Feature
Ungovernable Data?
During a roundtable discussion hosted by Rimes Technologies, senior representatives from asset management firms discussed the data governance challenges facing them. From controlling data and managing regulatory change to securing board-level support,…
Change Management: CIFC's Enrique Smith on IT and Finding God
From the day he walked through the door at CIFC, Enrique Smith was tasked with rebuilding the asset manager’s technology stack. Making big changes isn’t an issue for him, if his personal life is any indication. By Jake Thomases with photos by Amy Fletcher
Letters from Geneva: EFG International's COO Mark Bagnall
Contemporary private banks are more engaged with capital markets and regulatory authorities than ever before, which some say spells their demise—and yet the need for their services grows, fueled by emerging affluence in new parts of the world. It is a…
Filling the Void: Buy Side Steps into Shadow Banking
As banks back out of the direct lending sector due to capital constraints, buy-side firms are filling the void. While that has provoked growing concerns from regulators, the returns have been solid for hedge funds in particular, but it has also required…
Towards Transparent Pricing
Increased transparency is a common goal of regulators who are shaking up the financial industry. When experts in pricing and valuations took part in a panel discussion at the European Financial Information Summit, they explained what these new regulatory…
Pulling Weeds: Sell Side Confronts Technology Stack Upgrades
Despite the current era in the capital markets as one of tight budgets, firms across the sell side are waking up to the fact that radical changes are needed to their technology stacks. From banks, to brokers and exchanges, questions remain around how…
Constrained by Capital Requirements, Wealth Management IT Struggles to Comply
Wealth managers and private banks, the heirs of aging technologies and manual processes, need to change. Prodded by regulators to deploy more efficient and flexible operating infrastructures, most of them have been left with big gaps to fill and…
Edwin Marcial: No More Mr. ICE Guy
Edwin Marcial has been in the technology driver’s seat since before ICE’s meteoric rise. In the early 2000s, he wore the ‘upstart’ label like a badge of honor. But with the purchase of the NYSE, he doesn’t seem so comfortable with it anymore. By Jake…
Is the Low-Latency Race a Zero Sum Game?
Financial services firms will always strive to be faster and more efficient. But increasingly, the cost and risk of this evolutionary drive are proving too great for some. As a result, the ability to measure and monitor latencies across the enterprise…
IBOR Takes Hold on Buy Side
The investment book of record, or IBOR, is becoming an attractive option for buy-side firms that want a more accurate view of their portfolio positions at the start of the trading day. Nicholas Hamilton explores the options available for firms looking to…
In the Public Interest: Tech Critical as Public Investors Seek More Active Approach
A small but influential set of private equity’s limited partners, many of them quasi-public entities like pension plans and sovereign wealth funds, are considering co-investment strategies with their general partners, or even arranging deals directly…
Tech Questions Loom After Major Exchanges Tie the Knot
A period where no meaningful exchange M&A made it to the finish line has been followed by two announced megadeals that appear likely to be approved. Jake Thomases looks at what IT advantage is gained by such massive mergers, and whether these latest…
Raising Fatca Stakes
Data operations necessary for compliance with the US foreign accounts tax law, even with a delayed deadline, still need a lot of work, Michael Shashoua reports. Firms are considering the structure of their data repositories and approach to client…
African Exchange Links Could Draw Investment, Liquidity
The alliances that stock exchanges strike between themselves often turn out to be game-changers for a region’s economy. Marina Daras looks at regional initiatives to link up exchanges in one of the fastest evolving regions of the world—Africa.
Financial Industry Faces Up to Cybersecurity Challenges
While the internet has revolutionized nearly every aspect of the financial markets, it carries with it an implicit level of risk that has only recently started to be properly examined by institutional trading firms. But when it comes to cybersecurity,…
Multiples Of Utility
With confidence in outsourcing growing, Nicholas Hamilton asks whether multi-vendor utilities are the best way for third-party service providers to continue offering greater value to their clients
Solving The Data Management Puzzle
Developing data governance plans requires definitions, improvements in data quality and modeling, and consideration of authority for data operations. Michael Shashoua looks at how all these pieces may fit together
MacKay Shields Weathers Storms with Vigilante's Tech Vision
MacKay Shields has weathered some of the worst storms in recent memory, thanks to a forward-thinking approach to technology, which has been driven in part by its long-serving head of IT. By James Rundle, with photos by Amy Fletcher
US Regulators' Technology Burden
The passage of the Dodd–Frank Act in the US, while necessary, has not just stressed many Wall Street firms’ IT budgets—it has also required a substantial investment on the parts of the US regulators. Anthony Malakian charts the progress that has been…
Futures Trading Algorithms Find Traction
Equities and futures microstructures have always functioned differently—and in terms of algorithmic application, the latter has always benefited from the adventures of the former. From order placement optimization to a revived debate on pricing…
Financial Transaction Tax: Doomed to Fail?
The financial transaction tax, Tobin tax or even the Robin Hood tax—call it what you want—is here to stay. Or maybe not. By Marina Daras
Lone Wolves: Disparate Regulations, Customs Make Asia-Pacific a Tech Puzzle
With a wide array range of local conventions, regulations and customs, Asia-Pacific can be a tough nut to crack when it comes to regional expansion. Where technology is concerned, the idiosyncratic nature of its constituent nations can prove challenging,…
On the Record: Precision Engineer
As high-frequency trading took off, requiring ever-faster data distribution, latency monitoring and measurement emerged as a key part of trading firms' infrastructure strategies, and a competitive market for monitoring tools quickly sprung up. But while…