Reportedly, with the addition of Poland, the US-based independent operator of dark pools of liquidity will trade in 31 equity markets across five continents, plus London and Luxembourg-listed global depository receipts. Along with Poland and Slovenia, which was launched in late 2009, Liquidnet also offers trading in Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia and 18 other European markets.
John Barker, head of international at Liquidnet, said: “Poland is central Europe’s biggest and most liquid market, with high levels of domestic investment and relatively low volatility. As the EU’s sixth largest economy and the only one to avoid a recession, the Polish equity market, backed by improved earnings, a strong zloty, and solid macroeconomics, is highly attractive to international investors.”
Dark pools of liquidity are crossing networks that provide liquidity that is not displayed on order books. This is useful for traders who wish to move large numbers of shares without revealing themselves to the open market.
Liquidnet is said to be a major dark pool in Europe aimed at buy-side market participants like asset managers and hedge funds. Reportedly, Liquidnet’s average trade size is EUR1.13m, 115 times the size of the average trade on the London Stock Exchange.
