BBH’s new tech affiliate, Broadridge’s tokenization platform, and more

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. On that day, at the Windows on the World in the North Tower, WatersTechnology (then simply known as Waters) was hosting its first-ever event. Of nearly 3,000 people who were killed in the terrorist attacks, 16 were members of Risk Waters, and another 71 were delegates who had arrived to catch the morning presentations or settle in before participating in panel discussions scheduled for later in the day. Another 72 restaurant staff were already well into their shifts, having arrived early for breakfast preparations.

On this anniversary—and every anniversary going forward—we republish this commemorative article from 2021, with updated staff contributions: https://www.waterstechnology.com/comment/7874671/911-the-colleagues-we-lost-and-the-years-that-followed

Announced this week

BBH introduces new tech affiliate

Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH) has launched Braid LLC, its new technology affiliate, focused on solving enterprise data transformation for financial services. Braid offers an AI-native data transformation platform that allows firms to transform, connect, and manage their data.

Instead of requiring engineers to build data automations, Braid allows business users to describe their needs in natural language, which AI agents use to build data transformations that are transparent and fully auditable.

In a 2025 pilot, Braid delivered as high as 98% efficiency gains across three use cases: converting data into standard formats; automating trade instruction ingestion more efficiently than traditional extract, transform, load tools; and unifying disparate data from more than 150 external providers, saving hundreds of hours of effort.

Sterling launches AI web and mobile trading capability

Sterling Trading Tech, a provider of trading platforms, order management systems and risk management solutions, has launched Strider, an AI-driven web and mobile trading capability.

Strider can adapt to traders’ needs and provide tools and workflows to support decision-making and trade execution. Using Strider, traders can access Sterling’s full functionality from any browser or mobile device, fully interoperable with their desktop.

Broadridge launches DLX

Broadridge has launched DLX, a fully integrated, end-to-end tokenization and digital asset infrastructure platform. DLX will enable financial institutions to operate across tokenized and traditional markets through a connected operating layer for on-chain and off-chain activity.

It can currently connect to the DTCC Tokenization Service via Canton and other networks. DLX builds on Broadridge’s distributed ledger repo capability for collateral mobility and securities financing. Horacio Barakat, global head of digital innovation at Broadridge, said DLX provides market participants an accelerated pathway to operating on-chain without sacrificing the controls, connectivity, and operating models they rely on today.

ExeQution Analytics introduces FX analytics solution

ExeQution Analytics, a specialist trading analytics company, has launched Solas, an FX analytics solution for trading. Solas, which means “light” in Irish, combines relevant data such as trade, client, market and hedging activity, and turns it into tools that provide teams with actionable insights.

While FX is the world’s largest market, analyzing it well can be challenging as firms have to stitch together data volumes, client interactions and moving trading dynamics such as algo execution, hedging flows and internalization. Solas provides firms with a bespoke solution built on clients’ own data and can be delivered in as little as three months.

ExeQution Analytics also paired Solas with its AI engine, Eolas, that lets non-technical teams like sales and trading interrogate data in plain language.

EDI partners with Symbol Master and CPZ

Exchange Data International (EDI), Symbol Master (SMI), and CPZ, have partnered to integrate trusted financial data into CPZAI, CPZ’s AI-native systematic trading operating system.

Under the partnership, EDI’s global equity reference data and end-of-day pricing, and SMI’s core options reference content and analytics will both be integrated into CPZAI’s platform. This eliminates the need for traders to manually move data between tools, a process that introduces delays and errors.

Daloopa makes AI Excel agent available

Daloopa, the data infrastructure for AI in investment research, has made Scout, its AI Excel agent for financial modeling, available.

Scout is powered by Daloopa’s structured, verified data layer and enables analysts to build models from scratch, update existing models after a company reports earnings, and compare companies across an industry through plain-language prompts directly in Excel.

It is designed around the Excel workflows public equity teams run every day. Instead of manually pulling financial data from filings and verifying each figure, analysts can have Scout build or modify the model for them.

