Emerging Technologies
After lengthy fight, Bloomberg’s Figi recognized as official US data standard
The Figi is free to use, and becomes the second reference data standard alongside Cusip, authorized for financial instrument identification by the American National Standards Institute.
Waters Wrap: Get ready for the low-code, no-code explosion
Anthony looks at some recent developments in the low-code and no-code spaces, and tries to better understand what’s hype and what’s reality.
Waters Wrap: Some random thoughts about Big Tech disruption and M&A in Q4
Anthony looks at what he thinks will be the biggest topics during the last quarter of 2021.
Machines can read, but do they understand?
A novel NLP application built on a Google transformer model can help predict ratings transitions
Waters Wavelength Podcast: Episode 241 (Big Tech and the capital markets)
Wei-Shen and Tony explore the idea of big tech companies disrupting the traditional Wall Street vendors.
A tale of two titans: Microsoft vs. Bloomberg
Bloomberg has fended off rivals to its business for years but Jo believes a more credible threat may be emerging.
Six corporate actions prototype aims to slash data delivery time
If the prototype is put into production, delivery of corporate actions data for dividends could be reduced from up to 24 hours to 15 to 30 minutes.
Waters Wrap: Cloud, AI, Interop: The evolutions driving fixed-income progress
Anthony believes these advancements will provide the opening for Big Tech firms to created outsized influence that will change financial technology forever.
FactSet, Microsoft collaborate on voice-activated analytics
The data vendor has deployed machine learning across its ETF and fund screening datasets, and plans to interoperate with other big tech firms in the future.
This Week: Azentio, TriOptima, Equinix, TNS, and more
A summary of some of the past week’s financial technology news.
AI helps one investor screen targets against UN ethical goals
PanAgora has developed a two-stage process that aims to weed out the greenwashers.
Risky business: Moody’s attempts to carve out space in overrun ESG market
In the past two years, Moody’s Analytics has acquired four vendors that the ratings specialist hopes to integrate for ESG offerings in a crowded market.
The market data vending machine: The pros and cons of self-service procurement
Brokers and exchanges have begun rolling out “self-service” portals that allow clients to choose data and services on an a la carte basis. Opinions vary on whether they are the Holy Grail or a poisoned chalice.
Firms can't afford to miss out on digital assets, says SBI Digital Markets
Waters Wavelength Podcast Interview Series: Kris Hopkins, now head of capital markets at SBI Digital Markets, discusses the opportunities for capital markets firms in the digital asset space.
Waters Wrap: Can interop connect the bond market better than consortiums? (Yes)
Anthony says that if trading firms want to take advantage of new datasets in fixed income and advancements in machine learning, they’re going to first have to embrace interoperability.
People Moves: Exegy, SEC, Clearwater Analytics, KopenTech, Lightspeed, Databricks
A look at some of the key people moves from this week, including Craig Schachter (pictured), who joins Exegy as chief revenue officer
T+1—A Step in the Right Direction
Next-day or T+1 settlement of fixed income trades might seem a pipe dream, but there are few insurmountable operational or technology reasons why such a move cannot happen. As is invariably the case with the capital markets, the regulators hold the key,…
As fixed income edges toward automation, the interop movement is cutting in
Valantic FSA, a European solutions provider, wants to remake the fixed-income tech scene in interoperability's image, taking on incumbents like Ion Group.
Cloud-based Data Services—Identifying the Benefits and Potential Pitfalls
At least one silver lining emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic for the financial services industry: most capital markets firms on both sides of the industry appear to have coped well with the initial disruption. Pretty much all of these firms have adapted…
Waters Wrap: Google-Symphony—Something to see here?
Anthony wonders if there are any tea leaves to be read as a result of Symphony migrating its platform from AWS to Google Cloud.
People Moves: Theta, Google, B2C2, Tourmaline, and more
A look at some of the key "people moves" from this week, including Paul Flanagan (pictured), who joins Theta as strategic sales advisor.
Show your workings: Lenders push to demystify AI models
Machine learning could help with loan decisions—but only if banks can explain how it works. And that’s not easy.
Burden of Proof: Meet the IEX breakaways looking to shake up broker algos
Founded with the principles of “transparency and academic rigor,” some say Proof’s model and technical approach is a test case for a new generation of cloud-native broker startups.
People Moves: LedgerEdge, JP Morgan, MarketAxess, Enfusion, and more
A look at some of the key people moves from this week, including Michelle Neal (pictured), who has joined enterprise software vendor LedgerEdge as CEO of US operations.