Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome (Back) to Sifma!

It's time once again for the Sifma Tech Expo in New York and here's my question: Is this still considered the preeminent event in the US financial technology space? This will be my third Sifma event and all I've been hearing the last few years is how it is getting smaller and less relevant.

As a journalist, I find the show quite useful as it's basically like shooting fish in a barrel—many of my contacts are in one place, and every time I turn around, there is someone ready to discuss the latest news and trends.

Vendors, meanwhile, tell me they find it more useful to simply mill around the exhibition hall and conduct meetings in the Hilton’s Bridges Bar, rather than pay for a booth. A quick skim of the exhibitors’ list reveals that many of the companies taking a booth are new to Sifma, which also means that others are not coming back for another go-round.

I'm looking forward to Tuesday and Wednesday and I hope the event gets a jump-start this year. To help me read the tea leaves, if you have a minute, vote in our Sifma poll and let me know how you plan to get the most out of your time there.

Additionally, if you see me at the event, please don't hesitate to come up and say hi. I'll be the guy booing Eli Manning off the stage. In the meantime, as always, you can drop me a line at anthony.malakian@incisivemedia.com.

Hope to see you there.