Instinet, a provider of electronic trading and agency-only brokerage services, has established Instinet Australia, a full Australian Securities Exchange member.

With the membership, which is effective immediately, Instinet is now able to service its domestic Australian clients through a new onshore sales and trading desk, located at 88 Phillip Street in Sydney.

Previously, Instinet was able to trade for domestic Australian institutions through its Hong Kong-based Instinet Pacific subsidiary by virtue of its remote ASX membership. Instinet was the first firm to be granted such a membership when it obtained the license in 2007.

Additionally, Instinet has been a member of the ASX Settlement and Transfer Corporation since 2008.

Glenn Lesko (pictured), chief executive of Instinet in Asia, says: “Since being granted the first remote participation license in September 2007, we’ve grown to become the 11th largest institutional broker in Australia. With our electronic trading tools, sales trading capabilities, and access to global liquidity, we are clearly gaining momentum in Australia, and by coming onshore we have realised the next step in our plans for growth.”

On 30 November 2009, Instinet traded 3.7 per cent of Australia’s total equities value, and Lesko expects the growth to continue in 2010.

“The Australian market is becoming increasingly aware of the transparency and cost benefits associated with Instinet’s agency-only model,” he says. “As one of the world’s largest agency brokers, we are perfectly positioned to deliver those benefits to Australian investment firms now that we are fully onshore.”