Feature
Investment Banking Platforms Set to Become More Social
As regulations continue to reshape the global financial marketplace, single-dealer platforms are being forced to rethink how they operate. Influenced by ever-increasing consumer use of technology and social media, and determined to put their clients in…
European Derivatives Reporting Continues to Cause Headaches
Since February 12, parties to derivative trades in Europe have been obliged to report transactions to designated repositories. But with an unsteady launch, complaints about tough regulatory deadlines, and varying quality in the data reported, buy-side…
Taxed By Collection
Fatca regulation tax withholding is almost here, and industry experts outlined the burden firms are preparing to bear in a recent SIX Financial Information-sponsored discussion. Michael Shashoua reports on the data considerations and methods raised
Impactful Actions
As regulatory pressure and the complexity of derivatives increase, Nicholas Hamilton explores why and how firms should monitor the impact corporate actions have on entities with which they have relationships
Quality's Governing Principles
Data governance efforts, in early stages for many firms, require navigation of the divide between business and IT units, as well as cost, data quality and value concerns. Michael Shashoua reports on a discussion held during a March 6 webcast
Crowd Control
Crowd computing is an operating model that brings together freelance workers, subject matter experts and automation tools. For data vendors, it could be a cost effective way to expand their content and harness big data, writes Nicholas Hamilton
Simulation Tools Key as Managed Futures Funds, CTAs Optimize Execution
A potent mixture of in-house, futures commission merchant, and boutique brokerage-provided algorithms now play a part in commodity trading advisors’ and managed futures funds’ trading activities. Tim Bourgaize Murray examines why a new cadre of…
Challenge Accepté: AXA Investment Managers CIO Hervé Morel-Derocle
During one of his frequent trips to London, AXA Investment Managers CIO Hervé Morel-Derocle spoke to Marina Daras about the bold moves he made when faced with the looming obsolescence of the firm’s desktops.
The Rise and Rise of HTML5
Thanks to enhanced browser functionality and an explosion of open-source tools, HTML5 is supplanting Microsoft Silverlight and Adobe Flash as the go-to language for trading application development and mobile functionality. While roadblocks still exist,…
Herd Instinct: Financial Firms Combat Information Overload with Social Networking Tech
As financial firms deal with ever-increasing levels of information, some are starting to look at a fusion of different technologies to harness true value from the noise. As innovative uses of concepts that have traditionally been associated with social…
BMO Launches an IBOR
A merger of three investment managers had just been announced when BMO Global Asset Management made the decision to revamp its portfolio accounting procedures. What followed was a near three-year project that made the company the proud owner of an IBOR,…
Emerging Technologies: The Risks and the Rewards
In the final part of this five-part feature on emerging technologies in the capital markets, we look at the risks and the rewards associated with adopting and implementing such technologies, and how to go about striking that delicate balance between…
Emerging Technologies and Avoiding Analysis Paralysis
In part four of this five-part series on emerging technologies in the capital markets, based on a recent virtual roundtable, we look at the challenges facing CIOs when it comes to evaluating emerging technologies, and typically how they go about making…
Assessing the Implementation Challenges Associated with Emerging Technologies
In parts one and two of this five-part feature, we looked at the the technologies that typically fall under the "emerging technologies" moniker, and the operational benefits of deploying such technologies. In this section, we look at the complexities and…
Work in Progress
Big data has become a familiar topic in the financial information industry, but what success have firms had in implementing technology to derive value from the increasing volumes of structured and unstructured data being generated, asks Nicholas Hamilton
Timeliness is Money
Data policy recommendations by a FISD working group accept new or higher fees for real-time data but assert that data with lesser timeliness should not see fee increases. Michael Shashoua explores the ramifications of the group’s proposal
Measuring the Operational Benefits of Embracing Emerging Technologies
In part two of this five-part feature on emerging technologies, participants discuss the business and operational opportunities around embracing emerging technologies, specifically the reduced cost and speed to market offered by on-demand consumption of…
Emerging Technologies and the Advantages they Offer Early Adopters
In a recent virtual roundtable on the benefits and challenges around the adoption of emerging technologies, respondents discussed how capital markets firms might evaluate such technologies with the view to creating a competitive advantage. In part one of…
Managing the Front Office - Back Office Data Gap
Firms’ leadership and front offices tend to harbor skepticism about back-office handling of reference data. Michael Shashoua hears from users and providers on how front- and back-office staff can have constructive dialogue and work together instead of at…
Trade Identifier Tangle
Unique trade identifiers have quickly emerged as the most complicated element of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation’s trade reporting requirements, which came into effect on February 12. Nicholas Hamilton finds out why using the new identifier…
KKR's Colorful Personality: CIO Ed Brandman
Ed Brandman’s friendly quirks don’t conjure the conventional image of an IT chief, especially at KKR, one of the more white-shoe firms in a space famous for them. But don’t let the CIO’s charms fool you. He effectively redefined enterprise-grade…
Take Away Spreadsheets? From My Cold, Dead Hands
Microsoft Excel spreadsheets will continue to be widely used at asset management firms for the foreseeable future. But new regulations, technological advancements, and risk management concerns are leading buy-side firms to examine ways to lessen their…
All Eyes on Outsourcing
After UBS announced last month that it would outsource most of its fixed-income trading platform to Murex and Ion Trading, Marina Daras looks at how financial services firms intend to manage their IT costs by reassessing their outsourcing options.
Real-Time Risk: Keeping It Real
Pitches for real-time risk solutions focus more on the sell side than the buy side. Jake Thomases set out to determine how much hedge funds and asset managers care about calculating risk in the blink of an eye. Some do, but it’s largely dependent on…