Waters
July 2014: Beware the Snake Oil Salesman
The importance of technology in the capital markets cannot be understated, but when it comes to IBOR implementations, Victor says firms should be wary of vendors peddling all tech and no support.
Max Bowie: Data Wizards Must Be Ready For an Unexpected Journey
The level of innovation among providers of data tools and services is often measured by the new products they create. But Max says innovation also takes place at the end-user level as firms find increasingly creative ways put those products to new and…
Michael Shashoua: Critical Mass
Even as data quality and governance work becomes more demonstrably valuable for firms, the time that has passed since the 2008 events that spurred rules changes could be eroding its momentum. Michael hears professionals’ reasons for staying the course.
Tim Bourgaize Murray: In Search of Spanish Treasure
Bad banks have gained preference in recent years both as a way to unwind toxic assets and as entities for buy-side firms to invest in. With each opportunity, the industry has sorted and implemented these mechanisms faster and faster—often with outsourced…
James Rundle: How the West Was Won
In most asset classes, electronic trading is beginning to win the day for regulators. James looks at how e-trading encourages oversight, as well as innovation.
In Spain, Technology Charts 'Bad Bank' Path
The European ‘bad bank’ model has become one of global finance’s more ubiquitous contrivances, addressing a scourge of toxic assets that more and more markets find themselves coping with. Tim Bourgaize Murray examines the Spanish real estate market—and…
Swap Futures Special Report
May 2014 ─ sponsored exclusively by Equinix.
Data Management Special Report
June 2014 ─ sponsored by Eagle Investment Systems, ClusterSeven, and Xenomorph.
A Collateral Opportunity?
Since the failure of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, the spotlight has settled on buy-side and sell-side firms’ collateral management disciplines. Risk mitigation, protection of assets, measuring counterparty exposure, and secured funding are some of…
The Cyber Security Lost Cause
There are a number of partial defenses against cyber-attacks, including software and organizational training and preparation, and it is imperative that any business, especially financial services firms, adopt them to avoid becoming an easy target. But as…
Diving In: IBOR Initiatives Drive Culture of Responsibility at UK Buy-Side Firms
The debate surrounding the investment book of record has moved to a new stage, with the release of a working group’s standards, and initiatives by the vendor community toward targeted products. Meanwhile, at two of the UK’s largest investment managers,…
Waters Rankings 2014 ─ Voting Has Now Closed
Voting in this year's Waters Rankings has now closed.
The Art and the Science of SSgA
SSgA weathered the financial crisis thanks in part to its passive investment strategies. With good times returning, though, it has had to evolve with the market and is now looking at advanced beta, while at the same time growing its active investment…
FX Tech Moves Forward Amid Scandals
Rocked by rate-rigging scandals and questions over manipulation of benchmarks, foreign exchange as an asset class has lost its luster for some. Partly as a result of these events, though, technology innovation is still growing for this unique market. By…
Texas-Sized Technology: Utimco CTO Uche Abalogu
Like many of its endowment brethren, $32.6 billion University of Texas Investment Management Company (Utimco), one of the more unique institutional investors in the US, has seen its data requirements and the need for seasoned in-house technical expertise…
June 2014: HFT: No Longer a Whale of a Time
Despite recent buzz, high-frequency trading does not present opportunities to just anyone, as Victor points out that the feeding frenzy has shut out all but the most highly advanced firms.
Michael Shashoua: Basel Didn’t Start the Fire
The Basel Committee’s BCBS 239 risk data aggregation principles, intended to spur a response from major financial firms by January 2016, are actually the final step in a long-running industry development, Michael writes.
Max Bowie: Same Cloud, Different Crowd
With still as many viewpoints on cloud computing as there are implementations, can cost benefits trump security concerns? Max asks whether recent cloud migrations by US regulators Finra and the Securities and Exchange Commission will help overcome these…
James Rundle: Ahead of the Curve
James sees recent pushes by the sell side toward embracing new technologies as a sign that a more intelligent approach is being taken, both by regulators and by banks.
Anthony Malakian: An Offer Technologists Can’t Refuse
Anthony says the business should drive new systems and software implementations. Technologists need to have an ear in the room and serve as advisors, but they shouldn’t be steering the decision-making process.
European Firms Grapple with Algo-Tagging Rules
Although the flagging and tagging of algorithms is only currently required in Germany, under the German HFT Act, it is slowly making its way into Pan-European law. Marina Daras looks at the German rule to see how the algo labeling requirement under Mifir…
SROs Deploy Advanced Tech to Keep Up with Members
Self-regulatory organizations can’t tap into company profits like banks, nor can they rely on taxpayer funding like government regulators. Still, using only membership dues, they must carry out their registration and surveillance functions of national…
Tackling Teething Troubles: Examining the Current State of the OTC Derivatives Market
The over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives market is in the midst of a global regulatory restructure. Authorities in Europe, Asia and the US are currently rolling out schemes that have been years in the making, establishing different trading venues,…
IBOR special report
May 2014 - sponsored by: Advent; Eagle Investment Systems; InvestTech Systems Consulting; Linedata; SimCorp