Rosenblatt, Bids Access Deal
August 25, 2008
New York-based agency brokerage Rosenblatt Securities has signed an agreement with Bids Trading that will give its clients direct access to the block trading platform. Rosenblatt now has five access deals with dark liquidity pools, whose "ranks and share of overall trading volume have been growing rapidly," noted the firm.
Bids, which began operations in April 2007, has certainly reflected that growth--its average daily volume has increased from 22.6 million shares in March to 24.65 million in July, and it has executed more than 5.8 billion shares since opening. Later this year, the New York-based venue plans to launch a venture with NYSE Euronext--one of its 12 co-owners--that will let Bids' dark orders interact with displayed and reserve liquidity from the NYSE Hybrid Market.
"Our traders have been early adopters of dark pools, seeking best execution for clients in Bids Trading and many other venues for quite some time," said Joe Gawronski, president and COO of Rosenblatt. Noting that "results in Bids Trading have been quite positive," Gawronski stressed his excitement "about Bids Trading's pending joint venture with NYSE, which for the first time will link the exchange's deep displayed liquidity with a dark pool, making Bids Trading an even more desirable venue for institutions to access directly."
Added Bids CEO Timothy Mahoney in an Aug. 14 statement: "Being selected by Rosenblatt, a leader in market structure analysis and an authoritative source of monthly adjusted volume figures, is a testament to Bids Trading's approach, early success and future prospects."
Two days earlier, Bids announced that Vivian Maese, previously SVP and associate general counsel at NYSE Euronext, had joined the alternative trading system as general counsel and corporate secretary. At NYSE, Maese headed a team responsible for modernizing the exchange's market structure, supporting the U.S. trading business lines and handling technology legal issues, acquisitions and intellectual property protections. She has also been managing director at Citigroup, providing expertise on intellectual property and technology, and general counsel for Citigroup Global Transaction Services.
"As Bids Trading continues to expand and evolve as a block trading platform, Vivian's expertise and guidance will play a central role," said Mahoney. "Her experience working in the heart of Wall Street on a variety of market structure issues, coupled with her deep understanding of technology, intellectual property and financial regulation, will prove integral as we work toward achieving our goals."
