Plato Partnership and SL Tools plan to bring block trading opportunities to the Brazilian securities marketplace
London, UK, 15 August 2023: Plato Partnership, the not-for-profit member organisation bringing creative solutions and efficiencies to today’s equity marketplace and SL Tools, a regulated fintech providing a securities marketplace and an electronic financial assets hub in Brazil (duly licensed to trade stock lending and government bonds and undergoing licensing as an OTC fixed-income platform), plan to bring block trading capabilities to the Brazilian marketplace, subject to obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals, following a regulatory reform by the Brazilian Securities Commission.
Historically, local regulations trigger an open auction process when trying to execute a large position in the marketplace. Among other impacts, this can result in traders being shut out of their own auctions.
Andre Duvivier, CEO of SL Tools, said “There is no sustainable way to trade around these market conditions yet, and some traders resort to trading in smaller pieces or using broker algos, which take a long time to fill and dislocate prices. A Block trading facility will provide a viable way for institutions to trade around these market inefficiencies, with pricing at the mid-point and minimal market leakage or price impact.”
SL Tools brings its unique, in-depth knowledge of the Brazilian securities market and its regulations. In addition, over years of business, SL Tools has developed long-standing relationships with sell- and buy-side investors across the Brazilian securities market.
The Brazilian securities market today faces similar challenges to those seen in Europe fifteen years ago, where outdated trading systems significantly impacted execution and performance.
Mike Bellaro, CEO of Plato Partnership, said “The market conditions in Brazil are remarkably like those in Europe back when Plato Partnership made the decision to collaborate with Turquoise to launch a block trading facility. We believe that Plato’s expertise in deploying block trading coupled with SL Tools’ in-depth knowledge of the region will, subject to obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals, enable Brazilian and global investors to trade large blocks of shares more efficiently, and generally level-up capital markets in the region.”
The Brazilian regulator recently announced that they will allow block trading to take place, like the European markets. Andre Duvivier, CEO of SL Tools, said “This regulatory move is an exciting development for the region as it has opened the door for a wave of innovation in Brazil. The opportunities for institutional investors to access new liquidity in the Brazilian market cannot be understated. With their combined in-depth knowledge of the region and block trading, SL Tools and Plato are the perfect team to unlock this opportunity.”
Both Plato Partnership and SL Tools commend the local regulator for its modernization of the regulatory framework. The next steps in building and deploying their new block trading facility, subject to obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals, will be made public in the coming months.
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About Plato Partnership
Plato Partnership is a not-for-profit member organisation comprising asset managers and broker-dealers who collaborate to bring creative solutions and efficiencies to today’s complex equity marketplace.
Members of the Plato Partnership include: Allianz Global Investors, Axa Investment Managers, Bank of America Securities, Barclays, BlackRock, Capital Group, Citi, Credit Suisse, DWS Group, Exane BNP Paribas, Fidelity International, Goldman Sachs, Instinet, Invesco, Janus Henderson, Jefferies, JP Morgan, Kepler Cheuvreux, Legal & General Investment Management, Liontrust, MFS International, Morgan Stanley, Norges Bank Investment Management, Pictet Asset Management, RBC, Redburn, Schroders, Societe Generale, T. Rowe Price, UBS, UBS Asset Management, and Union Investment.
About SL Tools
SL Tools is a regulated fintech providing securities marketplace and an electronic financial assets hub in Brazil.
SL Tools is already regulated by the Brazilian Securities Exchange Commission (“Comissão de Valores Mobiliários” (“CVM”)) and waiting for the approval of its license to offer equity block trading. It is also approved by the Brazilian Central Bank and the Brazilian Treasury to operate an electronic fixed-income platform.
“With an ecosystem of over 70 of the largest Brazilian buy and sell side institutions as clients and a team of experienced market veterans, SL Tools is extremely well positioned as a market infrastructure to deploy, in Brazil, worldwide proven trading protocols.”