The world's stock and derivatives exchanges warned the Group of 20 leaders yesterday that the continued “proper functioning” of their markets could not be taken for granted because of a proliferation of alternative trading venues such as “dark pools”.
The World Federation of Exchanges said the growth of “certain trading venues” in recent years had created an uneven playing field between fully regulated exchanges and “alternative order execution platforms”.
It said the “heightened opacity” of these platforms in many countries “inhibits price discovery [the setting of prices through market forces] and may lead to negative outcomes, including increased market volatility”.