[ T H O U G H T
L E A D E R S H I P
remarkable accomplishment given
the complexity and large-scale
nature of the technology overhaul.
We didn’t migrate from an old
Euronext system to a new one. We
migrated from a third-party tech-
nology provider based in the US so
it’s a radically different infrastruc-
ture and protocol.
Optiq has been live across
Euronext’s trading business for
almost a year now, and the new
technology is truly revolutionary
for block trading. Euronext has
never really operated a venue like
Euronext Block with the con-
ditional workflow. If you’ve got
clients that are sending to multiple
venues using conditional order
flows, with Optiq we are now
much better equipped to source
that liquidity than when we were
using the old system thanks to
improved response times. It was
a strategic decision to move to a
technology that we had developed
ourselves, knowing that we will be
able to leverage that technology
to the benefit of our clients. Now
that our technology is harmonised
across our equities platform and
primary market, it’s far easier
for us to onboard clients that are
already connected to the Euronext
primary markets.
How is Euronext seeking to further
develop block trading within the
SME space?
We are focusing on European small
and mid-cap liquidity, and these are
the types of clients that are already
connected to Euronext’s primary
market. We wanted to create value
for our existing customer base
currently connected to our primary
market, so that it’s easier to connect
to Euronext Block. If you wanted
to trade on the primary market, say
a small Belgian stock on Euronext
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S P O N S O R E D
Brussels for example, you have the
option to do LIS trades on Euronext
Block via Optiq.
Our approach to go out to our
members and non-members and
B Y
E U R O N E X T ]
our niche.
I think that’s where we really un-
derstood that we have a significant
role to play in this space. It goes
beyond setting up a competitor
Veronica Taylor, head of Euronext Block
connecting them to Euronext
Block under Optiq has provided a
unique small and mid-cap liquidity
pool. We know that both asset
platform and potentially further
fragmenting the market. If you
want to trade a small and mid-
cap stock today, it’s hard to find a
“We know that both asset managers and banks
are seeking this type of liquidity which cannot be
found anywhere else, but those institutions need
to connect to Euronext Block to access it – that’s
our niche.”
managers and banks are seeking
this type of liquidity which cannot
be found anywhere else, but those
institutions need to connect to
Euronext Block to access it – that’s
genuinely efficient way of doing
that. Now that we have moved onto
Optiq it’s a game-changer in terms
of onboarding unique liquidity that
our clients can access.
Issue 59 // TheTradeNews.com // 17