BlackRock
This Week: KPMG/Volante Technologies, LiquidityBook, Northern Trust & more
A summary of the latest financial technology news.
Buy-Side Technology Awards 2021 Winner's Interview: BlackRock (front-office platform)
BlackRock won the best integrated front-office platform category in the 2021 BST Awards, thanks to its Aladdin platform.
Where have all the blockchain startups gone?
Building a startup is hard. Building a blockchain startup is harder. More than 10 current and former financial blockchain builders and users detail their experiences of trying to cut their teeth on a once-darling tech, and the lessons they’re still…
One view to rule them all: Buy side firms seek to unify their data
Asset management firms still struggle to consolidate their data so that it speaks the same language across different business lines. Some new SaaS-based investment management vendors are aiming to solve this.
Banks offer crypto clearing but, shhh, don’t tell
Top dealers clear crypto futures for select clients despite smorgasbord of risks
In the race to institutionalize crypto, participants eye familiar tech ‘wrappers’ for new assets
Despite the development of digital assets overall, and interest in cryptocurrencies remaining strong among individual investors and niche firms, widespread institutional adoption remains muted. Wei-Shen Wong looks at the tools being developed to support…
Machine learning & NLP in the capital markets: Some examples from 2021
To show how ML and NLP are spreading across the industry, WatersTechnology highlights 20 stories from the last 12 months that feature unique uses of AI.
Waters Wrap: The biggest disruptors facing the capital markets as we head into 2022
In Anthony’s mind, eight topics will dominate the headlines in the New Year. They are…
NLP for investment management: quants face a grab bag of words
Training models to interpret text can be dull; but doing it poorly can be costly.
The perfect climate risk metric does not exist
Buy-side risk survey 2021: Even the keenest searches fail to find a reliable system of climate disclosure.
BST Awards 2021: Best integrated front-office platform—BlackRock
Product: Aladdin
BST Awards 2021: Best buy-side risk management initiative over the last 12 months—BlackRock
Product: Aladdin Climate
Interoperability: Banks struggle with just how much they want for flagship platforms
For all the talk of interoperability within the capital markets, Wei-Shen wonders just how far firms are willing to go.
People Moves: Calastone, Securitize, Esma, State Street and more
A look at some of the key people moves from this week, including Ahsan Raza (pictured), who has joined Calastone as chief financial officer.
Murky road ahead for consolidated tape plan administrator in the US
The business unit of the new equities data plan could revolutionize pricing and accessibility in the public feeds of NMS data, say hopefuls to the role, but litigation and lack of clarity obscure the path forward.
BlackRock to grant funds power to track climate risks
The Aladdin platform, which holds trillions of dollars, aims to show whether funds are burning the Earth or saving it.
Waters Wrap: Owning the data & doing something unique with it—the ultimate alchemy
Based off of Max Bowie’s recent deep-dive feature, Anthony says that the world of alt data M&A—and the factors that drive these deals—is likely to change in the near future. For an analogy, just look to sushi.
Alt data’s second inning: Brace for a long M&A game
The alternative data sector is still relatively nascent, and as such buy-side firms have struggled with how best to incorporate these non-traditional sources of information. While sources say that there will be continued M&A in the market, how those…
Confusion remains over SEC’s market data efforts
Jo ponders some of the important pieces of the regulator’s National Market System modernization that remain obscure.
Charles River, Wave Labs team up for enhanced OEMS
The strategic partnership will involve a three-part integration including system connectivity, combined visualization and the creation of client feedback loops.
New entrants want to feed bond market’s hunger for data
In the absence of a consolidated tape for debt securities in the EU, vendors with different approaches to distributing fixed-income market data are emerging.
Broadway Technology 2.0: Post-Ion split, the vendor reimagines its future
Broadway will look to build out its fixed income trading workflows, grow its as-a-service offering, lean into the low-code movement, while considering new asset classes to expand into—all while once again competing with Ion.