At first, Island targeted orders that Instinet didn't want, namely retail order flow from online brokers and day traders. Main client targets are sell-side firms. The company also has signed a few unidentified bulge bracket firms as subscribers. This is the first indication that Island is actually attracting firms that have traditionally associated themselves with Instinet. No plans are afoot to directly market to buy-side firms.
System is an auction market.
In true Bloomberg fashion, TradeBook was buy-side friendly in its initial phase of subscriber acquisition. Was one of the original four ECNs, cashing in on the Bloomberg name to launch with an enormous number of potential subscribers based on the massive market penetration of Bloomberg systems globally. This leverage quickly translated into TradeBook becoming the third-largest ECN by total trade volume. Also formed a partnership with CLSA Global Emerging Markets to create Global TradeBook. The first relationship with ITG should improve liquidity in the US market.