Keeping Up With DeFrancesco

Every week I get the chance to use this space to share my opinions on some of the most pressing issues in the industry. Whether it's the need for regulators to do a better job spacing out regulations, the best use of data scientists or the impact of the Panama Papers, I'm always happy to give my thoughts on a matter.

Sometimes it's nice to take a step back and look at the big picture. And with summer just around the corner, and lots of interesting things planned by us in the coming months, I figured now would be as good a time as any.

I'll be honest, the fact this was a slow news week, and I was stuck in jury duty for two days might have impacted my decision. It's tough to get worked up about an issue when you're stuck waiting in a courtroom eight hours a day.

O Canada!

The first thing I'd like to touch on is my trip to Toronto. I'll be heading up to our friendly neighbors to the north for the Toronto Financial Information & Technology Summit 2016 on June 7.

I had the chance to attend last year, and it was a great conference touching on things like building innovation directly into your firm's processes, proper cybersecurity training and Fatca. If you're interested, click here to view my stories from last year's event.

You can find this year's agenda here. It's a great mix of data and technology discussions. I think it's a valuable conference to attend if you're in the area, and I'll be there. What more could you ask for?

To that point, I'm traveling to Toronto early Monday morning (June 6) and leaving Wednesday night (June 8), so if you're in the area and would like to meet up, feel free to reach out to me.

All the Way Up

Speaking of Waters events, voting for the Waters Rankings 2016 is currently open. Voting closes June 3, so get out there and vote if you haven't already. The winners will be announced Thursday, July 14, at The Metropolitan Club in New York.

There are 30 categories this year that fall under five headings: trading services; trading tools; data management; compliance, risk management and the back office; infrastructure and connectivity. The survey only takes five minutes, so it doesn't take long to let your voice be heard!

The Waters Rankings are particularly special because they are voted on by you, the readers. Who better to decide what products are the best in the industry than the people who actually use them?

In case you're interested, you can click here to check out last year's winners. And again, don't forget to go here to vote!

Listen to Me

Finally, it wouldn't be a proper editor's letter without a bit of self-promotion. In case you haven't heard, US editor Anthony Malakian and I have been recording a weekly podcast for the past four months.

The Waters Weekly Wrap is a mixture of the biggest trends in the industry, along with Anthony and I discussing sports, politics and pop culture. I'd like to think we do a good job of mixing things up between hard news topics and fun stuff.

If you haven't already, I strongly encourage you to give us a listen. You can find all the podcasts on our website here, or you can go to our SoundCloud page. (Don't forget to subscribe!) If you're an iTunes user, you can find us by searching "WatersTechnology" in the iTunes store, or heading here.

The podcast has continued to evolve since its inception, and we're always interested in your feedback. If you have something to say—good or bad—feel free to reach out and let us know.

Also, in the coming weeks we'll begin having guests on the podcast, so if you think you'd be a suitable candidate, or know someone who would, let us know. We'd love to hear from you.

This week on the Waters Wavelength podcast ─ Episode 17: Regulatory Landscape, Fixed Income, Blockchain

If you haven't already, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here. Also, check out our SoundCloud account here.