Non-profit member organisation for the equity marketplace, Plato Partnership, has added Liquidnet as an inaugural strategic partner.
Liquidnet brings knowledge and experience in capital markets to the Partnership and will play a crucial role in shaping and informing Plato’s initiatives within capital markets, the organisation said.
As a strategic partner, Liquidnet will participate in three of Plato’s core initiatives including Plato Strategic Initiatives Group, which aims to identify issues and areas to bolster equity market structure.
Liquidnet will also engage with Plato’s Market Innovator (MI3) programme, which aims to recognise key challenges facing the marketplace alongside sponsoring independent academic research to resolve these issues.
Elsewhere, Liquidnet will participate with the Turquoise Plat Expert Group, which aims to provide market model enhancements to refine equity block liquidity and provide greater efficiencies in anonymous equity block trading.
“At Liquidnet, we are big supporters of the work that Plato is doing to help the investment community navigate our evolving markets,” said Chris Jackson, global head of equity strategy and head of EMEA equities at Liquidnet.
“We have always focused on applying technology to make financial markets more efficient and we’re looking forward to working with Turquoise, the buy- and sell-side members of the Plato group to bring solutions to the industry’s most difficult challenges.”
The addition of Liquidnet follows Kepler Cheuvreux, UBS Asset Management and Pictet Asset Management being named as founding members of Plato Partnerhsip late last year.
Plato Partnership stated that the new founding members’ participation marks a milestone in the company’s mission to bring greater efficiency and innovation to all areas of the European equity marketplace.
“Plato is committed to innovation, and the admission of Liquidnet as a strategic partner is a major innovation for our Partnership,” said Mike Bellaro, chief executive of Plato Partnership.
“As the first electronic liquidity specialist (ELS) to join, Chris and the team at Liquidnet hold a truly unique perspective on the marketplace and significant untapped potential.”