American Financial Technology Awards (AFTAs)
AFTAs 2013: Best Mobile-Strategy Initiative—Morgan Stanley
Waters has written extensively in recent months about mobility and the idea that work is a thing you do, not a place you go. Firms across the industry are developing new mobile strategies, but it is Morgan Stanley’s Matrix Mobile rollout that won this…
AFTAs 2013: Best IT Integration Initiative—Bank of America Merrill Lynch
IT integration projects have an annoying habit of resembling icebergs: They might appear to be relatively rudimentary undertakings at the outset, but they invariably grow in complexity, timescale, and budget as they progress, often throwing up more…
AFTAs 2013: Best OTC Trading Initiative—State Street Corp.
If there’s one thing that 2013 will be remembered for in the capital markets, it will be that this was the year that swap execution facilities (SEFs) started operating. While State Street launched SwapEx in February 2012, it wasn’t until September 2013…
AFTAs 2013: Most Cutting-Edge IT Initiative—Blackstone
Park Avenue-based Blackstone Group wins what is traditionally the most competitive of the 16 categories on offer in the annual American Financial Technology Awards, thanks to its BXAccess integrated investor portal, a blend of cutting-edge technology,…
AFTAs 2013: Best Infrastructure Initiative—Bank of America
When it comes to financial technology, the key word has always been efficiency. For execution, that comes down to finding the right venues to trade with the best results for internal desks or external clients. For compliance, it’s about identifying and…
AFTAs 2013: Best Cloud Initiative—NYSE Euronext
In recent months, cloud-based solutions in the capital markets have become increasingly popular. NYSE Euronext has established itself as a major player in this space, and, through its Qbeats project, won this year’s gong for best cloud initiative.
AFTAs 2013: Best Reporting Initiative—Blackstone
Where Northern Trust, last year’s winner of the best reporting initiative category in the American Financial Technology Awards, went outside the organization for a new reporting platform, Blackstone turned inward to create a custom-built solution,…
AFTAs 2013: Best Data Management Initiative—Citi
The disciplines and processes that fall under the data management moniker are the best examples of tasks for which no finish line exists. It is a given that all financial services firms need to cost-effectively manage their data, whatever its prefix—big,…
AFTAs 2013: Best Cross-Asset Trading Initiative—JPMorgan
Imagine having access to the full breadth of execution services of one of the world’s most powerful banks on a single platform. It would have to include pre-trade, trade, and post-trade capabilities, as well as clearing, custody, margin, and prime…
AFTAs 2013: Best Analytics Initiative—Credit Suisse
The common refrain when it comes to data is that it’s not just important to have it—one also needs to know what questions to ask it. Enter analytics, which has become a critically important aspect of financial technology over the past few years,…
AFTAs 2013: Best Risk Management Initiative—International Securities Exchange
Execution management systems (EMSs) abound in the institutional trading space, but combining them with risk management capabilities, thereby broadening their usage from the front to the middle office, is a powerful proposition. With PrecISE, the Deutsche…
AFTAs 2013: Best Global Deployment—Instinet
It is no secret that some of the most complex and laborious technology projects in the capital markets come on the back of mergers or acquisitions—necessary evils of participating in a constantly evolving industry. It is therefore not surprising that the…
Waters Editor Discusses Awards Programs
Victor Anderson, editor-in-chief of Waters, gives a detailed explanation of the awards that the magazine runs, what makes for a successful entry, who judges submissions and how the winners are determined.
American Financial Technology Awards 2012: The Winners and Why They Won
The American Financial Technology Awards, now in their eighth year, seek to acknowledge the best IT projects, driven by buy-side and sell-side end-users themselves. Waters congratulates this year’s winners.
American Financial Technology Awards 2012: Best IT Team ─ BNY Mellon
The American Financial Technology Award for best IT team is one of the most coveted of all 14 awards, and was announced at the very end of the ceremony on Dec. 3 at the Marriott Marquis in Manhattan’s Times Square.
American Financial Technology Awards 2012: Best Sell-Side Technology Executive — Steve Ellis, Wells Fargo
In late 2008, Wells Fargo’s executive vice president, group head of wholesale services, was dragged, reluctantly, into managing the merger of the Wells Fargo and Wachovia technology stacks following the purchase of the failed Charlotte-headquartered bank…
American Financial Technology Awards 2012: Best Buy-Side Technology Executive — Richard Alexander, Cerberus Capital Management
Richard Alexander’s father, Ray, ran a small credit union whose members were technology company employees. It is not much of a surprise, then, that years later, Richard Alexander would find himself at the top of the financial IT food chain.
American Financial Technology Awards 2012: Best Mobile-Strategy Initiative — Bank of America Merrill Lynch
This new category for the 2012 American Financial Technology Awards reflects the world’s increasing use of mobile devices like Apple iPads and iPhones, and BlackBerrys to perform financial functions previously reserved for the desktop computer. Bank of…
American Financial Technology Awards 2012: Best IT Integration Initiative ─ Wells Fargo
Most corporate acquisitions are done for one of two reasons: The two companies are very similar and the bigger one wants to eliminate a competitor, or the two are very different and the bigger one wants to diversify. Wells Fargo’s overnight purchase of…
American Financial Technology Awards 2012: Best OTC Trading Initiative — Citi
The debut of Citi’s transparency reporting portal couldn’t have been timed better, right down to the day. On June 11, 2012, the bank rolled out the Client Money Segregation portal, giving clients insight into where their segregated funds are being kept,…
American Financial Technology Awards 2012: Most Cutting-Edge IT Initiative ─ ITG
Given the complexity and scope of the data challenges currently facing capital markets firms, it seems appropriate that ITG walked away with the most cutting-edge IT initiative category in this year’s American Financial Technology Awards thanks to its…
American Financial Technology Awards 2012: Best Infrastructure Initiative — ConvergEx Group
There’s a change happening in the world of FIX connectivity—in recent years, FIX costs have exploded, while at the same time, broker-dealers have had to adjust to life in a tough market as well look to cut costs. As firms seek savings, FIX connectivity…
American Financial Technology Awards 2012: Best Cloud Initiative — CBRE Clarion Securities
In early 2011, real estate investment management firm CBRE, an affiliate of CB Richard Ellis Group, acquired ING Clarion Real Estate Securities, a unit of ING Group that manages globally listed real estate securities for separate accounts and mutual…
American Financial Technology Awards 2012: Best Data Management Initiative — MetLife
It goes without saying that data quality is a vital component in any data management overhaul that a firm employs. It is tough for any organization to maintain a strong and consistent data quality culture if there are sprawling databases and disparate…