office in Singapore | TopNews Singapore
- ^ a b c d Seth Merrin: Imagining Wholesale Change - Advanced Trading
- ^ Liquidnet attracts corporate share buy backs - FT.com
- ^ Dark pool launches private share market - FT.com
- ^ Liquidnet Hires Lou Kerner, Enters Secondary Market for Private Shares - NYTimes.com
- ^ SIX exchange, Liquidnet report progress - FT.com
- ^ Liquidnet And SIX Swiss Exchange Launch Platform For Non-Displayed Block Trading - Wall Street & Technology
- ^ Liquidnet Announces Strategic Investment in OTR Global
- ^ Liquidnet awarded two trading patents
- ^ Liquidnet-Funded Youth Village Opens Doors to 125 Students in Rwanda – Press Releases on CSRwire.com
- ^ Liquidnet In Rwanda - Advanced Trading
- ^ The Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village