Pan-European trading platform Turquoise has received approval from UK regulator the Financial Services Authority to launch TQ Channel, its non-displayed liquidity aggregation and routing service, in early July 2009.
TQ Channel will provide a single point of access to non-displayed liquidity from major trading firms in over 1,700 securities across 15 European markets.
According to Turquoise, the new service will route and distribute orders to connected liquidity providers to execute trades with minimal market impact and obtain improved execution prices. Clearing and settlement on TQ Channel will be handled by EuroCCP, Turquoise’s main central counterparty, and will be netted with all other trades on Turquoise.
“The Turquoise MTF has been building market share across Europe based on its quality as a best execution venue with compelling economics,” said Eli Lederman, CEO, Turquoise. “TQ Channel complements this by providing aggregated access to non-displayed liquidity, with anonymity and the security of a fully-cleared solution. Institutional investors will benefit from the efficiency of high cross rates for large and less liquid orders, while obtaining price improvement and minimising information leakage. The incentives for our liquidity providers will ensure a high-quality offering from inception.”
Turquoise is one of several trading platforms that have launched or are planning additional dark liquidity functionality. Nasdaq OMX launched its NEURO Dark non-displayed trading facility on May 11, which also plans to incorporate an onward routing function in the near future, while Chi-X Europe plans to launch its dark liquidity book, Chi-Delta, next Monday. Baikal, a dark pool initiative from the London Stock Exchange, plans to go live in June with an aggregation and routing service powered by trading software vendor Fidessa.