Barclays Capital has become the latest investor in BIDS Trading’s alternative trading system, which is designed to increase competition and liquidity in the US equity block trading market.

Barclays Capital joins current investors BofA Merrill Lynch, Citi, Credit Suisse Group, Deutsche Bank, The Goldman Sachs Group, JPMorgan Chase, Knight Capital Group, Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley, NYSE Euronext and UBS.

“This investment is part of Barclays Capital's efforts to provide our clients with intelligent and efficient access to diverse pools of liquidity,” says Brian Fagen, head of equities electronic trading distribution at Barclays Capital.

"We are thrilled to have Barclays Capital join the 11 firms that have invested in BIDS Trading. This level of industry support, along with our ever-increasing user base, continues to validate the BIDS Trading model,” says Tim Mahoney (pictured), chief executive officer of BIDS Trading. “We look forward to working closely with Barclays Capital as we continue our mission to grow our liquidity pool and provide an efficient platform for institutional investors to trade blocks of shares.”

BIDS Trading allows market participants to trade large blocks of equities without revealing their order. Information disclosure is controlled by the trader via customisable trading tools: traders set their minimum block size to help protect their order and they can filter out counterparties based on past trading behaviour.

BIDS Trading participants have simultaneous access to both the BIDS ATS and the New York Block Exchange - a joint venture between BIDS Trading and NYSE Euronext which provides investors with access to both displayed and hidden interest on the NYSE, without revealing trading intentions.