Articles by Rebecca Natale
Goldman Sachs, DTCC execs dissect implications of SEC’s ‘ambitious’ settlement timeline
Conflicting time zones, potential re-papering, and weak standards are just some of the hurdles that must be overcome to move trade settlement times to T+1 or even to T+0—all potentially before Q1 2024.
Second class-action lawsuit targets Cusip’s ‘monopoly’ on identifiers
Days after a first class-action suit took aim at Cusip, S&P Global, the American Bankers Association, and FactSet, another plaintiff has filed a complaint alleging that the quartet of companies violated the Sherman Antitrust Act, as well as certain…
Where have all the blockchain startups gone?
Building a startup is hard. Building a blockchain startup is harder. More than 10 current and former financial blockchain builders and users detail their experiences of trying to cut their teeth on a once-darling tech, and the lessons they’re still…
Class-action lawsuit takes aim at Cusip, S&P, FactSet & ABA
A complaint filed March 4 seeks judgement on whether Cusip Global Services, S&P Global, the American Bankers Association, and (now) FactSet have violated copyright laws as well as the Sherman Antitrust Act by charging hefty licensing fees to use the…
The good, the bad, and the ugly of financial democratization
From crypto and Web3 to Robinhood and Reddit, democratization underscores it all. While it’s a largely benign concept that aims to level the playing field between institutions and individuals, it’s also really hard to get right.
Tech vendors rethink risk in era of surging options volume
As options volumes soar, technology vendors are thinking about new risks posed when legacy infrastructure meets increasingly complex markets.
What the hell is Web3, anyway?
The next iteration of the internet is upon us, with the potential to deliver radical shifts to every industry, including banking. The movement, which is currently buoyed by the prospects of blockchain and virtual reality, has implications for computing,…
Cusip finds new home at FactSet as industry watches warily
Though the standard has always been operated by a private entity, industry sources say its new operator could create a perception issue for FactSet. For its part, the vendor says the purchase (for a “stunning” total of nearly $2 billion) is meant to…
Meme stocks, Reddit, and QAnon: A postcard from the origin of the metaverse
Join WatersTechnology for a look back at the most absurd stories of the year—Reddit/GameStop, the advent of meme stocks, and QAnon—and what they mean for you.
Disrupting data delivery: AWS Data Exchange gains ground with addition of FactSet content
Leveraging AWS’s presence on Wall Street, Data Exchange has the potential to shake up traditional financial data delivery and contracts, if it can add relevant content and overcome challenges like real-time streaming and connectivity in the cloud.
Once taboo, open-source skills now sought by Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and other top sell sides
The world’s biggest banks want the new talent to possess at least some open-source technology skills, which was unthinkable a decade ago. It’s a win for advanced open-source practitioners, but how did it materialize? The answer is likely a not-so-even…
EC ends S&P’s 53-year era as Cusip’s "cash-cow" operator
Sources ID Ice and DTCC as suitors, but new owners may not bring relief to users paying millions.
Bloomberg deploys math, not AI, to blend risk management and portfolio construction
The Mac3 GRM risk solution is live for equities users, uses no AI or machine learning, and will be rolled out to more asset classes next.
BofA and HSBC: at the intersection of cybersecurity and neurodiversity
Closing the growing gap between adequate enterprise cybersecurity protection and available resources is fraught with obstacles, so Bank of America and HSBC are pursuing an unconventional approach: seeking out neurodiverse talent with a knack for pattern…
Companies race to tackle widening cybersecurity talent gap
More realistic job requirements and in-house training programs could boost recruitment in face of increased cyber threats
After lengthy fight, Bloomberg’s Figi recognized as official US data standard
The Figi is free to use, and becomes the second reference data standard alongside Cusip, authorized for financial instrument identification by the American National Standards Institute.
Risky business: Moody’s attempts to carve out space in overrun ESG market
In the past two years, Moody’s Analytics has acquired four vendors that the ratings specialist hopes to integrate for ESG offerings in a crowded market.
As fixed income edges toward automation, the interop movement is cutting in
Valantic FSA, a European solutions provider, wants to remake the fixed-income tech scene in interoperability's image, taking on incumbents like Ion Group.
Research management systems vie to double as data, analytics providers in one-stop-shop bid
RMS providers Sentieo and MackeyRMS feel the pressure to become quasi-data and analytics providers in their quest to cover the gamut of the buy-side research analyst workflow.
Disinformation campaigns coming to a Wall Street near you
Rebecca examines the tangled web woven between Reddit, meme stocks, and QAnon, and asks how well prepared data providers looking to jump on the meme stocks bandwagon are to recognize organized disinformation campaigns.
Brown Brothers Harriman continues AI ‘transformation’ of fund accounting unit
A new tool that helps business users test and validate their own POCs is set to join the bank’s ranks alongside its other AI projects implemented over the last two years: Linc, Guardrail, and Ants.
Meme stocks: Data providers conflicted on offering investment analyses
While some alternative data providers are jumping in on the meme-stock craze by producing new datasets and analyses geared toward risk management and alpha generation, others—perhaps rightly so—are staying cautious.
Technical difficulties: OpenFin says it’s committed to FDC3, while others have their doubts
After quietly pulling its Finos membership this year, OpenFin’s involvement—at least in the public forum that governs it—with the interop standard it has championed for years, continues to dip. Though the vendor has re-affirmed its commitment to FDC3…
Inside RBC’s Aiden project: 5 years of deep learning
Aiden, a trading platform launched last year, is the product of five years of experimentation with deep learning by RBC Capital Markets on top of an additional five years of hypothesizing about what best execution would one day require.