The Uncertainty is Gone─Whether You Like It or Not

After months of uncertainty, the electorate in the US has voted for four more years with President Obama, which means that Dodd-Frank isn't going anywhere.

Over the past few months, I can't tell you how many times I've heard people in the industry say they were taking a wait-and-see approach toward budgets and projects until after the 2012 US presidential elections ended. Well, mercifully, the campaigning is over and we now know what the next few years are going to look like—and they will look a lot like the last few years.

The House, Senate and Presidency all held serve, so the uncertainty is gone and if Dodd–Frank is going to be repealed in any way it will have to happen through the court system, and even then, that would take years to unfold. Also, if you're holding your breath waiting on the court systems to upend Dodd–Frank, well, then I hope you have all your affairs in order.

Despite the millions—if not billions—spent by Wall Street backing Republican nominee Mitt Romney, President Barack Obama will get another four years, and unlike Romney, President Obama will not be repealing any part of a regulatory overhaul that was written on his watch.

And Wall Street is voicing its displeasure today as the Dow Jones Industrial Average has been down by more than 300 points today, but this is merely symbolic as there's nothing that can be done now to reverse the result.

It is said that uncertainty is bad for the market. Well, be certain that Dodd–Frank is here to stay, for better or worse. You can sulk like a petulant child, or start kicking your planning and budgets into high gear to address the many changes that will occur over the next few years.

BST Awards
Finally, I'd like to congratulate all the winners of this year's Buy-Side Technology Awards, which were announced last Friday at an event in London. It was a pleasure to meet many of you while I was over in the UK, and even better to grab drinks with you.

Here are the full results:

BST Awards 2012 Category Winners

Best Buy-Side OMS—ConvergEx's Eze OMS
Best Buy-Side EMS—Portware
Best Buy-Side Risk/Portfolio Analytics Product—Barclays
Best Buy-Side Performance Measurement and Attribution Product—BI-SAM
Best Buy-Side Algorithmic/DMA Product or Service—ConvergEx Group (Abraxas)
Best Buy-Side Commodities Trading Platform/Service—Trading Technologies
Best Buy-Side Pricing/Valuation Service—Markit
Best Buy-Side Data Management Product—Markit
Best Data Provider to the Buy Side—Rimes Technologies
Best Buy-Side Integrated Front-Office Platform—Charles River Development
Best Buy-Side Portfolio Accounting Platform—Multifonds
Best Buy-Side Client Reporting Platform—Equipos
Best Broker-Supplied Tool/Technology—UBS
Best Buy-Side Compliance Product—Fidessa
Best Buy-Side Execution Venue—Liquidnet
Best Fund Administrator—SEI
Best Buy-Side Newcomer (Vendor or Product)—Advise Technologies
Best Product Implementation at a Buy-Side Firm—SimCorp
Best Buy-Side Risk Management Initiative Over the Last 12 months—IBM Risk Analytics
Best Buy-Side CRM Product/Service—Advent
Best Buy-Side CEP Product/Service—Progress Software
Best Buy-Side Reconciliation Platform/Service—SmartStream
Best Outsourcing Provider to the Buy Side—SEI
Best Cloud Provider to the Buy Side—BT
Best Big Data Technology Provider to the Buy Side—OneMarketData
Best TCA Provider to the Buy Side—Markit
Best Buy-Side Product for 2012—Advise Technologies
Best Overall Buy-Side Technology Provider for 2012—Markit