Deep in the Heart of Chicago

I've been to Chicago on business several times, and I have to say, it’s my kind of town: good sports bars and cigar shops, some fine microbrews, and pleasant scenery. The city ticks the boxes.

This week I was there to cover the annual Inside Market Data Chicago conference. It was an eclectic lot gathered for the various panels and fortunately for me, many C-level buy-side representatives were in attendance.

Over the next few days and weeks, I will be writing several stories focusing on topics that were brought up during those panels. Here's a peek at what's to come:

● The predictability and measurement of latency for internal systems: I will examine how firewall performance, router performance, networking lines and server performance are measured. The story will also address the importance of clock synchronization.

● Metadata: Several panelists discussed the explosive growth of metadata as they look to further examine and gain a greater understanding of their market data.

● Clean data versus real data: "I want real data, not clean data,” said Andrew Kumiega, an adjunct professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology who has also served at Infinium Capital Management, Spectrum Global Fund Administration, and TD-Waterhouse Securities, among other financial institutions. Andrew Acosta of Milesius Capital echoed this statement.

● Storage and data delivery for regulatory compliance and auditing: This has become something of a nightmare as there are more requirements for keeping trade data and recalling that data quickly, and then providing analysis around that position.

● Opportunities and concerns around investment in emerging markets, and the technology hurdles therein: Spoiler alert—it's not as safe as you might think.

If you have some insight into these topics, please feel free to reach out. Give me a call at +1 646 490 3973, or email me at anthony.malakian@incisivemedia.com.