Waters
Assessing the Implementation Challenges Associated with Emerging Technologies
In parts one and two of this five-part feature, we looked at the the technologies that typically fall under the "emerging technologies" moniker, and the operational benefits of deploying such technologies. In this section, we look at the complexities and…
Measuring the Operational Benefits of Embracing Emerging Technologies
In part two of this five-part feature on emerging technologies, participants discuss the business and operational opportunities around embracing emerging technologies, specifically the reduced cost and speed to market offered by on-demand consumption of…
Emerging Technologies special report
March 2014 - sponsored by: Advent: CenturyLink Technology Solutions; Cloudera; Green Key Technologies; Maxeler Technologies
Emerging Technologies and the Advantages they Offer Early Adopters
In a recent virtual roundtable on the benefits and challenges around the adoption of emerging technologies, respondents discussed how capital markets firms might evaluate such technologies with the view to creating a competitive advantage. In part one of…
KKR's Colorful Personality: CIO Ed Brandman
Ed Brandman’s friendly quirks don’t conjure the conventional image of an IT chief, especially at KKR, one of the more white-shoe firms in a space famous for them. But don’t let the CIO’s charms fool you. He effectively redefined enterprise-grade…
James Rundle: The Big Whimper
While derivatives markets have seen huge transformations in both the US and Europe this month, James says they haven’t brought about the Big Bang effect that many predicted.
Anthony Malakian: The Power of the Investor
Anthony says that while new reporting guidelines and technologies will help firms to make the business case to move away from spreadsheets in favor of automated systems, investors will hold the most sway in making this a reality.
Michael Shashoua: Steadying Data Flows
Data management professionals will need to achieve smooth input and output to make investment books of record into useful systems for their firms. And, Michael explains, the European Market Infrastructure Regulation rules implementation is raising…
Max Bowie: Lights, Camera, Data!
With movies about corporate espionage and greedy tycoons—from the high-flying The Wolf of Wall Street to the grimy Boiler Room—always popular, the average person’s understanding of market data and trading technologies comes from the big screen, not the…
March 2014: Breaking the Habit
Microsoft Excel as an operational tool is as flawed as it is ubiquitous on Wall Street—even the regulators are guilty of over-reliance on spreadsheets—but Victor says cutting back on its use in favor of automated processes can mean serious long-term…
Take Away Spreadsheets? From My Cold, Dead Hands
Microsoft Excel spreadsheets will continue to be widely used at asset management firms for the foreseeable future. But new regulations, technological advancements, and risk management concerns are leading buy-side firms to examine ways to lessen their…
All Eyes on Outsourcing
After UBS announced last month that it would outsource most of its fixed-income trading platform to Murex and Ion Trading, Marina Daras looks at how financial services firms intend to manage their IT costs by reassessing their outsourcing options.
Real-Time Risk: Keeping It Real
Pitches for real-time risk solutions focus more on the sell side than the buy side. Jake Thomases set out to determine how much hedge funds and asset managers care about calculating risk in the blink of an eye. Some do, but it’s largely dependent on…
Europe Takes First Steps Toward Electronic Derivatives Trading
With provisional agreement on the Mifid II text by European political authorities, electronic execution of derivatives is set to spread over the Atlantic Ocean in the near future. In terms of equivalence, interoperability, and mutual recognition, how…
February 2014: In Praise of the Corporate Plodder
I’m not sure whether there’s a formal name for them – a quick Google search suggests that my hunch is spot-on – but I regularly use a collective term to describe the drones of the business, the worker bees, the foot soldiers: corporate plodders.
Kotch's Confidence: CTO Mary Kotch Balances Family with AIG's Rebuild
AIG CTO Mary Kotch sits down with Anthony Malakian to discuss her ascent up the technology ladder to her current position, and how she manages to find a work–life balance while helping the insurance giant to restore its brand post-2008. Photos by Amy…
James Rundle: There and Back Again
In January, European political authorities provisionally agreed on a package of reforms to securities markets that will have deep consequences for financial services firms. As the technical work can now get underway, James looks at the challenges ahead…
Anthony Malakian: Learning Lessons
Anthony’s dad taught him a lesson from his own career: Sometimes great ideas come from unexpected places. It’s good, therefore, to always listen and be open to new ideas.
Nicholas Hamilton: Surprise, Surprise
The nominations for the board of directors of the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation include some surprises and clues about the form the Central Operating Unit might take, writes Nicholas Hamilton.
Max Bowie: This Valentine’s Day, Why Not … Break Up?
Any recipe for success involves a combination of ingredients. But sometimes recipes taste better when a few toxic ingredients are removed. And with everyone looking to be disruptive in 2014, Max notes that you don’t make a disruption omelet without…
Asset Management Shift Inspires IT Transformation Among Middle Eastern Banks
While markets along the Persian Gulf have conspicuously built up financial infrastructure in recent years to attract foreign firms and capital, local banks elsewhere in the Middle East are bolstering their technological capacity to do precisely the…
Fund Managers Gear Up for AIFMD Costs, Compliance
With only six months to go until the July 22 deadline for fund managers to comply with the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, Marina Daras looks at how the industry is gearing up in the homestretch.
Derivatives Trading Firms Weigh Audio Recording Approaches
Thanks to the latest Dodd–Frank provision in which derivatives transactions will be more closely monitored, many US traders will now have their conversations recorded. Jake Thomases investigates how that recording will be done and what will happen to the…
BofA's Bessant Embraces BYOD, Eyes Big Data's Interest vs. Impact
At a time when few institutions can countenance a wholesale technology reform program, Bank of America is storming ahead on the mobile front, in addition to undertaking a total infrastructural transformation and the goal of developing single platforms…