Chris Blackburn has joined Liquidnet as global head of multi-asset, three months after his departure from UBS. He began his new role on 28 April.
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.