Agency broker Liquidnet has expanded its US remit in exchange traded funds (ETFs), led by a new head of trading desk for the Americas.
Jennifer Hubbs was appointed head of trading desk for the Americas in August last year, returning to Liquidnet to develop its program trading services and expand its existing ETF, high touch and inter-region trading.
She joined after previously serving at DASH Financial, now owned by ION Investment Group, Bloomberg, Liquidnet and ITG, in senior program trading roles.
“It is an exciting time to return to Liquidnet and a team of such strategic importance,” said Hubbs.
The agency broker has subsequently launched an un-conflicted US ETF trading solution, integrated into its equity trading application and request for quote processes, aimed at meeting growing demand for the instruments in the US.
ETFs have become increasingly popular over the last decade in the ever-increasingly passive era, in Europe alone growing at an annualised rate of 20% in terms of assets under management (AUM) over the last eight years.
A recent deep dive into the space by The TRADE found that in the US in particular, the rise of active ETFs had made way for the involvement of new types of institutions in this quasi-passive space. Research by FactSet found that for the first time in history, more active ETFs were launched in the US than passive ones in 2020.
“The number of ETFs in the United States has been growing exponentially for nearly two decades. However, many experience issues today when sourcing liquidity and the buy-side industry is increasingly looking for new workflow solutions,” said Rob Laible, global head of equities at Liquidnet.