Feature
Forum and Function: Ideas Spring from Online Forums
Behind the big, complex ideas that make financial technology work, there is one small, simple idea. Jake Thomases looks beneath the million-dollar buzzwords at the humble internet forum, which is helping to spread big ideas faster than ever before.
Layer Cake: The Rise of Platform-as-a-Service
Cloud is the catch-all term encompassing a number of different components. Of those, software-as-a-service is the most prominent, although platform-as-a-service now offers similar, predominantly hardware-focused benefits to the financial services…
Momentum Trading's Garrett Nenner Combines Tech Savvy with Human Logic
Garrett Nenner has spent the last two decades shuffling between the sell-side and buy-side worlds. Now at broker Momentum Trading, Nenner has learned to combine technological savvy with human logic. By Anthony Malakian with photos by Amy Fletcher
Cantor Fitzgerald CTO Todd Berlent Runs Technology Like an Ultra-Marathon
Whether developing corporate strategy or completing an ultra-marathon, Todd Berlent exhibits a relentlessness few might expect from a CTO. But, as he sets about implementing a broader vision for technology at Cantor Fitzgerald, fewer still should…
Speed Trap: The Challenge of Risk Management On Demand
Volatility in the markets, the advent of algorithmic trading strategies, and ever-increasing trading volumes at faster speeds have led to the need for risk aggregation that can be run on demand, writes Steve Dew-Jones.
Vendor Relationships: What Lies Beneath
Consensus among buy-side firms is that there can sometimes be a world of difference between expectations and reality when dealing with a vendor. Steve Dew-Jones canvasses opinion on the most important considerations before awarding a technology or…
When It Comes to Mobile, All Devices Welcome
Phones and tablets aren’t just for Angry Birds. Mobile devices have allowed financial professionals to operate on a 24/7 basis, and be less attached to the office. Jake Thomases explores whether they should be allowed to embed work functionality into…
Reflections on the Paris Financial Information Summit
Nicholas Hamilton and Faye Kilburn speak to delegates at the Paris Financial Information Summit on 12 June about regulation, data management strategies and vendor-practitioner collaboration
TCA: Comparing Apples to Apples
As transaction-cost analysis continues to evolve, both the buy and sell sides are using it not only to determine performance levels, but in all areas of the trade lifecycle. Given these developments, what are the key considerations for an effective TCA…
Data Readiness Under Dodd-Frank
Inside Reference Data gathered a panel of leading industry experts to discuss the current state of regulation and standards readiness in the data industry. Dodd-Frank and the LEI loomed large in importance, as Michael Shashoua reports, but business…
AllianceBernstein Tames the Onboarding Beast
AllianceBernstein was struggling with its manually intensive onboarding process. It turned to Markit to answer the challenge. The result: Markit Document Exchange, which, as Anthony Malakian discovers, has proven to be something of a rarity in the…
Bribery Meets Its Match: Technology, Regulation Combat Corruption
No longer a “cost of doing business,” bribery and corruption on UK soil—or perpetrated through a UK-based firm anywhere in the world—have become serious offenses under sweeping legislation passed last year. Tim Bourgaize Murray finds, with authorities…
Short Circuit: Does Flash Crash II Still Loom?
Two years after the Flash Crash, an event of similar proportions has yet to occur, despite doomsday prophecies to the contrary. Have measures such as circuit-breakers helped to safeguard the stability of modern capital markets, and more importantly, have…
South Africa: Bigger, Better, Faster?
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange is moving its trading engine from London to South Africa in July, with the aim of increasing its matching speeds, and by so doing, enhancing the overall trading experience it provides its clients. Steve Dew-Jones talks to…
Well-Suited: Steve Ellis Merges Wells Fargo, Wachovia IT
People think of bankers and technologists as being a bit square. Steve Ellis broke the mold, then set the pieces on fire. Wells Fargo took a chance on him, and is now reaping the rewards. By Jake Thomases with photos by Amy Fletcher
Hedge Funds Sharpen Focus on Collateral Management Tools
From equity finance add-ons to collateral transformation, hedge funds are scrutinizing their broker relationships and collateral allocation more than ever. Tim Bourgaize Murray explores how funds, seeking to mitigate operational risk, are warming to…
Big Brother Is Watching: Compliance Envelops the Business
As regulatory reform and an enhanced level of scrutiny falls on practices within investment banks, compliance departments are finding themselves increasingly involved with all areas of a business. In this era of a more proactive approach to oversight,…
Predators in the Pool: How Dark Pools Tackle HFT
Judgments about whether a dark pool is safe from predatory trading behavior will determine how often that pool is visited. Jake Thomases discovers that, although it is easy for operators to monitor their pool, it’s the philosophies behind filtration that…
Going Boldly With Enterprise Data
In Japan and other Asian markets, enterprise data management is gaining traction as firms start to reap benefits from putting it into practice. Michael Shashoua hears from industry practitioners and providers about this trend
The Perils of Golden Copy
Data management is becoming more important to risk management functions, as the impact of regulation becomes more clear. Michael Shashoua hears the pros and cons of centralized data and single solutions compared to silos and multiple versions
Total (Data) Quality Management
Inside Reference Data gathered a panel of leading industry experts to discuss the current characteristics of data management that are seen as important to reference data operations projects. Data quality, master data management and the legal entity…
Shining a Light on Evaluated Pricing
Strapline: Pricing & Valuations
OMS and EMS: Peace Through Marriage
Order management systems and execution management systems are the Hatfields and the McCoys of trading software. Long have they quarreled over their relative merits. Jake Thomases examines how a push toward unification within a single architecture has…
Radio Silence: Are Exchanges Trying to Curb HFT?
As several exchanges in Europe and the US prepare to implement efficiency programs for order messaging-to-trade ratios, some in the industry are seeing this as a self-regulatory move to curb high-frequency trading ahead of statutory rulings. But is this…