Toronto-based stock exchange TMX Group has launched a new platform designed to optimise the trading of Canadian equities.
Comprised of two order books – Alpha-X and Alpha DRK – the new platform is aimed at enhancing natural order flow and limiting adverse selection that occurs in the market due to “natural speed advantages” in the trading ecosystem.
Alpha-X is the new platform’s visible order book and contains all the order types found on the TSX Alpha Exchange, alongside a new order type, Smart Limit. The Alpha DRK is the platform’s new dark book and consists of pegged market and limit order types, alongside a new order type, Smart Peg.
TMX Group confirmed the new order types were designed to optimise trading execution by “dynamically adjusting” to market conditions.
“TMX is committed to exploring new ways to meet the needs of clients across our diverse trading ecosystem, and to providing adaptive, responsive solutions to their competitive challenges here in Canada, and around the world,” said Rizwan Awan, president of equity trading and head of TMX markets, products and services.
“Alpha-X and Alpha DRK are designed to enable all participants, including institutional clients, to optimise trading strategies and improve their execution quality in fast-moving, modern markets. We are grateful for the feedback and continued partnership of stakeholders in our marketplace, as we work to make our markets better today and into the future.”
Several venue operators and vendors have bolstered their offerings in the Canadian equities space in the last few years.
In 2021, Cboe created a new block trading platform in the region. The new platform, Cboe LIS powered BIDS in Canada, combined MATCHNow and BIDS to create a market center for block-sized liquidity for buy-side and sell-side participants.
This was followed by Instinet, which launched a new BlockCross solution in Canada after rolling out the mechanism in EMEA. The service allows traders to route conditional, block-size orders to Instinet’s Canadian alternative trading system (ATS), Instinet Canada Cross.