EVERY mid to large size Global Investment Company is getting into Dark Pools. The issue here is who's going to take on the risk of processing and reporting the transactions so another subprime mortgage mess isn't created, and how to keep the assets separated from the individual investor so the Government cannot trace assets directly back to their holders for taxation purposes.
BTW, all the Dark Pools currently in existence are setup off-shore, out of reach of the U.S. government to avoid any regulatory repercussions.
Does that mean if they fail we won't have to fix them with tax dollars?
These pools are being used for political purposes too (against us) as commodities are being manipulated at this time from these pools.
This does not seem to be the case. Rather, Dark Pools are a mechanism that offers more liquidity to broker-dealers without them having to tip their hand to the market as to who is looking to make a trade. When traders know who is trading, it often gives them the opportunity to profit off someone else's trade based on their knowledge of their trading style and size.
Here is a link; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_pools_of_liquidity
Paranoia can be fun. However, Dark Pools don't appear to have anything to do with most of the comments on this thread; ie - tax evasion, hedge funds, commodity “manipulation” (oh please) or any other nefarious acts. They are just about holding your cards close to your vest so the other players can't see them before you play them.
If anyone has a link to the contrary, please post it.
Thanks.