Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for managing pre-trade activity. In general, a distribution of information about what traders and customers want to do may be known. Users may be made aware of trade ideas that can be proposed to a trading desk's buy-side clients. Relevant information on the trading desk may be brought together, and the information may be processed through a set of rules that extract trading opportunities. On the buy side, trade ideas may be extracted without having to have the intervention of a sell-side salesforce.