Fund managers predict the use of dark liquidity pools – designed to minimise the market impact of large block trades – will form an increasing percentage of their non-exchange business. They believe the increase will be hastened by the new European rules on trading, to the detriment of traditional stock exchanges.

Dark liquidity pools are electronic trading venues that match buyers and sellers anonymously, without quoting prices. The anonymity should minimise information leakage and market impact, which can account for as much as 80% of trading costs.