Available exclusively to the 800+ leading institutional investors around the world that comprise the Liquidnet equity Membership1, Labs provides a sneak peek into Liquidnet’s innovations and product pipeline. It also serves as a centralized location for piloting, feedback, and testing of new features.

Liquidnet Labs previewed on November 14 at the firm’s annual Institutional Trading Summit in Nashville, Tennessee. Attendees were able to explore and interact with several new features in various stages of Liquidnet’s R&D process. Features showcased spanned mobile technology, enhanced trading functionality, commission management automation tools, and advanced data analysis. Starting today, the virtual hub will be available to Liquidnet Members around the globe directly through Liquidnet’s front-end equity trader application.

“Our most successful products and innovations have always been the ones that we’ve created hand-in-hand with our Members. The launch of Liquidnet Labs allows us to strengthen that collaboration and bring them in even earlier in the development process,” said Natasha Shamis, Head of Product at Liquidnet. “Our Members can now see the newest tools we are creating for them, provide input as the products are built, and sign up to be part of a pilot program all in one place.”

In addition to previewing and piloting new features, Liquidnet Members are also invited and encouraged to submit new ideas in Liquidnet Labs that they would like to see in production. “Liquidnet Labs provides an efficient feedback mechanism for us to hear from our users directly, and make adjustments quickly and efficiently,” continued Shamis.

Liquidnet introduced Virtual High Touch™ earlier this month to arm traders with new ways to capture alpha for their firms. Virtual High Touch represents a new category of buy-side technology that brings together advanced data analysis, adaptive learning algorithms, unique liquidity search tools, and real-time analytics into a new trading experience.

"In this new trading environment, the buy-side trader is going to need a new class of tools and technology to help fill the void created by the declining sell-side,” said Seth Merrin, Founder and CEO of Liquidnet. “Liquidnet Labs will be a critical component of how we source ideas for, vet and roll out Virtual High Touch features designed to help our Members deliver even more value and performance to their funds and their firms.”