Waters
Anthony Malakian: Hope in One Hand ...
Even as the first wave of requirements for Form PF rules approach, Anthony wonders if it makes any sense for buy-side firms to throw money at solving regulatory demands in an election year when so many rules have already been delayed or scrapped.
Max Bowie: Speed Is Nothing Without Control
With the Sifma technology show upon us, vendors are showcasing their wares—often with a focus on speed and throughput. But in a regulatory environment placing greater emphasis on risk checks and compliance, firms are also expecting these solutions to…
Jake Thomases: Blissfully Ignorant
At a meeting of the Secret Science Club, Jake stumbled across one very smart man who celebrates when he doesn’t have the answers. Wall Street, on the other hand, is full of very smart people who get paid for nothing but answers. Academia never seemed so…
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 Data: Right Here, Right Now
Much has already been published in Waters and sibling publications Inside Market Data and Inside Reference Data, about Big Data and the challenges it presents financial services end-users and technologists. And while these challenges should not be…
Cloud Computing: Defying Definition
Cloud-based services, depending on one’s definition of the cloud, have been knocking around the financial services industry for more than a decade. And, given the maturity and pervasiveness of certain cloud platforms, large numbers of users are utilizing…
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,…
June 2012: Terrifying Stuff
Victor says that despite reservations about cloud-based technologies, they will ultimately surpass their in-house counterparts.
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…
60 Seconds with ... Keith Hale, Multifonds
Keith Hale, executive vice president, client and business development, Multifonds
May 2012: Ode to Experience
Like fine wine and cyclists, technologists get better with age.
James Rundle: Survival of the Fittest
Austerity is the key word in business and society at large. The ways in which the sell-side industry is streamlining its operations are being enabled by cutting-edge technology, though, and James believes the evolution on display is a key area of…
Anthony Malakian: Trust Your Gut
At this year’s North American Trading Architecture Summit, Anthony took note as speakers tried to explain how best to marry IT with the business. It’s a game of hits … and lots of misses.
Michael Shashoua: The Shape of Things to Come
Global industry messaging standards organization ISITC has put itself front and center in discussions that will influence the industry’s actions on operational innovation and regulatory compliance for years to come. Michael sheds light on the details of…
Max Bowie: Don’t Be the Fool Parted from Your Money
Widespread adoption of algorithmic trading has led to belief in the infallibility of computers. But as technology once restricted to institutional trading desks filters down to retail traders, Max asks whether the sophistication of the tools available…
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…
OTFs' Next Move
With G20 commitments obliging regulators to regiment the trading of over-the-counter derivatives, Mifid II proposes the integration of organized trading facilities, but what impact will this have? By Steve Dew-Jones
TCA Comes to Futures and FX
Transaction-cost analysis started in equities and, for the most part, hasn’t left—until recently. For various reasons, demand among FX and futures traders for a way to measure their execution costs is growing, and vendors are responding. By Jake Thomases
Liquidity & Electronic Trading special report
May 2012 - sponsored by: Bloomberg, IPC Systems, Knight Capital, SunGard
Dark Forces: Off-Exchange Trading on the Rise
A growing percentage of trade volumes is moving off-exchange every year, whether it’s through broker dark pools, internalized on a firm’s own desks, or elsewhere. Along with declining liquidity in equities markets and higher trading costs, the increasing…
SEFs Through the Looking Glass
While the rules trickle in for swap execution facilities, firms are investing in connectivity and platform design in anticipation of a deeper, more liquid market. As Tim Bourgaize Murray discovers, when it comes to the nascent SEF ecosystem, the future…