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

Upcoming Webinar: The Role of Data Fabric and Data Mesh in Modern Trading Infrastructures

23 September 2025 10:00am ET | 3:00pm London | 4:00pm CET Duration: 50 Minutes The demands on trading infrastructure are intensifying. Increasing data volumes, the necessity for real-time processing, and stringent regulatory requirements are exposing the limitations of legacy data architectures. In response, firms are re-evaluating their data strategies to improve agility, scalability, and governance....

BLOG

Is the End in Sight? Plotting the Journey to Consolidated Tape in the EU and UK Markets

By Anne Plested, MCSI, Senior Product Manager for Regulation, ION Markets. The realization of consolidated tape has been long-awaited for equities trading in the UK and the European Union (EU). With the European Commission (EC) adopting the enabling technical standards on 12 June and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) launching its search for...

EVENT

AI in Capital Markets Summit London

The AI in Capital Markets Summit will explore current and emerging trends in AI, the potential of Generative AI and LLMs and how AI can be applied for efficiencies and business value across a number of use cases, in the front and back office of financial institutions. The agenda will explore the risks and challenges of adopting AI and the foundational technologies and data management capabilities that underpin successful deployment.

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...