Speaking to The TRADE about Blackburn’s appointment, Mark Govoni, chief executive of Liquidnet, said: “Trading desks within asset management are increasingly consolidating and evolving into multi-asset models. We’ve been on this journey alongside our clients, steadily expanding into new asset classes and geographies to meet their changing needs.

“We’re pleased to welcome Chris as our global head of multi-asset to help shape and execute our global strategy as we continue to build an institutional  multi-asset offering.”

During his tenure at UBS, Blackburn served as chief operating officer for the sell-side global cash equities business, and most recent headed up the UBS Execution Hub. 

In the role, he oversaw the development of the Hub, focused on opening up outsourced trading as an option for larger firms as well as holding responsibility for the innovation strategy of the offering.

Speaking to The TRADE previously, Blackburn explained: “Existing trading desks of larger asset managers are increasingly using [the Hub] to add particular capabilities or capacity where they determine that it does not make sense for them to build in-house.” 

Blackburn has also previously served at Morgan Stanley, Jefferies, Lehman Brothers, and Goldman Sachs.

Read more – Outsourced trading: Easy to do, difficult to get right

Since his departure from UBS, the firm dramatically exited the outsourced trading sphere in March, as revealed by The TRADE at the time. 

The decision sent shockwaves through the market, bringing questions around the outsourced trading industry’s current state of play to the fore, highlighting the potentially changing role of big banks in the sphere.

The move came just weeks after the appointment of Ian Power as new head of the business. Power then left the business following its decision to exit the space.  

Read more: UBS makes shock exit from outsourced trading game

UBS gave its clients a three-month notice period ahead of the unit closure, as revealed by The TRADE.

The Swiss bank’s Execution Hub is not being closed and will continue to focus on the firm’s global wealth management and bank clients.
 
“We continue to focus on growth and remain dedicated to our clients as we service them through our broad and leading global markets offerings,” said a UBS spokesperson when approached for comment by The TRADE. 

The post Blackburn joins Liquidnet to head up global multi-asset offering appeared first on The TRADE.

John Levene has joined Clear Street as head of institutional, overseeing the firm’s prime brokerage business, following more than 25 years at Goldman Sachs. The move will see Levene using his experience in building and managing prime brokerage platforms across the capital markets to bring leadership to his new role at Clear Street.  

During his time at Goldman Sachs, Levene was partner for 14 years, acting as a leader in the client service space and serving as head of global banking and markets client experience, co-head of prime services client experience and head of prime brokerage client franchise, Americas.  

“We welcome John to his new role, where his industry expertise and strategic mindset will be instrumental in advancing our mission to provide best-in-class technology and client service,” said chief executive of Clear Street, Edward Tilly.  

Columbia Threadneedle  

Columbia Threadneedle Investments has welcomed Francesca Mace Wilson to the EMEA equity trading desk. The move sees her leaving her role as senior investment control analyst at Capital Group, which she had held since October 2022.  

Prior to this, Mace Wilson held previous positions at Titan Institutional Services, working across wealth management, prime brokerage and sales.  

Head of EMEA equity trading at Columbia Threadneedle, Michael Johnson said: “Francesca joins us having spent five years at Capital Group and, in addition to trading equities, will help us enhance our position across the capital markets structure.”  

TD Securities  

TD Securities has named Greg Levett, Neil McKay and David Abraham as the new managing directors of its event driven sales and trading team, with all three new hires transferring from BTIG. Levett had previously served at BTIG since 2010 and began his career in event driven sales at Pali International.   

Abraham’s recent roles include positions at FBR Capital Markets, Merebis Capital Management, Titanium Capital, ZAN Partners, Goldman Sachs, NatWest Markets and Credit Lyonnais Securities.   

New addition McKay also covered equity sales and trading as managing director at BTIG and brings extensive knowledge of the event driven sector. Prior to his stint at BTIG he held roles at Barclays, Abberton Capital, United First Partners, Arrowgrass Capital Partners, Stark Investments, Citadel and CSFB.  

Citi  

Citi has named Christopher Chang as its new head of markets solutions for financial institutions for Asia South and Asia North. Chang joins from Goldman Sachs, where he served as head of FICC and equity distribution for Southeast Asia and been a board member of Goldman Sachs Singapore for more than 10 years.  

