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.
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Liquidnet is headquartered in New York City and has offices in Boston, San Francisco, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, and Toronto.
History
Liquidnet was founded in April 2001 by Seth Merrin as a wholesale electronic marketplace where institutional investors could trade large blocks of stocks.
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.
Merrin describes his company as “creating marketplaces that enable institutions to trade in size with the efficiency that they sorely need.” 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.
Liquidnet has an Equity Capital Markets and Issuer Services group which leverages its community of institutional investors to determine institutional demand for a stock.
In October 2011 Liquidnet launched a private shares market. As part of Liquidnet’s equity capital markets division, the Private Shares group works with institutional investors and companies looking to trade private shares.
Partnerships
SIX Swiss Exchange and Liquidnet launched a platform for non-displayed equity block trading in July 2011. The platform allows SIX Swiss Exchange members and Liquidnet’s buy side members to execute large block trades.
In January 2010, Liquidnet announced a strategic investment in OTR Global LLC, a primary research and brokerage firm.
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.
Key people
Founder and CEO, Seth Merrin
Chief Financial Officer, William Maw