TriAct CEO says "dark pool" volume on the rise

TORONTO, June 8 (Reuters) - Alternative trading venue Match Now is set to experience a "big increase" in volumes, boosted in part by cautious investors returning to the market and the rise of high frequency traders, the chief executive of TriAct Canada Marketplace said on Monday.

So-called "dark pool" Match Now, operated by TriAct, is set to win about a 2 percent market share of Canada's stock trading market by the end of the year, Wendy Rudd said in an interview.

"I think there's increased activity across the board. There was some stagnation of trading activity in Canada and that is easing up. Clients are entering the market again," she said.

Rudd sees easing concerns about the economic downturn and the proliferation of high-frequency traders helping to lift the firm's market share.

"The moons are lining up here," she said.

"We've got people finally understanding that this dark pool is good, they're finally getting their technology in order to connect to us, and overall market volumes are starting to pick up. We're expecting a big increase in our volumes."

A "dark pool" is a marketplace where buyers and sellers anonymously match orders but keep details about price and volume concealed so they don't alert the broader market to their intentions.

The estimate is up from about 0.58 percent market share in the first quarter, according to data from the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada.

By 2012, Rudd said she expects Match Now to have a stock trading market share of about 5 percent. (Reporting by Jennifer Kwan; editing by Rob Wilson)