Buy-Side Technology/Analysis
The Pitfalls of Social Media
If the Mark Zuckerberg movie taught us anything, it's that there's plenty of drama in social networking. Usage of these tools is sky high in our personal lives. That shouldn't automatically carry over to our business lives.
Gulf Continues to Exist Between IT and Traders, Says IPC Poll
It is a frequent complaint that IT departments do not understand the needs of the business. Much rarer is when that complaint comes from the IT department itself.
Buy-Side Firms Grapple With 24-Hour Global Tech, Operations
At a recent conference in New York, major buy-side firms discussed the significant IT and staffing-related challenges associated with growing their businesses globally.
Mobile Apps Should Be More User Friendly, Says Buy-Side Panel
Cloud, mobile, predictive analytics, and IBOR among the topics at a TSAM panel on "what's hot, what's not" on the buy side.
Mini Options' Early Successes Attract Prop Shops, Divert Tech Spend
Introduced in March, five “mini options”—or options tied to a minimum number of 10 shares, smaller than their conventional larger relatives that usually require 100—are steadily attracting proprietary trading shops behind the retail investors they were…
Liquidity Fragmentation in Fixed Income is Here to Stay, Says iTB CEO
Michael Chuang has made a big bet that history will not repeat itself when it comes to a massive collapse in the number of fixed income trading platforms.
'Trust But Verify’ Key to Contracts Post-Bloomberg Spying Scandal
With renewed focus on security protocols for data and communications, conventions already in place for trading platforms are a good place to start.
BGI’s IBOR System Offered Strengths, But Also Weaknesses
During a case study presentation at the recent Buy-Side Technology European Summit 2013, Jon Rushman, professor of practice in the finance group at Warwick Business School, outlined construction methods for an Investment Book of Record (IBOR) system,…
Technology and People Make Cross-Asset Platforms Challenging, Panelists Say
Panelists at the Buy-Side Technology European Summit 2013 in London this week debated the challenges associated with developing and deploying single platforms to support cross-asset trading operations. Some argued that smaller buy-side firms are better…
Swedbank Robur Expands Business Intelligence with Graz Implementation
Scandinavia’s largest fund manager, Swedbank Robur, has expanded its relationship with data warehouse provider Graz Sweden by taking the first installation of Sales Navigator, Graz’s business intelligence module.
FPL Working Groups Update Post-Trade Guidelines
FIX Protocol Ltd. (FPL) has published its updated guidelines for using the messaging language in post-trade processing, incorporating non-US markets for the standard.
Hedge Funds Tap Shared Services Ahead of Swaps Futurization
At Markit's annual user conference this week, buy-side executives explained how testing the clearing waters as early as 2011, and leaning on external providers, have helped them through a period of upheaval and occasional late night surprises.
What Does the Partnership Between BlackRock and MarketAxess Say About Aladdin?
BlackRock made big news last year by opening up its Aladdin corporate bond trading platform to the broader market. Some feel that its recent alliance with MarketAxess means it has already thrown in the towel.
MTS Prepares to Launch US Fixed-Income Platform
Fixed-income trading marketplace MTS has announced that it will launch a bond platform for US institutional entities, and has registered a US subsidiary in the process.
As Fund Administrator, Citi Answers the Data Question with OpenAi
Citi recently launched OpenAi, which provides complete data aggregation and transparency for its alternative investment clients.
Marathon CTO's Model for Building Your Own HPC
Klay Stack didn't let his firm's small size hold it back from an architecture upgrade. Marathon Asset Management has a new high-performance computing (HPC) system to show for his confidence.
Latency Hardware: Threading the Needle
From proprietary field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) to flexible kill switches, North American Trading Architecture Summit panelists say good strategy always fits the right hardware to purpose.
Trying to Make Disruptive Technologies Less Disruptive
Moving forward with IT projects that involve disruptive technologies requires a delicate balance. Sometimes, the regulators can help push the needle.
The Art of Communication—Not So Easy Across an Enterprise
At this year's North American Trading Architecture Summit conference in Midtown Manhattan, end users discussed the challenges involved in keeping everyone throughout the development cycle in the loop.
Transparency and Consistency Drive Markit’s Risk Upgrade
Markit has announced the release of two significant new tools for its Portfolio Valuations Service, which deal with scenario analysis and the computation of Value-at-Risk (VaR).
Buy Side Still Not Ready for June 10 Swaps Deadline
Apparently one set of guinea pigs wasn't enough. Even though Category 1 swap participants─swap dealers and the largest hedge funds─have been clearing most of their interest rate and credit default swaps since March 11, Category 2 participants─a group…
As Clientele Grow, LatAm Wealth Managers See Tech Chasing Behind
Ernst & Young’s second survey of wealth managers found that firms in the region are far more likely to use proprietary solutions and a pooled organizational approach than their counterparts—even, in some cases, within the same global firm—to the North. A…
Solving for Java's 'Mixed Blessing'
Azul Systems and LMAX Exchange illustrate that specific coding challenges such as Java garbage collection can be faced most effectively through close collaboration.
Funding, Credit Risk Efficacy Remain Elusive for Buy Side
Straightening out buy-side liquidity and credit risk modeling is "hand-to-hand combat," as one Waters Roundtable participant put it last week. Can a wider array of solutions soften the blows?