About a-team Marketing Services
The knowledge platform for the financial technology industry
The knowledge platform for the financial technology industry

A-Team Insight Blogs

Fidessa BlockShadow Solves MiFID II Block Trading Problem

Subscribe to our newsletter

Fidessa has worked with long-standing client Redburn to deliver BlockShadow, a service driven by Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) and designed to provide intelligent access across conditional dark venues for best execution of large orders.

BlockShadow manages the whole process of placing multiple conditional orders on these venues, while at the same time sending slices to regular markets. When there is a match on a conditional venue, BlockShadow pauses the second ‘worker’ algo, waits for volume to be released, and then firms up on the venue concerned. This ensures the best execution outcome with zero over-fill risk.

Will Winzor-Saile, execution architect at Redburn, says: “We have always worked closely with Fidessa. The BlockShadow capability is an exciting addition to our technology stack. BlockShadow not only allows us to provide access to a broader spectrum of liquidity, but also means we are able to post the same block volume on multiple venues simultaneously. Since going live with BlockShadow, the additional volume from Turquoise, Cboe and Euronext has meant larger fill sizes, reduced market impact and better performance across all our trading.”

Robert Barnes, CEO at Turquoise, adds: “Products like Fidessa’s BlockShadow are able to manage conditional messages while working algo orders. This means Fidessa clients can access services like Turquoise Plato Block Discovery for Large in Scale (LIS) business while working firm orders below LIS on innovations like Turquoise Lit Auctions to achieve the best result on a continuous basis, the very definition of best execution.”

James Blackburn, global head of equities product marketing at Fidessa, concludes: “Competition for execution business is fierce. One of the biggest challenges for brokers in the post-MiFID II world is demonstrating their relevance, whether that is in research or in execution. BlockShadow, together with our liquidity partnership with Virtu, are just some of the ways in which we’re enabling our customers to demonstrate a clear advantage.”

Subscribe to our newsletter

Related content

WEBINAR

Recorded Webinar: Unlocking Competitive Edge with Outsourcing and Managed Services in Trading Technology

Outsourcing has emerged as a strategic solution for capital markets firms as trading technology infrastructures become more complex, data volumes grow exponentially, and regulatory pressures intensify. .By leveraging third-party expertise, firms can optimise operations, reduce costs, and focus on innovation in their trading technology stack. Outsourcing potentially enables firms to scale seamlessly, meet regulatory reporting...

BLOG

A-Team Group Announces Winners of the AI in Capital Markets Awards 2025

A-Team Group has announced the winners of the inaugural AI in Capital Markets Awards 2025, celebrating the most innovative and impactful applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning across the global financial markets. The new awards programme recognises technologies that have moved beyond proof-of-concept to deliver measurable value, supporting efficiency, resilience, and insight generation across...

EVENT

TradingTech Summit London

Now in its 15th year the TradingTech Summit London brings together the European trading technology capital markets industry and examines the latest changes and innovations in trading technology and explores how technology is being deployed to create an edge in sell side and buy side capital markets financial institutions.

GUIDE

AI in Capital Markets: Practical Insight for a Transforming Industry – Free Handbook

AI is no longer on the horizon – it’s embedded in the infrastructure of modern capital markets. But separating real impact from inflated promises requires a grounded, practical understanding. The AI in Capital Markets Handbook 2025 provides exactly that. Designed for data-driven professionals across the trade life-cycle, compliance, infrastructure, and strategy, this handbook goes beyond...