August 2018: Change Is the Only Constant

There was a time—admittedly quite a while back—when I was surprised by the announcement of a high-profile acquisition of a third-party technology vendor. One of the first such instances I remember was ITG’s acquisition of Macgregor in July 2005, given that the buy-side order management (OMS) market at the time was where much of the action was happening. Asset managers on both sides of the Atlantic were looking to dilute their Excel dependencies by implementing their first ever OMS or simply replace their proprietary and rudimentary front-office technology with off-the-shelf platforms that offered better all-round performance, broader instrument coverage and connectivity to a wider range of venues.

Most of Waters’ readers will have noted State Street’s recent acquisition of Charles River, one of the firms vying with Macgregor, Advent, LatentZero and Bloomberg for control of the lucrative OMS market in the mid-2000s. Since then, just over three years ago, Advent was added to SS&C Technologies’ ever-growing stable in one of the most noteworthy acquisitions to have occurred in our market, while Fidessa snapped up LatentZero in April 2007, illustrating the extent to which the vendor landscape is in a state of constant flux. 

We at Waters are similarly not immune from change. The focus of my role, for example, shifted recently to become far more client-focused, working with all types of capital markets firms to help them shape and deliver their various messages to their target market, while Anthony Malakian, Waters’ long-term US editor, has taken on a more “roving” role as editor-at-large, allowing him to do what he is best at and most passionate about: investigative journalism and speaking to his extensive list of contacts to understand the issues most affecting them. From next month, James Rundle assumes the editorship of this magazine, in addition to his news editor role, while Max Bowie has taken on the role of managing editor of Waters, having passed on the editorship of Inside Data Management to Jamie Hyman, a brand he built, shaped and managed outstandingly over the years. 

Considering just how much change and consolidation has already transpired across the technology vendor landscape, it’s fair to assume that this trend will continue unabated. To my mind, the only thing that will slow it is the dwindling number of tech firms ripe for acquisition. But perhaps Blackstone Group’s acquisition of Thomson Reuters’ Financial and Risk division in January this year—a mega acquisition by any measure, and which a few days ago received the European Union’s blessing for the deal to go ahead—might become the norm?

That said, there are still a few tech gems that have already attracted and will no doubt continue to attract acquisitive eyes, chief among which are StatPro and Rimes Technologies. And just how long their resistance will last is anyone’s guess.