SIX Swiss Exchange Launches Dark Liquidity Pool Linkage

The SIX Swiss Exchange Liquidnet Service (SLS), currently offers trading in 3,000 equities in five European markets—France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK. Exchange officials plan to add more in the future.

The offering will allow exchange members to direct executable block orders to buy-side clients of the Liquidnet dark liquidity pool, subject to the company's own rules and regulations regarding its market. Liquidnet is handling the IT requirements of this new venture.

"Liquidnet was built to provide institutional investors with access to liquidity they need and the ability to trade in the size they want," says John Barker, managing director, Liquidnet Europe. "This opportunity with SIX Swiss Exchange offers our clients and institutional investors—who manage more than $12.5 trillion in assets—the ability to invest more safely and efficiently in Swiss and other European stocks."

The news comes as Citigroup announced its own dark liquidity pool—Citi Cross—last week, and investors move to protect their dark trading in anticipation of regulatory changes following the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid) II.