The Next Gen algorithmic suite includes Liquidnet’s flagship liquidity-seeking algo, Liquidnet Dark, which looks for liquidity in Liquidnet and other dark venues. New additions for Canada include Liquidnet Barracuda, designed to simultaneously seek a large block in Liquidnet while opportunistically searching for available liquidity across external venues, and Liquidnet Sweep-Then-Post, designed to quickly and aggressively take available liquidity in order to strike tactically at attractive price levels or get small orders done.

“An algorithm is only as good as the liquidity it can access. Our Next Gen Algos are the only ones that tap into Liquidnet’s unique pool of deep, natural liquidity, while also intelligently sourcing liquidity from both the lit and dark markets,” said Rob Laible, Global Head of Equity Strategy.

Already proven to be a success in the US and EMEA and recently launched in APAC, Liquidnet’s liquidity-seeking algos are the only ones that fully leverage Liquidnet’s network of more than 840 global institutions offering over $2.2B of average daily liquidity in Canadian names.

“Liquidnet is a leader in the institutional block space. Our Next Gen algorithms have become top performing block seeking algorithms in Europe and the United States and we believe they will be transformative for our Member base here in Canada,” said Peter Coffey, Head of Liquidnet Canada. “As one of the few unconflicted, agency-only brokers in Canada with expertise in lit, dark, and block markets, we are uniquely positioned to design execution strategies that can navigate complex markets to efficiently access the liquidity that institutions need.”

“We are focused on centralizing block liquidity in Canada and bringing Canadian liquidity to the world. In 2016, more than 50% of the volume traded in Canadian equities in Liquidnet was via non-Canadian domiciled firms,” Coffey continued.

2016 represented a record year for the region with total principal traded up 49% YoY to $13.2B. Liquidnet Canada has also seen a strong start to 2017 with total volume in shares in February up 40% and total principal traded up 21% compared to the previous year, largely driven by the buy sides’ increasing need to source quality block liquidity.