A trading algorithm that maintains a list of candidate trades to scan for execution. A list-based algorithm can be schedule-based or opportunistic (trades can be executed opportunistically in real-time market conditions). It typically attempts to reduce the risk of an unexecuted list of trades during the trading timeframe. It also uses correlations between list items to make order slicing decisions.

Portfolio managers and quantitative traders use this algorithm to minimize trading costs and manage trading risk and at the same time to optimize the performance of their overall holdings.