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Checks and Balances: Real-Time Reconciliation's IT Challenges
Although most firms tend to perform reconciliations on a same-day basis, these processes are dominated by manual input and prone to errors. Automated, real-time reconciliation has benefits not only for risk management, but also compliance and in…
Private Ties: Technology Rises in Private Equity
Much of private equity rests on old relationships and privity of information, but with limited partnership investments becoming more common for a wider array of investors, and a secondaries market gaining steam, technology is blossoming in unlikely…
Citadel's Sentinel: CIO Tom Miglis Aims to Do the Impossible
Commitment to investors is the thesis at Ken Griffin’s Citadel, but how the firm achieves returns—through technology—is unique for a hedge fund. Steering strategy and growing the firm’s vaunted development capacity, CIO Tom Miglis is trusted with leading…
Algos: Human After All?
Specialist firms are customizing algorithms to the needs of buy-side firms, making them better at reacting to market conditions and, ultimately, more like humans. By Steve Dew-Jones
Open Platform: The Data-Centric Approach
As institutions seek to generate alpha in a low-interest rate environment, there has been an explosion in the types of investments firms are engaging in, including derivatives and alternatives. As a result, many front-office solutions providers have…
Max Bowie: Do Crisis Closures Make Redundancy Redundant?
The datacenters supporting the US financial markets successfully weathered the worst of Hurricane Sandy. So, Max asks, shouldn’t the exchanges and trading firms they support have been able to do the same?
Michael Shashoua: Play the Game
Taking cues from other industries, data management operations executives are looking to techniques including “gamification” as ways to solve problems in their field. Michael details the ways and means such methods are being applied.
Anthony Malakian: ‘Wait and See’ No More
Many US hedge funds were hoping for a new president on the morning of November 7. That did not happen. Anthony wonders whether this means the industry will finally start to see some momentum for stalled IT projects geared toward regulation.
Jake Thomases: Work: That Thing You Do
Mobile technology combined with a generational shift in the attitude about work are beginning to break the traditional 9-to-5 mold. Cutting-edge sell-side firms are warming to this trend, and, Jake says, could save millions of dollars in the process.
HFT's Delicate Balance
During a recent high-frequency trading webcast, industry leaders discussed the difficulties around creating an effective HFT environment, how to manage those costs, and how the market is evolving. It’s a delicate balance, but a necessary one for any…
James Rundle: Mergers and Inquisitions
After last year’s string of disastrous merger attempts among stock exchanges, it seems that the trading venue giants once more have the bit between their teeth. While there have been some successes, James says there probably won’t be a winding back of…
Anthony Malakian: There’s No ‘Simple’ in Integration
Even in the face of constrained budgets, buy-side firms are still pushing forward on projects to combine their OMSs and EMSs. But, says Anthony, you can’t get the goods without the green.
Michael Shashoua: Basel III’s Fault Lines
The likelihood that the Basel III capital adequacy rules will not take effect in January as planned is not surprising. Michael asks if the delay will allow for extra time to make the rules more effective or is it just a necessary evil to get…
Max Bowie: Forget Lower Latency, Focus on Lower Costs
As it becomes prohibitively expensive to be among the fastest players, Max says firms are realizing that trading isn’t a 100-meter sprint, but more of a “tough mudder,” where speed alone isn’t a sustainable differentiator unless accompanied by strategy.
Open Platform: How to Tackle Digital Investigations
Internal investigations, underpinned by a unified investigations solution, can help financial services firms meet the demands of multiple regulations and frameworks. By Frank Coggrave
Nordic Markets' Robot Wars
While the rest of Europe continues to suffer from the ongoing financial crisis, the Nordic markets have been a relative safe haven, benefiting from technological savvy to enjoy steady growth. By Steve Dew-Jones
Building Blocks The Evolving State of Datacenters
While datacenters are an accepted part of the technology landscape, they’re remarkably inflexible and expensive by nature. But new technologies such as modular datacenters and financial extranets are beginning to uproot the traditional buy-and-build…
Cerberus CIO Richard Alexander's A-Team
After four-plus years at Cerberus Capital Management, Richard Alexander has spearheaded projects to tap into the cloud, create a data warehouse, and build a new datacenter. And that’s just the beginning. By Anthony Malakian with photos by Amy Fletcher
Securities Finance's Eastern Promise
Facing lopsided markets in North America and Europe, providers of securities finance tools—whether lending or repurchase agreements—are looking to Asia. The process is not for the impatient, but if firms can get the technology right, moves being made now…
Swaps Overhaul: Ready or Not, Here It comes
A major set of deadlines for the swaps industry passed on October 12. More will be coming soon. However, none seems to have given market participants the jolt they need to have the right platforms in place. By Jake Thomases
High-Frequency Trading: Handle with Care
Steve Dew-Jones unearths disquiet among market participants, following the European Parliament’s unanimous vote in favor of European Commission proposals to restrict the practice of high-frequency trading.
Year of the Dragon: China Opens Up
As Europe wanes, China is on the rise. Through joint ventures with big-name banks, regulatory relaxation and the expansion of technology, the sleeping giant of the East is awake and opening up to foreign and domestic trade finance, but its technology…
Buy-Side Performance and Attribution: How Soon Is Now?
At one point during the recent roundtable discussion in New York, Waters editor Victor Anderson asked panelists what the biggest obstacles are facing asset managers in terms of their ability to produce detailed and frequent performance reports. Based on…
60 Seconds with ...
Tom Warren, president, UAT, Inc.