GSET said that BlockStrike will add opportunistic dark posting behavior to seek block executions while trading Participate, VWAP and TWAP algorithms, based on their trading objectives.
BlockStrike on Sonar and Sonar Dark will convert their dark posting to block-only dark posting. A standard block is defined as 10,000 shares or $200,000 in value, however, these values can also be customized.
The new strategy simultaneously places a contingent order with a block-sized minimum execution in SIGMA X, GSET’s non-displayed ATS that matches buyers and sellers anonymously.
According to the GSET, with an average of 125 million shares crossed in SIGMA X each day (single counted) and over 13% of those in blocks, BlockStrike enables clients to better source desired block liquidity when available.
Goldman Sachs Electronic Trading managing director and co-head Greg Tusar said that in the past, traders had to decide whether to commit their order to an algorithm or try to negotiate a block in a dark pool. With BlockStrike, the clients now have the ability to accomplish both simultaneously – and all they have to do is to check a box.
GSET managing director and co-head of Americas sales Todd Lopez said that BlockStrike will help clients access this liquidity without requiring a change to their workflow or risk over-execution.