Prior to Goldman Sachs, he held various senior banking, solutions and sales roles at Deutsche Bank and Nomura. The move will see him reporting to head of markets sales for Japan, Asia North and Australia and Asia South, Cecile Gambardella, who said: “He [Chang] will work closely with our product partners and across banking, wealth and international to bridge the best of Citi’s capabilities and deliver value to both our clients and Citi.”  

Broadridge  

Broadridge Financial Solutions has expanded its product management team with Ian Williams and Anand Chintala stepping into senior roles within Broadridge Trading and Connectivity Solutions.  

In his new role, Williams will assume the role of vice president of product management based in Toronto, leaving his previous position as chief executive of Virtu Canada.   

Similarly, Chintala will become the division’s senior director in New York, and joins from Barclays, where he acted as director of portfolio trading. Williams brings more than 30 years of trading and product leadership positions to the role, and he previously worked at TriAct Canada Marketplace – now Cboe Global Markets, Perimeter Financial Corp and TD.  

Chintala also has extensive industry experience and held director and vice president titles at Lehman Brothers and ITG.  

“With over three decades of trading and product leadership positions in both Canada and the US, Williams will be instrumental in expanding our global footprint in Canada,” said the firm in an update on social media.  

Liquidnet  

Chris Jackson has been promoted as Liquidnet’s new global head of equities, continuing his 10-year tenure with the firm. The move sees London-based Jackson departing from his role as global head of equity strategy and head of equities for EMEA. 

Prior to joining Liquidnet, he held the position of head of EMEA execution sales at Citi from 2009 to 2015. He has also worked in director positions with a focus on portfolio sales, analytics, and sales trading at SBC Warburg and Merrill Lynch.  

Speaking on the announcement, Liquidnet said: “His [Jackson’s] leadership will be instrumental as we continue to scale up our equities business globally and develop, together with our members, innovative solutions that combine deep liquidity access with intelligent execution.”   

The post People Moves Monday: Clear Street, Columbia Threadneedle, TD Securities, and more… appeared first on The TRADE.

The move sees London-based Jackson departing from his role as global head of equity strategy and head of equities for EMEA, which he had held since August 2019. 

Speaking on the announcement, Liquidnet said: “His [Jackson’s] leadership will be instrumental as we continue to scale up our equities business globally and develop, together with our members, innovative solutions that combine deep liquidity access with intelligent execution.”  

He began working for Liquidnet in March 2015 where he assumed the role of head of EQS, EMEA, before moving into equities.  

Prior to joining Liquidnet, he held the position of head of EMEA execution sales at Citi from 2009 to 2015. 

He has also worked in director positions with a focus on portfolio sales, analytics, and sales trading at SBC Warburg and Merrill Lynch. 

Previously, he had a brief stint in 2012 as a member of the High Level Stakeholder Group advising HM Treasury and Government Office for Science on the future of computer-based trading alongside his role at Citi. 

Jackson confirmed his position in a social media announcement.  

The post Liquidnet’s Chris Jackson named new global head of equities appeared first on The TRADE.

He joins from Instinet where he had worked for 32 years, most recently as MD and co-head of sales and trading, Americas.

New-York based Turner joins the firm as it continues with its global expansion. Last December, Liquidnet made three new hires into its European Execution & Quantitative Services (EQS) team as it looked to enhance its execution offering, as revealed by The TRADE at the time. 

EQS advises Liquidnet’s buy-side members on topics including trade analytics, algorithmic strategies, and quantitative products and services.  

Oliver Ekers was one of these three hires, also joining from Instinet as an execution trader, covering sales trading across both high-touch and algo trading.

Read more: Mark Govoni on the future of trading 

More recently, Liquidnet also made two new appointments within its multi-asset services team, adding Patric Okumi and Samuel Lowres to lead multi-asset sales in February 2025.

Instinet declined to comment when approached by The TRADE.

The post Instinet’s Mark Turner joins Liquidnet appeared first on The TRADE.

Laetitia Visconti joined Aquis Exchange as head of market structure following almost 14 years at Barclays. Most recently, Visconti served as head of EMEA equities market structure and market connectivity, overseeing Barclays’ equities low latency market access to EMEA trading venues and liquidity providers. She was also responsible for leading the firm’s market structure and policy agenda – from advocacy to implementation. London-based Visconti has also previously worked at SunGard Global Execution Services as head of liquidity services. 

