Liquidnet was founded in April 2001 by Seth Merrin as a wholesale electronic marketplace where institutional investors could anonymously trade large blocks of stocks. Merrin estimated that the network needed at least 100 buy side firms live on Day One to create a critical mass. This number was revised to 75, but the company ultimately launched with only 38 institutions. In 2002, Liquidnet Europe launched with nine member firms, with Liquidnet Asia launching with 26 member firms in 2007, bringing its global reach to 28 markets. Merrin describes his company as “creating marketplaces that enable institutions to trade in size with the efficiency that they sorely need.” In the U.S., Liquidnet’s average execution size of 50,000 shares is 200 times the size of the 250-share average traded in all lit and dark venues. Liquidnet’s average execution in international equities is reportedly 100 times larger than the average. Liquidnet has an Equity Capital Markets and Issuer Services group which leverages its community of institutional investors to determine institutional demand for a stock. In January 2010, Liquidnet announced a strategic investment in OTR Global LLC, a securities research and brokerage firm. In October 2011 Liquidnet launched a private shares market. As part of Liquidnet’s equity capital markets division, the Private Shares group works with institutional investors and companies looking to trade private shares. In July 2011 SIX Swiss Exchange and Liquidnet launched a platform for non-displayed equity block trading. The platform allows SIX Swiss Exchange members and Liquidnet’s buy side members to execute large block trades. In March 2014, Liquidnet acquired bond trading platform Vega-Chi, a world leader in electronic trading facilities dedicated to high yield bonds and convertible bonds. In May 2017, Liquidnet acquired OTAS Technologies, a market-leading analytics platform that delivers actionable market intelligence and context directly to institutional traders and portfolio managers. In May 2019, Liquidnet acquired RSRCHXchange, a marketplace and aggregator for institutional research to help embed a new level of research and analytics into the investment process. In June 2019, Liquidnet acquired , a provider of automated investment research solutions for portfolio managers, research analysts, and other financial professionals. In February 2020, Founder Seth Merrin steps down as CEO of Liquidnet. Company President Brian Conroy has been selected as his successor.
