Waters/Feature
TCA: Comparing Apples to Apples
As transaction-cost analysis continues to evolve, both the buy and sell sides are using it not only to determine performance levels, but in all areas of the trade lifecycle. Given these developments, what are the key considerations for an effective TCA…
AllianceBernstein Tames the Onboarding Beast
AllianceBernstein was struggling with its manually intensive onboarding process. It turned to Markit to answer the challenge. The result: Markit Document Exchange, which, as Anthony Malakian discovers, has proven to be something of a rarity in the…
Bribery Meets Its Match: Technology, Regulation Combat Corruption
No longer a “cost of doing business,” bribery and corruption on UK soil—or perpetrated through a UK-based firm anywhere in the world—have become serious offenses under sweeping legislation passed last year. Tim Bourgaize Murray finds, with authorities…
Short Circuit: Does Flash Crash II Still Loom?
Two years after the Flash Crash, an event of similar proportions has yet to occur, despite doomsday prophecies to the contrary. Have measures such as circuit-breakers helped to safeguard the stability of modern capital markets, and more importantly, have…
South Africa: Bigger, Better, Faster?
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange is moving its trading engine from London to South Africa in July, with the aim of increasing its matching speeds, and by so doing, enhancing the overall trading experience it provides its clients. Steve Dew-Jones talks to…
Well-Suited: Steve Ellis Merges Wells Fargo, Wachovia IT
People think of bankers and technologists as being a bit square. Steve Ellis broke the mold, then set the pieces on fire. Wells Fargo took a chance on him, and is now reaping the rewards. By Jake Thomases with photos by Amy Fletcher
Hedge Funds Sharpen Focus on Collateral Management Tools
From equity finance add-ons to collateral transformation, hedge funds are scrutinizing their broker relationships and collateral allocation more than ever. Tim Bourgaize Murray explores how funds, seeking to mitigate operational risk, are warming to…
Big Brother Is Watching: Compliance Envelops the Business
As regulatory reform and an enhanced level of scrutiny falls on practices within investment banks, compliance departments are finding themselves increasingly involved with all areas of a business. In this era of a more proactive approach to oversight,…
Predators in the Pool: How Dark Pools Tackle HFT
Judgments about whether a dark pool is safe from predatory trading behavior will determine how often that pool is visited. Jake Thomases discovers that, although it is easy for operators to monitor their pool, it’s the philosophies behind filtration that…
OMS and EMS: Peace Through Marriage
Order management systems and execution management systems are the Hatfields and the McCoys of trading software. Long have they quarreled over their relative merits. Jake Thomases examines how a push toward unification within a single architecture has…
Radio Silence: Are Exchanges Trying to Curb HFT?
As several exchanges in Europe and the US prepare to implement efficiency programs for order messaging-to-trade ratios, some in the industry are seeing this as a self-regulatory move to curb high-frequency trading ahead of statutory rulings. But is this…
OTFs' Next Move
With G20 commitments obliging regulators to regiment the trading of over-the-counter derivatives, Mifid II proposes the integration of organized trading facilities, but what impact will this have? By Steve Dew-Jones
TCA Comes to Futures and FX
Transaction-cost analysis started in equities and, for the most part, hasn’t left—until recently. For various reasons, demand among FX and futures traders for a way to measure their execution costs is growing, and vendors are responding. By Jake Thomases
Dark Forces: Off-Exchange Trading on the Rise
A growing percentage of trade volumes is moving off-exchange every year, whether it’s through broker dark pools, internalized on a firm’s own desks, or elsewhere. Along with declining liquidity in equities markets and higher trading costs, the increasing…
SEFs Through the Looking Glass
While the rules trickle in for swap execution facilities, firms are investing in connectivity and platform design in anticipation of a deeper, more liquid market. As Tim Bourgaize Murray discovers, when it comes to the nascent SEF ecosystem, the future…
Beyond the Easy Win: Sands Capital CTO Ryan Bateman
Ryan Bateman had never been a CTO and Sands Capital had never had a CTO—it was a curious pairing. But Bateman has come in and established his credibility, and now he has to keep that winning streak going. By Anthony Malakian
Scratching the Surface of Mobile Technology
Mobile technology, while still in its nascence in the capital markets, has enjoyed significant uptake over the past 18 months as growing numbers of firms have started to roll out apps designed specifically for tablets and smartphones. But as Victor…
Funds of Hedge Funds' Last Stand?
The fund of hedge funds market has long been a manually intensive one. New regulations and strategies—and a general desire to survive—have led to a push for automation throughout the industry. By Anthony Malakian
London Stock Exchange CIO Antoine Shagoury: Man of the People
When Antoine Shagoury took on the role of CIO at the London Stock Exchange, he embarked on an ambitious program of reform at the venerable, but embattled, institution. Several years on, he reveals how technology is driving the growth of the entire…
Real-Time Surveillance: Mission Impossible?
European regulator ESMA wants trading venues to perform market surveillance and abuse monitoring in as close to real time as possible. But is the technology and operational capacity in place to make this initiative work? By Steve Dew-Jones
It's All Semantics: Top-Tier Banks Investigate Semantic Technology for Data Management
Semantic technology, while still for the most part in the conceptual phase in the capital markets, is a term that is becoming more than just a whisper inside financial institutions. By Anthony Malakian
Whither Volcker? Firms Brace for Deadline as Delays Anticipated
The Volcker Rule’s deadline for public comment has passed, with a sea of responses from organizations all over the world. Implementation dates are currently debatable, but compliance with the regulation will require structural and technological change…
The Return of Green IT
While it hasn’t gotten the attention it did during the green wave of the mid-2000s, environmentally friendly technology is in place at many of the world’s major financial institutions. Jake Thomases looks at the latest initiatives designed to save the…
Big Data Is Big Stuff
The phenomenon of Big Data, now a proper noun in its own right, reflects the inexorable growth of data volumes, and the velocity and variety of those volumes, across the financial services industry, presenting market participants with a host of…