Sean O’Keeffe joined Novate Global Markets’ institutional sales team, having departed from his post as head of CEEMEA trading and sales at MUFG Securities EMEA in May 2023. During his tenure at MUFG, O’Keeffe was originally responsible for the sales team before the role was expanded to include trading in 2015. London-based O’Keeffe was also a founding member of the firm’s emerging market fixed income business. Elsewhere in his career, he has served in various sales-relating roles, including stints at Credit Agricole CIB and Standard Bank. 

Oliver Deutschmann joined Liquidnet as head of equity derivatives EMEA and head of listed derivatives Continental Europe, following 15 years with Credit Suisse. Deutschmann left Credit Suisse in December 2024, having most recently served as head of equity derivatives flow sales for Germany and Austria. Frankfurt-based Deutschmann previously served in various trading-related roles across the industry, including as head of ETD fixed income sales, Germany and Austria at UBS. Elsewhere in his career, he also worked as a sales trader at Commerzbank, and before that served in a derivatives sales trading role at Commerz Futures, based in Chicago. 

The post People Moves Monday: Optiver, Aquis Exchange, Novate Global Markets and more… appeared first on The TRADE.

Deutschmann left Credit Suisse in December 2024, having most recently served as head of equity derivatives flow sales for Germany and Austria. 

Speaking in a social media announcement at the time, he said: “What I will miss the most is what defined Credit Suisse: its people. A huge thanks to my managers for always supporting and trusting me with roles and opportunities.”

Read more: The TRADE unveils ‘Liquidnet Leads’ initiative 

Frankfurt-based Deutschmann previously served in various trading-related roles across the industry, including as head of ETD fixed income sales, Germany and Austria at UBS. 

Elsewhere in his career, he also worked as a sales trader at Commerzbank, and before that served in a derivatives sales trading role at Commerz Futures, based in Chicago.

Liquidnet declined to comment when approached by The TRADE.

The post Ex-Credit Suisse equities expert joins Liquidnet appeared first on The TRADE.

Haynes has nearly 50 years of experience across the industry, working in several high profile roles across the equity space, including as chief executive of Chi-X Europe and ITG International, and of course Aquis. The TRADE awarded Haynes with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018, recognising his significant and enduring impact on the industry. 

Anthony Santostefano joined Stern Brothers as senior vice president, institutional equity trading and sales, following seven and a half years with Cabrera Capital Markets. In his new role, Santostefano will be based in New York and focused on live markets during the European equity sessions. 

Whilst at Cabrera Capital Markets, Santostefano most recently served as director of EMEA equities sales trading. Elsewhere during his career, he has worked extensively in APAC-related sales, including as an equity sales trader at Topeka Capital Markets and head of institutional sales, US emerging growth at Sidoti & Company. Santostefano’s other roles include stints as APAC equity sales trading at Maybank Kim Eng Securities USA, desk manager, equity sales trading at Auerback Grayson, and as a trader at both Natixis and Scudder Investments. 

Liquidnet made two new appointments within its multi-asset services team, adding Patric Okumi and Samuel Lowres to lead multi-asset sales. Okumi joined Liquidnet’s multi-asset services team from TP ICAP Group, where he spent the last 11 years in broking and trading-related roles. He was also part of TP ICAP’s equity trading desk before building out the single stock equity and ETF RFQ offering on Fusion, the firm’s electronic platform. 

Meanwhile, Lowres was promoted to the role, having joined Liquidnet three years ago as part of the Liquidity Partnerships team. Lowres has a background in low-touch electronic trading and execution consulting, including the provision of data and transaction cost analysis. Liquidnet added that he brings considerable technical expertise to this role. 

The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) appointed Hiroki Tomiyasu as head of post-trade, Japan, and head of post-trade solutions, APAC. Tomiyasu joined LSEG from Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities, where he most recently served as managing director, head of final investment decision (FID) risk for Asia. Elsewhere during his tenure at Morgan Stanley, Tomiyasu served as COO/front risk, Japan FID, and counterparty risk management, APAC FID. Before joining Morgan Stanley, he held positions spanning risk, technology and sales at the Development Bank of Japan.  

The post People Moves Monday: Aquis Exchange, Stern Brothers, Liquidnet and more… appeared first on The TRADE.

