Van der Moolen was a Dutch

equity Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership * Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the dif ...

trading firm, with its headquarters located in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. They were mainly active in the United States and in Europe, particularly in the Netherlands, France, Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Van der Moolen, which at its peak was one of the largest registered marketmakers on the New York Stock Exchange, filed for bankruptcy in September 2009 after mounting losses. Originally known as Van der Moolen & Co., it was founded in July 1892 as a 'jobber' or 'hoekman' which traded in

equities In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...

and bonds. The company started its expansion in the derivatives markets in the late 1970s. Van der Moolen became a limited liability company in December 1986 and soon afterwards was listed on the

Amsterdam Stock Exchange Euronext Amsterdam is a stock exchange based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Formerly known as the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, it merged on 22 September 2000 with the Brussels Stock Exchange and the Paris Stock Exchange to form Euronext. The r ...

(AEX). The company's shares were also listed on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...

('NYSE') in October 2001. In 2001, Van der Moolen launched VDM Bonds to provide

fixed income Fixed income refers to any type of investment under which the borrower or issuer is obliged to make payments of a fixed amount on a fixed schedule. For example, the borrower may have to pay interest at a fixed rate once a year and repay the prin ...

liquidity in less-than-wholesale transaction sizes to banks and other intermediaries. VDM Bonds was sold to

Zions Bancorporation Zions Bancorporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. Zions Bancorporation originated as Keystone Insurance and Investment Co., a Utah Corporation, in April 1955. In April 1960, Keystone, together with several in ...

in March 2004 after its management team left the company. In January 2006, VDM acquired Curvalue, a Dutch trading company specialized in

derivative In mathematics, the derivative of a function of a real variable measures the sensitivity to change of the function value (output value) with respect to a change in its argument (input value). Derivatives are a fundamental tool of calculus. F ...

trading. In late 2006, VDM acquired the assets of London-based prop trading firm Hills Independent Traders Ltd. In 2008, VDM UK's proprietary equity and

futures trading In finance, a futures contract (sometimes called a futures) is a standardized legal contract to buy or sell something at a predetermined price for delivery at a specified time in the future, between parties not yet known to each other. The asset ...

unit was closed after an ill-fated move to a new site in Colchester. On the

, Van der Moolen served as specialist until 2007 when it sold the activities to

Lehman Brothers Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1847. Before Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Gol ...

. At one point, Van der Moolen USA's specialist book had represented 15% of the NYSE listed common stocks and accounted 11% of the NYSE's volume. Regulatory changes which slashed margins for market makers and allowed a flood of new competition for trading volume significantly impaired the profitability of this VDM unit. Previously in 2003, Van der Moolen Specialists became subject to an investigation by the SEC on allegations of

front running Front running, also known as tailgating, is the prohibited practice of entering into an equity (stock) trade, option, futures contract, derivative, or security-based swap to capitalize on advance, nonpublic knowledge of a large ("block") pendin ...

. In 2004, Van der Moolen reached a settlement with the SEC and paid a fine of $57.7 million. Some employees were convicted of

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...

, while others (Robert Scavone Jr.) were later

acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...

. On August 10, 2009, Van der Moolen requested protection from its creditors a short time after opening its new headquarters near Amsterdam airport. The new HQ office project had been reportedly delivered on time and under budget. On September 10, 2009, Van der Moolen filed for bankruptcy a week later. The company assets in the Netherlands were liquidated in January 2010 with an auction raising Euro 400,000 against creditor claims for Euro 28.3 million. An announcement of a tax reclaim from the German Tax authorities arrived a week after the bankruptcy filing. The Euro 32 million tax reclaim was transferred to VDM's liquidator in October 2009 (with a condition and it may still have to be returned).http://www.veb.net/content/Bestanden/acties/VDM/vdmverzoekschrift1aug.pdf This tax refund could have saved the company—but simply arrived too late. Van der Moolen's dealings are being investigated by the Dutch market regulator AFM. As of 23 December 2010, Van der Moolen shares were no longer listed on the

Euronext Euronext N.V. (short for European New Exchange Technology) is a pan-European bourse that offers various trading and post-trade services. Traded assets include regulated equities, exchange-traded funds (ETF), warrants and certificates, bonds, de ...

Amsterdam

exchange Exchange may refer to: Physics *Gas exchange is the movement of oxygen and carbon dioxide molecules from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Places United States * Exchange, Indiana, an unincorporated community * ...

. According to a report dated 13 May 2011 by the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Appeals Court, prior to bankruptcy Van der Moolen's management did not seem in control of the company's dividend arbitrage activities, and attention to capital management and external financing was limited. The Dutch investor group VEB and insurer

ASR Nederland ASR Nederland is a major Dutch insurance group based in Utrecht. The company was created in its current form in 2008 when the insurance business was split out of Fortis, after it was acquired by the Dutch government during the Financial crisis o ...

NV had asked the Enterprise Chamber to investigate the firm's management. The VEB also asked for the court to assess mismanagement and damage claims. By May 2018, Van der Moolen's trustees announced that all creditors, including a number of former employees of the company, could fully recover their claims against the company including interest.Het Financieele Dagblad ''Curatoren Van der Moolen kunnen extraatjes uitdelen'', 2 mei 2018 (in Dutch) File:VDM Trade Floor.jpg, Van der Moolen

Schiphol Airport Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport ( nl, Luchthaven Schiphol, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer in the province ...

trading floor File:VDM AMS.jpg, Van der Moolen

Amsterdam Airport Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport ( nl, Luchthaven Schiphol, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer in the province ...

offices File:Lobby VDM.JPG, Van der Moolen Airport office reception

References

External links

Business Plan

Bloomberg tickers for Van der Moolen
* {{LinkedIn page, companies/van-der-moolen
Van Der Moolen news articles
Companies based in Amsterdam