Liquidnet, the number 1 large-block alternative trading system (ATS) with an exclusive community of mutual and pension fund Members, celebrated its third-year anniversary with a record quarter.
In its first quarter of 2004, the company executed more than one billion U.S. shares-a 178% increase over the same period last year. With 19 new Members trading on the system this quarter and another 41 Members in the install queue, the Liquidnet community today represents 255 institutions that collectively manage more than $6.19 trillion in assets. Liquidnet is well positioned to rank among the top ten largest institutional broker/dealers for NYSE stocks.
"This has really been a grass roots movement. The support and commitment of our Members have resulted in the largest pool of natural buy-side liquidity the industry has ever seen," said Seth Merrin, CEO of Liquidnet. "With the recent dramatic changes in the institutional trading industry during the past year, such as firms eliminating directed brokerage, firms reducing their use of soft dollars, and the general strengthening of internal processes, new Members are coming on board at a record pace, which just adds liquidity for the rest of our community."
After only three years, Liquidnet is now the 15th largest institutional broker of New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) shares in the U.S. and 20th largest for NASDAQ listed stocks(1). Liquidnet's average daily volume grew by more than 30% from Q4 2003 to Q1 2004, compared to the NYSE and NASDAQ, which both grew only 15% during the same period.
"We are very pleased with our executions on Liquidnet. The system enables our desk to achieve price discovery on blocks of all asset classes without impacting the market," said Laura Gearhart, Director of Equity Trading at Thrivent Investment Management. "This is an exceptionally valuable tool, given the increasing difficulty in finding natural liquidity in today's marketplace."