Appital has introduced a new pre-trade price discovery functionality aimed at stimulating natural liquidity among its buy-side clients. The provider of liquidity sourcing technology for asset managers will allow trading desks to interact with investment teams.

Appital Launches Pre-Trade Price Discovery Tool for Asset Managers

The new feature, called Price Discovery in Appital Insights, allows buy-side traders to gauge potential pricing and volume on larger average daily volume (ADV) orders before committing to a bookbuild. This industry-first tool enables traders to invite select feedback on live orders while maintaining anonymity and minimizing information leakage risks.

“Clients can pick their counterparts, expose a potential deal to them, and get feedback on volume and pricing, before deciding to go ahead with a bookbuild,” commented Brian Guckian, Chief Business Development Officer at Appital

This is a new workflow that gives clients full control over the bookbuilding process and the ability to proactively stimulate market liquidity. The tool introduces a flexible approach to order management during the initial exploration phase.

Traders can now assess market interest without locking in their positions, allowing them to convert inquiries into firm orders if they choose to proceed with a bookbuild. This method aims to streamline the process, potentially shortening the time required to complete a deal while also improving the chances of a successful transaction.

“We're digitizing another step in the high-touch trading mechanism while minimizing the risk of information leakage and price erosion,” Mark Badyra, CEO of Appital, commented. “This aligns with our strategy to deliver unique workflows to trading and investment teams.”

$12B of Liquidity and New Partnerships

Appital has reported visible growth in the first half of 2024, with $12 billion of buy-side liquidity now on its platform. Average orders are 2.7 days ADV, with opportunities ranging from $1 million to $260 million. The company has signed up 43 asset managers representing over $20 trillion in assets under management, with an additional 60 firms in the onboarding process.

The company recently completed the integration of its Insights tool with FactSet's Portware Execution Management System (EMS). This integration enables asset managers using Portware to access Appital Insights liquidity directly from their existing EMS interface, streamlining their workflow.

Building on this integration, Appital has introduced a new feature called “Appital Trending Equities.” This functionality, incorporated into Appital Insights, allows buy-side deal originators to actively generate unique liquidity opportunities in the market before initiating a deal.

In addition to these technological advancements, Appital has bolstered its team with the appointment of John Coules to its business development division. Coules brings extensive experience to the role, having worked as a pan-European equities sales trader at HSBC for 17 years and at Lehman Brothers for 13 years prior to that.