The Impact of Anonymity on Unsophisticated Liquidity and Changing Information Asymmetry

51 Pages Posted: 12 Mar 2019 Last revised: 17 Dec 2019

Date Written: November 21, 2019

Abstract

This paper finds that in Nasdaq Helsinki where brokers can voluntarily reveal or conceal identities, unsophisticated traders are less willing to trade after anonymous trades than non-anonymous trades. Using intraday order and trade data of large-cap stocks to which the voluntary anonymity model applies, I find that on earnings announcement days, before announcements, the duration-until-next-unsophisticated-order (DUNUO)—a novel unsophisticated liquidity measure—following an anonymous trade is 21 seconds longer than that following a non-anonymous trade. However, this difference reduces to 8 seconds when earnings information is disclosed, implying a reduction in the negative impact of anonymity caused by lower information asymmetry. Moreover, unsophisticated traders are found to be increasingly unwilling to trade as the degree of anonymity—whether the preceding trade is non-, half-, or fully anonymous—increases.

Keywords: Trader Anonymity, Unsophisticated Liquidity, Information Asymmetry

JEL Classification: D82, G10, G14, G15

Suggested Citation

Li, Yijie, The Impact of Anonymity on Unsophisticated Liquidity and Changing Information Asymmetry (November 21, 2019). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3333221 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3333221

Yijie Li (Contact Author)

S&P Global Ratings ( email )

New York, NY
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
88
Abstract Views
900
Rank
520,585
PlumX Metrics