Best of Buy-Side Technology: A Look at Our Top Stories on BST in 2015

This past year featured a few bombshell acquisitions (including SS&C's poaching of Advent), new regulatory demands (including requirements stemming from the JOBS Act) and a host of issues that will continue to take form in 2016 (including the use of artifical intelligence). 

Here are a few stories relating to those trends and events. To read some our profiles of buy-side executives from 2015, click here.

Shrewd Operators: Advent-SS&C Bombshell Exposes High Stakes on the Buy Side

A $2.7 billion deal this week moved fund administration and portfolio accounting - two traditionally quiet areas of buy-side technology - squarely into the spotlight. Waters asked a diverse array of market participants for their reaction to the move, and to gauge the consequences going forward.

Enthusiasm's Up, But Corporates' Electronification Remains Work in
Progress

With firms in the corporate bond market continuing to struggle with uneven liquidity, electronic trading has shown growth over the years. However, the movement is far from unanimous, especially on the buy side.

While Blockchain Inches Closer, Final Capital Markets Leap Remains a Mystery

At Waters USA, a handful of industry veterans resolved that the adoption of blockchain for capital markets is inevitable; however they also agreed that the means and style of entry for the technology is still anyone's guess.

Post-JOBS Act, New Energy Builds Behind Private Investment Platforms

North Capital Investment Technology (NCIT) recently announced the launch of its 99Funding marketplace, a platform for broker-vetted, syndicated private offerings. BST spoke to founder James Dowd about what he envisions for the space, both in the present and long-term.

New Regs Require New Data Management Solutions for Fund Admins, Shadow Accountants

Whether for Form PF, the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, or Fatca, companies that service buy-side firms are having to reinvent the ways that they collect and disseminate information for their clients.

New Bernstein Pairs Tool Highlights Bloomberg App Portal's Rapid Maturation

BST chats with Vipul Nagrath and Toby Bayliss about the evolution of Bloomberg's app portal as Bernstein, AllianceBernstein's (AB's) research and execution arm, has made its pairs trading tool available to Bloomberg Professional subscribers via the platform.

Asset Managers' LDI Growth Pushes Custom Solutions, Front-End Upgrades

BST talks with Manulife's Eric Menzer about the asset management industry's growing presence in liability-driven investment, and the tech direction his firm has headed as a result.

Facing New Requirements, Money Market Funds Respond with Tracking, NAV Drill-Down Tools

SEC rule changes have come slowly but steadily for money market funds and the corporates that use them to manage risk. Goldman Sachs Asset Management and other fund providers are taking a nuanced approach to designing technology that fits the bill.

As Visualization Tools Improve, Data Analytics Moves from ‘Big Data' to ‘Smart Data'

At this year's Buy-Side Technology North American Summit, heads of technology discussed the evolving data analytics space and how visualization tools are helping to complement the movement.

Alpha Profiling Helps Trader-PM Relations

Alpha profiling offers buy-side traders a way to meet portfolio managers' expectations despite the increasing volume and speed of trades.

Quickly Seeking Room to Grow, Startup Hedge Funds Chart Bold Tech Tack

More small hedge fund shops are spinning off than at any time since 2008, and many among them are taking institutional-grade risk modeling technology from the start, even if they seemingly don't need it. BST examines why these platforms are now necessity as much as they are aspirational.

'40 Act Compliance in Focus as Funds Introduce New Liquid Alts

The push for liquid alternatives continues unabated as new buy sides introduce '40 Act funds for a wider swath of investors. BST speaks with a pair of C-levels at Larch Lane Advisors about the operational and technological consequences of making the jump.

In Swaps Market, Industry Members Agree: Anonymity Rules

Some industry members believe the Dodd-Frank and EMIR regulations currently in place for the swaps market are fine, as long as anonymity remains an option.

The New BOR: Performance Book of Record

First there were ABORs and then IBORs. But as buy-side institutions grapple with performance and risk, the next acronym to hit the Street is that of PBOR, or performance book of record.

Plato Partnership Trading Platform Aims to Change the Market Model

Plato Partnership, a consortium of asset managers and broker dealers behind a new not-for-profit trading platform proposal launched last December, boasts a heavy hitting line-up of buy- and sell-side firms. Aiming to optimize block-trading models and address what its members believe to be flaws in the market, Plato project director Stephen McGoldrick talks about the fundamentals behind the partnership.

SEC Proposed Rule to Modernize, Extend Systemic Risk Reporting for Mutual Funds

Two new forms, Form N-Port and N-Cen, are at the heart of a new set of rules proposed by the SEC.

With Outages Rising, Diversification Takes on Greater Importance

At this year's Buy-Side Technology North American Summit, C-level panelists looked at the recent spate of outages at industry utilities, vendors and exchanges, agreeing that greater diversification and preparation is necessary to brace a firm against future events.