Liquidnet has joined Plato Partnership as its inaugural strategic partner, and electronic liquidity specialist, through which the agency execution specialist will participate in three of Plato’s core initiatives.
Liquidnet will leverage its expertise in capital markets, working in Plato’s strategic initiatives group, its market innovator programme, and its Turquoise expert group, which aims to deliver market model enhancements to improve equity block trading and increased efficiencies in anonymous equity block trading.
Chris Jackson, global head of equity strategy and head of EMEA equities at Liquidnet, said: “At Liquidnet, we are big supporters of the work that Plato is doing to help the investment community navigate our evolving markets.
“We have always focused on applying technology to make financial markets more efficient and we’re looking forward to working with Turquoise, the buy and sell side members of the Plato group to bring solutions to the industry’s most difficult challenges.”
The strategic initiatives group will identify issues and opportunities to improve equity market structure. In cooperation with industry providers, the group develops a range of solutions to benefit all market participants.
The market innovator programme identifies key challenges facing the marketplace and sponsors independent academic research to help solve them. This includes identifying better ways of executing trades, lowering costs and improving the quality of processes required to support the execution lifecycle.
Mike Bellaro, CEO of Plato Partnership, said: “Plato is committed to innovation, and the admission of Liquidnet as a strategic partner is a major innovation for our partnership. As the first electronic liquidity specialist (ELS) to join, Chris and the team at Liquidnet hold a truly unique perspective on the marketplace and significant untapped potential.”
Christoph Hock, head of multi-asset trading at Union Investment and buy side chair of Plato Partnership, said: “By inviting Liquidnet to join the partnership, Plato takes a major stride towards fostering innovation and addressing pressing challenges within the equity landscape. The expertise and perspective that Liquidnet brings to the table will enrich our efforts to enhance market efficiency and drive transformative initiatives for the benefit of all market participants.”
Salvador Rodriguez, EMEA head of global execution services at Instinet and sell side chair of Plato Partnership, said: “The admission of Liquidnet is a major step forward and holds promise in addressing the critical challenges we currently face as a marketplace. I eagerly anticipate the practical solutions that will emerge from Liquidnet’s participation – they will no doubt prove instrumental in the next phase of Plato’s journey.”
©Markets Media Europe 2023
