Opinion
Michael Shashoua: Critical Mass
Even as data quality and governance work becomes more demonstrably valuable for firms, the time that has passed since the 2008 events that spurred rules changes could be eroding its momentum. Michael hears professionals’ reasons for staying the course.
Tim Bourgaize Murray: In Search of Spanish Treasure
Bad banks have gained preference in recent years both as a way to unwind toxic assets and as entities for buy-side firms to invest in. With each opportunity, the industry has sorted and implemented these mechanisms faster and faster—often with outsourced…
James Rundle: How the West Was Won
In most asset classes, electronic trading is beginning to win the day for regulators. James looks at how e-trading encourages oversight, as well as innovation.
Fixed Income's Dead? Long Live Its Technology
SEC Commissioner Mary Jo White hinted last Friday that fixed income might be the next technology rabbit hole the Commission jumps down. That seems like good news for the buy side—but is it?
The Singapore Sling, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Conferences
APTAS 2014 and BST Asia lead this week's coverage.
Opening Cross: What’s the Most Important Tool in Your Box?
The most useful article in my toolbox isn’t a wrench or a multi-tool: it’s a magic potion originally invented to support the space program, known today simply as WD40. Though its inventors may not have envisaged it becoming a household name, the spray…
Open Platform: Weathering the Perfect Storm of Cost, Complexity and Regulation
As the importance of data rises, so does the attention paid by regulators to how it is managed, increasing the data management burden on buy-side firms and prompting them to consider new models, such as managed services, says Steve Cheng, global head of…
Personnel Choices
Managing resources is increasingly being seen as an important part of efforts to improve data quality and consistency. This will require unorthodox and creative approaches to organizing and deploying data staff
Full of Sound and Fury, Signifying ... IBOR
The investment book of record (IBOR) made its way back into discussion this week both in conversations at Sifma's technology conference, and in Waters' pages. The result, Tim says, was equal parts colorful and enlightening.
Midnight in the Rue Jules Verne
FCA chief’s remarks and the UK’s moves to regulate FX lead this week’s coverage.
Opening Cross: Make the Right Entrance and You Won’t Need a Graceful Exit
The ability to make a graceful exit is a talent I don’t have: ask anyone who’s participated in a fire drill with me. Nor, it seems, does the annual SIFMA technology exhibition, which straggles doggedly on this week, despite a much smaller exhibitor list…
The CFTC's Coup(e) du Monde
At a Waters Breakfast Briefing this week, the ostensible topic was over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives, but much of the focus was instead on the cross-border provision of the Commodity Exchange Act. Tim ponders whether the problem can be addressed, and if…
Attention Getters
Around the Toronto Financial Information Summit this week, talk about how to improve data quality and governance included the possibility that a major market blow-up would be required to hasten such efforts
Toronto FIS: IRD's Editor Shares Highlights
Inside Reference Data editor Michael Shashoua notes key themes discussed at the Toronto Financial Information Summit on June 10
Spin, Hype and Hyperbole
Collateral management surveys and foreign-exchange oversight lead this week's coverage.
LEI's Big Payoff
While the legal entity identifier is starting to produce value for data management operations, Fatca and BCBS 239 could follow suit in similar fashion
Opening Cross: Data Can Fix Problems, Not Just Fixings
With the Libor-rigging scandal still fresh in our memories, pay gaps widening, and the current furor raging over the merits and fairness of high-frequency trading, it’s no surprise that the capital markets have something of a perception problem among the…
Long Live the King
With thoughts of royal abdication on his mind, Tim Bourgaize Murray pays his due respect to Anthony Malakian, and highlights what he'll be covering going forward.
Shouldering Fatca Responsibility
The industry has the pieces necessary for effective systems and operations to comply with the US foreign tax withholding rules, but must figure out how to put them all together as the July 1 deadline nears
Opening Cross: Everything Comes at a Cost, Even Cloud
Any discussion of return on investment relies on the ability to measure two things: the return generated, and the amount spent to achieve it. In the world of market data, the question is, “How much money can I make as a result of buying and using dataset…
June 2014: HFT: No Longer a Whale of a Time
Despite recent buzz, high-frequency trading does not present opportunities to just anyone, as Victor points out that the feeding frenzy has shut out all but the most highly advanced firms.
Michael Shashoua: Basel Didn’t Start the Fire
The Basel Committee’s BCBS 239 risk data aggregation principles, intended to spur a response from major financial firms by January 2016, are actually the final step in a long-running industry development, Michael writes.
Max Bowie: Same Cloud, Different Crowd
With still as many viewpoints on cloud computing as there are implementations, can cost benefits trump security concerns? Max asks whether recent cloud migrations by US regulators Finra and the Securities and Exchange Commission will help overcome these…