American Financial Technology Awards (AFTAs)
American Financial Technology Awards 2012: Best Buy-Side Technology Executive — Richard Alexander, Cerberus Capital Management
Richard Alexander’s father, Ray, ran a small credit union whose members were technology company employees. It is not much of a surprise, then, that years later, Richard Alexander would find himself at the top of the financial IT food chain.
American Financial Technology Awards 2012: Best Mobile-Strategy Initiative — Bank of America Merrill Lynch
This new category for the 2012 American Financial Technology Awards reflects the world’s increasing use of mobile devices like Apple iPads and iPhones, and BlackBerrys to perform financial functions previously reserved for the desktop computer. Bank of…
American Financial Technology Awards 2012: Best IT Integration Initiative ─ Wells Fargo
Most corporate acquisitions are done for one of two reasons: The two companies are very similar and the bigger one wants to eliminate a competitor, or the two are very different and the bigger one wants to diversify. Wells Fargo’s overnight purchase of…
American Financial Technology Awards 2012: Best OTC Trading Initiative — Citi
The debut of Citi’s transparency reporting portal couldn’t have been timed better, right down to the day. On June 11, 2012, the bank rolled out the Client Money Segregation portal, giving clients insight into where their segregated funds are being kept,…
American Financial Technology Awards 2012: Most Cutting-Edge IT Initiative ─ ITG
Given the complexity and scope of the data challenges currently facing capital markets firms, it seems appropriate that ITG walked away with the most cutting-edge IT initiative category in this year’s American Financial Technology Awards thanks to its…
American Financial Technology Awards 2012: Best Infrastructure Initiative — ConvergEx Group
There’s a change happening in the world of FIX connectivity—in recent years, FIX costs have exploded, while at the same time, broker-dealers have had to adjust to life in a tough market as well look to cut costs. As firms seek savings, FIX connectivity…
American Financial Technology Awards 2012: Best Cloud Initiative — CBRE Clarion Securities
In early 2011, real estate investment management firm CBRE, an affiliate of CB Richard Ellis Group, acquired ING Clarion Real Estate Securities, a unit of ING Group that manages globally listed real estate securities for separate accounts and mutual…
American Financial Technology Awards 2012: Best Data Management Initiative — MetLife
It goes without saying that data quality is a vital component in any data management overhaul that a firm employs. It is tough for any organization to maintain a strong and consistent data quality culture if there are sprawling databases and disparate…
American Financial Technology Awards 2012: Best Cross-Asset Trading Initiative — Bank of America Merrill Lynch
It is becoming less acceptable for trading platforms to lack multi-asset capability. Another kind of consolidation was already on Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s (BAML’s) mind in mid-2010, when it strove to provide a fully integrated client experience…
American Financial Technology Awards 2012: Best Risk Analytics Initiative — LCH.Clearnet
Given risk management’s elevation in recent years to arguably the single most critical business process for buy-side and sell-side firms to monitor outside of specific alpha-seeking functions, it is hardly surprising to note the slew of risk management…
American Financial Technology Awards 2012: Best Global Deployment — ITG
Most technology implementations within financial services firms, regardless of how trivial they might appear at the outset, are not for the fainthearted—they have a knack for turning out to be far more complicated than anticipated, extending deadlines…
Waters Announces 2012 American Financial Technology Awards Winners
Last night, Waters hosted the eighth annual American Financial Technology Awards banquet, following the Waters USA conference, at the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square.
Tick, Tock. Tick, Tock: The Clock is Running Out on Awards Submissions
Anthony sounds the alarm one last time on getting your submissions in for the AFTA and Buy-Side Technology awards.
AFTA the BST Awards
The deadline for BST Awards submissions is advancing, while the AFTAs nominating process has just begun.
AMERICAN FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY AWARDS: Nothing Succeeds Like Success
The American Financial Technology Awards, now in their seventh year, recognize financial technologists from the buy side, the sell side and market centers who inject innovation into the capital markets through technology. Waters salutes the 2011 winners.
AMERICAN FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY AWARDS: Best IT Team: Barclays Capital
JUDGE’S COMMENT: Barclays PRS turns data across multiple asset class into meaningful information. It also seems to put that information in the hands of the right people ... and gives Barclays the ability to create new reports and distribute them with…
AMERICAN FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY AWARDS: Best CIO: Catherine Bessant, Bank of America
JUDGE'S COMMENT: Bessant's diverse background provides an invaluable perspective for one who has to oversee the technology needs for a corporate, investment and retail banking institution.
AMERICAN FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY AWARDS: Best IT Integration Initiative: State Street
JUDGE’S COMMENT: It is a great innovation on the part of the staff to develop the Virtual Integration Architecture (VIA). I particularly like how this State Street technology effort led to reusable “process improvements and a project-governance approach.”
AMERICAN FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY AWARDS: Best OTC Trading Initiative: JPMorgan
JUDGE'S COMMENT: This project was very challenging in terms of the business logic and integration it needed with various systems to create a single, consolidated statement for all cleared and bilateral asset classes.
AMERICAN FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY AWARDS: Best Green IT Initiative: State Street
JUDGE’S COMMENT: This is a simple, yet effective solution that leaves lots of potential for the firm to make additional savings in other areas.
AMERICAN FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY AWARDS: Most Cutting-Edge IT Initiative: JPMorgan
JUDGE’S COMMENT: This project identifies a perfect use for performance-enhancing FPGA technologies in an area where throughput and processing requirements outstrip latency concerns, which, until now, was the primary driver for FPGA adoption.
AMERICAN FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY AWARDS: Best Infrastructure Initiative: Investment Technology Group (ITG)
JUDGE’S COMMENT: This is a good long-range project that already has seen a nice payoff and will continue to do so.
AMERICAN FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY AWARDS: Best Cloud Initiative: State Street
JUDGE’S COMMENT: I have always been impressed with how State Street has been a leader in the realm of cloud computing. This is a prime example of how to exploit the technology to its fullest.
AMERICAN FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY AWARDS: Best Data Management Initiative: Knight Capital
JUDGE’S COMMENT: This is the promise of enterprise data management: being able to leverage all of the firm’s data in order to drive greater profitability through identifying new opportunities, while reducing unprofitable investments.