NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Liquidnet, the global institutional marketplace (TM), announced today that Hong Kong-based adventurer and Liquidnet employee, Rowley Aird, completed a grueling 250 kilometer ultra marathon through the desert in southern Namibia, as part of his ongoing efforts to raise funds for the building of a village in Rwanda. The community, named Agahozo Shalom Youth Village (ASYV), is sponsored by Liquidnet and will be home to orphans primarily of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. Liquidnet budgets one percent of its trailing revenues per year to fund its Global Social Engagement initiatives, which are focused on conservation, social awareness and employee volunteerism.

The running event, part of the Racing the Planet series, was equivalent to six back-to-back to marathons, including a double marathon, all while running self-supported in searing heat. Rowley was 1st among the 63 participants from Hong Kong, the 1^st British finisher and 12^th overall in a field of 216. Around 22 percent of the field failed to finish.

“It was the toughest event I have ever competed in, and the conditions in the desert were unbelievably challenging,” Aird said, upon return to Hong Kong from Africa last week. “It was all for a wonderful cause and I know my efforts are helping families in Rwanda re-build their lives.”

This is Rowley’s third similar event, after completing ultra-marathons in the Sahara Desert in 2008 and the Gobi Desert in 2007. He has so far raised 120,000 USD towards the building of a village in Rwanda, with Liquidnet matching all funds generated.

The ASYV, whose name is a hybrid of the Kinyarwandan word Agahozo "dry their tears" and the Hebrew word shalom, "live in peace," has been in development for two years. The site overlooks Lake Mugesera in Rwanda's Eastern Province and includes 32 group homes, a complete high school, science and computer laboratories, land for organic farming, a reforestation program, 800-capacity dining hall, counseling and medical facilities and recreational fields.

Aird aims to compete next year in his fourth ultra marathon, which is being staged in Chile’s Atacama Crossing.

About Liquidnet

Liquidnet is the world’s institutional marketplace that facilitates institutional equities trading for institutional investors worldwide. By giving buy-side traders a first look at a global natural liquidity pool averaging approximately 8.2 billion shares per day (for the quarter ended March 31, 2009). Liquidnet consolidates and delivers the institutional equities market directly to the desktops of 582 buy-side trading firms (as of March 31, 2009). Institutional investors use the Liquidnet marketplace to enhance the quality and speed of trade execution, gain price improvement for their trades, and, ultimately, lower overall trading costs. Launched in 2001, Liquidnet now trades in 29 equity markets across five continents. Participation in the Liquidnet marketplace is open to all market participants who can meet criteria designed to preserve the integrity of the platform. Liquidnet is headquartered in New York with offices in London, Toronto, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney and Singapore. Additional company information is available online at www.liquidnet.com.

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