Opinion
Latency Love in A Cold Climate
If time is money, do things that save time also save us money? In the financial markets, saving time can make money, by being the first to get the best price and make the most profitable trades. However, the data and technology solutions that enable…
The Sound and the Fury
There's been a lot of buzz in the financial markets over the past week on how a former Goldman Sachs employee, Sergey Aleynnikov, allegedly downloaded his former employer's proprietary trading "secret sauce." Some coverage in the business press…
The Naked and the Dead
It appears that it will be only a matter of time before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) writes the obituary for naked sponsored access to the exchanges. Most people in the industry agree that it is a smart thing to do in order to…
From Russia With Latency
With a birthday coming up at the end of the month, I was expecting some cards, so I was encouraged to see one arrive in the mail this week from some business contacts in Russia. However, when I opened the envelope, I realized that all was not as it first…
20:20 Hindsight
As UK-based market data technology vendor Sinara Consultants celebrates its 20 th anniversary, sales director Gary Hughes reminisces on how technological change and globalization have changed customer requirements over those years, and looks forward to…
The Greatest Show on Earth?
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EDITOR'S LETTER
OSI: Managing the Impact Analysis
The business impact analysis, the logical first step of any options symbology initiative (OSI) program, should provide a complete view of the OSI's effect on an organization, its business processes and its systems, says Ernst & Young's Alan Paris, with…
Editor's Letter - Things are not the same
I'm not going to be in New York this year for the annual SIFMA conference/exhibit, and I'm disappointed it'll be the first such get-together I've missed in the past seven years. But I simply couldn't justify the expense and time out of the office to…
Warming up to registration by Stewart Eisenhart
What a difference three years, an economic crisis and a new US presidential Administration make. After successfully turning back SEC efforts to require hedge fund registration in 2006 - and keeping the issue from being meaningfully revisited since -…
Calculating the real cost of technology
Buy-side firms are under increasing pressure to rationalise their technology infrastructures and staff compliments in an attempt to positively impact the bottom line. One way of doing this is by carrying out a total cost of ownership (TCO) exercise…
Mind the gaps by Emily Fraser
If a road or pavement starts to crack, creating a public health and safety hazard, you would hope the local authorities would eventually come along and fix it. Unchecked, such cracks pose a risk of serious injury, particularly to weaker and infirm…
Will Non-MVPs Strike Out?
The New York Yankees and New York Mets both moved into billion-dollar new stadiums this season, despite the financial constraints associated with the turbulent economy. And while I can't vouch for attendance at Citi field, the Yankees have played to sell…
It Never Rains, But It Pours
If it is the middle of June, it must be time for the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association's (Sifma's) Technology Management Conference at the Hilton in Midtown Manhattan. In the past, the conference always marked the unofficial start of…
What Happens at SIFMA Stays at SIFMA
It's that time of year again. High-stakes rollers circle a large hall devoid of daylight. Some of them know their game, some are there to observe, others play their cards close to their chests. The players use strategies from free drinks to scantily clad…
Use the Force, Luke
I haven't spent much money on toys for myself for quite a number of years. Apart from plunking down a few dollars to replace the 3 megapixel brick of a digital camera that I have been carrying around for the past five years, I didn't have any major…
Analyze This
I write this looking out on a misty and unseasonably mild night in Astoria, with clouds shrouding tall buildings and rain pounding my window, at a time of year when the city should be sweating in the middle of an unbearable New York summer. It goes to…
Foreign Exchange Students of Latency
Much of the debate around low latency, direct feeds and capacity issues has thus far focused on the equities and options markets, with warnings that these concerns will soon expand into other asset classes such as foreign exchange. But according to a new…
Hedge Funds: Prime Villains?
Open Platform
Pulling Back the Curtain
Editor’s Letter