Group Co.
Liquidnet Studies Dark Trading in Post MiFID II World
Traders Magazine Online News, November 17, 2017
So, how exactly will institutional traders access dark pools in a post-MiFID II word?
While the market has been focusing on unbundling, soft dollar agreements and paying or research, dark pool Liquidnet is examining just how trading will be impacted by the upcoming regulation. In a recent paper, “Shape Shifting – Dark Trading in a MiFiD II World,” the firm polled 51 heads of dealing across the UK (52%), Continental Europe (24%) and the US (24%) to understand how they plan to access the dark post MiFID II, once broker dark pools are no longer admissible.
The pool was conducted in August 2017.
Liquidnet said the challenge for firms is which execution partners to select and where to trade in the new unbundled liquidity landscape.
Some key highlights from the research:
1. Dark trading is already adjusting ahead of MiFID II: buy-side-to-buy-side crossing
networks are now the most effective dark venue for 65% of participants, versus just 20% for
broker dark pools.
2. Forty-six percent of participants have seen an improvement in the quality of their dark
pool executions in the last year as the proportion of large-in-scale (LIS) as a percentage of
dark trading has also increased to 10% of all dark trading.
3. However, the future landscape remains very unclear, with 90% seeing inconsistencies in
SI models and over two-thirds not confident about how the SI regime will operate post
January 2018.
4. Participants remain split as to the future benefit of HFT Market Makers as a prominent
constituent of the SI space: 46% view this as a negative market development, versus 38%
who view this as positive.
5. This is reflected in the need to consistently monitor execution performance: 49% are less
concerned with whom they execute provided they retain transparency and control over
how executions occur.
6. In this potentially fragmented landscape, 67% of participants see dark aggregation of SI
activity as a value-added execution service for brokers to provide versus just 29% who
see this as adding unnecessary complexity to the marketplace.
7. The number of respondents planning to focus on LIS trading increased from 43% of
participants in 2016 to 72% in 2017. However, despite LIS trading rising in the last year
from 5 to 10% of overall dark order flow; this percentage will need to increase further to
avoid breaching the Double Volume Cap threshold.
8. Liquidnet analysis of adjusted trading volumes relative to the implementation of DVC indicate
that as a result of the recent increase in LIS activity, just 51% of stocks were capped out on
the 12 month look back, and 30% of the capped stocks were within just 1% of the 8%
threshold.
9. Understanding where and how to trade in this new complex landscape is now the
number 1 priority for 64% of respondents. It is not only access to unique liquidity, it is how
to access that liquidity in a shifting trading landscape.
10. Who will be the beneficiary of change may deliver surprises. 48% of respondents plan to
execute small and mid-cap stocks with regional specialist brokers rather than the super
bulge brackets once the Double Volume Cap is introduced.
The full report can be accessed from Liquidnet
For more information on related topics, visit the following channels:
Comments (0)