LDA launches two new ultra-low latency platforms

LDA Technologies has launched two configurable, ultra-low latency, high-density hardware platforms designed for clients to build the devices their workload requires.

Torus is a high-density, multi-board platform engineered for compute heavy workloads with compact deployment for trading, high-performance computing, and AI. OmniX brings the lowest latency, FPGA-powered networking platform available with high-bandwidth capture and swappable drives, allowing users to tap, timestamp and record in one box.

IMTC integrates with MarketAxess

Fixed-income trading platform provider IMTC has integrated with MarketAxess with the aim of allowing MarketAxess liquidity to be accessible from IMTC’s portfolio and order management workflows. Mutual clients will be able to route orders to MarketAxess and tap into its differentiated liquidity across credit products, thus bringing MarketAxess’ electronic marketplace and liquidity closer to the point of portfolio decision-making, directly within IMTC’s portfolio construction and optimization workflows.

FIX publishes guidance for electronic securities lending

The FIX Trading Community has published its guidance for electronic securities lending. The guidelines establish workflow practices for securities lending contracts, either in a bilateral setting or including a venue.

Building on previously published practices for US equities, corporate bonds and DTC-eligible DVP US cash collateral contracts, they provide support for quote negotiation workflows along with last-look, as well as free-of-payment lending.

What you might have missed from us

Banks brace for higher costs as chip memory runs short

A shortage of two specific types of memory necessary for AI usage, Dynamic Random Access Memory and NAND flash memory, has been pushing prices up. For some banks, hyperscalers, and technology firms at the forefront of innovation, the cost has become too high to continue just consuming.

Of the estimated $700-800 billion in hyperscalers’ capital expenditure this year, roughly $300-350 billion is being spent on DRAM and NAND flash alone.

How long the industry will have to endure the effects of the memory crunch is unclear, as there are no immediate structural solutions.

SIX launches market data platform designed for accessibility

SIX Group has launched a new data marketplace, SIX Market Signal, that provides institutions, retail traders, and fintechs with direct access to real-time and historical market data from each of its venues. The exchange white-labeled technology from its partner, ViaNexus, to build SIX Market Signal.

SIX Market Signal currently offers two products: SIX 1BBO, a real-time, top-of-book equities datafeed covering more than 4,000 stocks trading on SIX Swiss Exchange, BME, and Aquis Exchange; and a set of analytics for sophisticated users called Quant Product Insights.

Can AI beat exceptions out of the back office?

In this week’s Waters Wrap, Wei-Shen questions how firms can use agentic AI to help their operations teams better handle exception management.

After funding boost, Databento preps data expansion

Databento raised almost $100 million in Series B funding in August. The vendor is taking its pay-as-you-go model and applying it real-time data. Today, it has about 90,000 users among hedge funds, prop trading firms, broker-dealers, fintechs, commodities traders, digital asset traders and AI labs.

Databento had been predominantly US-based and captured data from North American exchanges, but it is now broadening its content and ability to source market data from other regions too.

Waters Wavelength Ep. 358: Tradeweb’s Chris Bruner

This week, Chris Bruner, Tradeweb’s chief product officer, joins Tony on the podcast to discuss fixed income, prediction markets, agentic AI, and overnight trading.

In other news

Google Cloud, Accenture Launch Unit to Put AI Engineers On-Site With Customers, The Wall Street Journal

Google Cloud and Accenture have formed Accenture Gemini Enterprise Business Group, a new unit aimed at helping customers deploy Google Cloud’s agentic AI platform.

As reported by Isabelle Bousquette, Google Cloud will help train up to 1,000 Accenture forward deployed engineers, who will work with clients on-site to plan and build AI applications on the Gemini Enterprise platform.

It has been almost four years since ChatGPT’s debut, but firms still struggle to see ROI from integrating AI tools into their systems. This new group is designed to help with that.