BNY ConvergEx Group Launches New Trading Desk Uniquely Dedicated to Accessing Dark Liquidity

6  from  Automated Trader Magazine

May 29th, 2008 - BNY ConvergEx Group, LLC has announced that it has expanded the execution capabilities that it offers its buy-side clients through the launch of a unique new trading desk dedicated to providing complete coverage of all major dark pools.

The new Dark Desk will serve as a utility for ConvergEx’s global sales trading business by enabling it to better leverage dark liquidity execution opportunities for clients and navigate the plethora of dark pools now available. Through its enhanced dark liquidity execution capabilities, the Dark Desk serves as a resource for information on non-displayed liquidity

Although the recent proliferation of dark pools has resulted in numerous positive opportunities fortraders, the resulting fragmentation has made the process of finding liquidity in a timely mannerextremely complicated. The ConvergEx Dark Desk streamlines this process by serving as a single point of entry for access to every major dark liquidity pool with knowledge of the different characteristics of each pool. The Dark Desk can help clients determine the best destination for a particular industry group or market cap size, and thereby improve the probability of finding a match.

Joseph M. Velli, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BNY ConvergEx Group, commented, “Oneof ConvergEx’s strongest selling points is the combination of our conflict-free, agency posture and our innovative trading capabilities, which means that clients trust us to serve as an extension of their trading desks and count on us to actively source all major markets and centers of liquidity as a trusted, unbiased partner.

“As the number of dark pools continues to increase and lead to even more fragmented markets, the need to provide our clients with a dedicated team of traders for information and access to nondisplayed liquidity has become essential,” stated Carey S. Pack, Chief Executive Officer, BNY ConvergEx Execution Solutions. “The Dark Desk will serve as a critical value-added utility that will combine with our execution tools and the market knowledge of our global sales traders to ensure that no key sources of liquidity are missed when we are executing orders for our clients.”