Samuel Lowres, Patric Okumi

Okumi joins Liquidnet multi-asset services team from TP ICAP Group, where he spent the last 11 years in broking and trading-related roles.  

He was also part of TP ICAP’s equity trading desk before building out the single stock equity and ETF RFQ offering on Fusion, the firm’s electronic platform.

Meanwhile, Lowres has been promoted to the role, having joined Liquidnet three years ago as part of the Liquidity Partnerships team.

Lowres has a background in low-touch electronic trading and execution consulting, including the provision of data and transaction cost analysis. Liquidnet added that he brings considerable technical expertise to this role. 

Read more: The TRADE unveils ‘Liquidnet Leads’ initiative

“Drawing on their expertise from within TP ICAP Group and Liquidnet, [Okumi and Lowres] will focus on enhancing buy-side access to trading opportunities, leveraging where appropriate TP ICAP Group’s deep liquidity pools across select brands and a range of asset classes,” said Liquidnet. 

The offering allows members to anonymously interact with the specified liquidity, alongside providing access to custom trading tools and analytics.

The post Liquidnet bolsters multi-asset sales team with two new additions appeared first on The TRADE.

The specially designed microsite – available via www.thetradenews.com/liquidnet – has been built by the TRADE’s digital development team and will publish one in-depth article a month through 2025.

The innovative platform and content is set to provide the industry with a fresh perspective on key industry themes, delivering a unique platform for key thought leaders across a range of topics.

Speaking about the brand new offering and the decision to partner with The TRADE, Liquidnet enthuses: “We look forward to collaborating with The TRADE’s editorial team, sharing valuable perspectives along the way.

“With over 20 years of industry reporting expertise, we’re excited to partner with this publication to deliver insightful articles directly to buy-side trading desks and drive meaningful conversations.” 

Topics on the agenda include: the role of algo trading in listed derivatives, the electronification in new markets, lessons to be learnt from retail trading, an overview of futures and options in APAC, the rise of dark trading, and much more.

You can read the first instalment now, wherein Liquidnet chief executive, Mark Govoni, delves into how AI raises critical questions about the evolving role of brokers as its integration continues to transform and revolutionise trading desks. 

Stay tuned!

The post The TRADE unveils ‘Liquidnet Leads’ initiative appeared first on The TRADE.

Lit primary continuous venues recorded the lowest market share value to date, at around 29% in September, according to Liquidnet.

In addition, total lit volumes for Q3 reached record lows, amounting to 45.5% of overall volumes in September, compared to 57% in 2020. Direct year-on-year comparisons for Q3 represented 47.5% in 2024 versus around 50% in 2023.

Liquidnet attributed the continued decline to record high investments in passive ETFs and trading in the closing auction.

The closing auction was noted for its major role in lit markets, with over 38% of total lit volumes occurring through the mechanism.

Market share at the close has continued to grow, according to Liquidnet’s report, averaging 25% of total liquidity in Q3. This was down slightly from Q2 where volumes reached around 26%, but still up year-on-year for the same window.

The average over the year-to-date period has also increased from 22.5% last year to 25% this year.

“It is a common maxim that liquidity begets liquidity, and it seems likely that other investors are also choosing to move more flow to the end of the day,” said Liquidnet in its report.

“Popular algorithms that base their volume curves on historical data compound this volume shift by allocating an increasing portion of their volume to the close. This helps reduce their slippage against the VWAP benchmark.”

Dark volumes also showed increased activity this year – following a plateau for a few years – reaching almost 11% of total trading volumes in Q3. Within this bracket, volumes peaked at 11% in July.

Q3 2024 trading volumes of just under 11% were up from just under 10% in Q2 2024 and around 9% in Q3 last year.

“Dark market activity, after years of maintaining its 8 to 10% market share, has started to increase,” added Liquidnet. “This is in line with the renewed interest in block liquidity, where above-LIS fills have witnessed annual growth.”

In recent weeks, the push towards dark trading has seen increased interest from market participants.

Read more: Deutsche Börse’s Maximilian Trossbach on their new dark pool

SIX’s BME launched a new dark pool this week in a bid to provide an additional source of liquidity for Spanish securities. Elsewhere, Deutsche Börse’s new dark trading offering also launched on Monday.

The post Continued decline in lit volumes sees closing auctions and dark pools become more prevalent appeared first on The TRADE.