Plato Picks Turquoise for Platform Development Partnership

London Stock Exchange-owned Turquoise was the last of the seven finalists to enter the bidding via an unusual online poll, which also included Aquis Exchange, BATS Chi-X Europe, Cinnober, Euronext, Nasdaq and BIDS Trading. Earlier this month, BATS Chi-X withdrew its tender to pursue internal projects.

Several of Plato's participating banks — Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs — are also Turquoise shareholders, but in a statement, Plato Partnership stressed that agreement over any "commercial collaboration" would be dependent on Turquoise meeting Plato's "underlying principles to be not-for-profit, reduce trading costs, simplify market structure and act as a champion for end investors".

A collaboration among a collective of buy and sell side firms, Plato Partnership aims to introduce a new market model, where any profits generated through the platform will fund and commission research through the partnership's Market Structure Innovation Center.

The platform is scheduled to go live next year.

"The buy side's driving and persuasive role in this process has displayed the power of Plato's collaborative approach," says Stephen McGoldrick, Plato Partnership project director. "We believe Turquoise meets our key criteria for a partner having displayed a secure and rapid route to market, demonstrable innovation, and an alignment with our guiding principles leading to their strong desire to work collaboratively."