North America
Waters Wrap: Big Tech’s capital markets expansion continues
Anthony looks back at some of the major cloud and AI projects involving the likes of Amazon, Google, IBM, Microsoft, and/or Snowflake in 2023.
The IMD Wrap: Exchange, data vendor audits continue to rankle end-users—what will change in 2024?
While the data auditing process has been contentious for a long time, Max looks at some of the positive improvements made in 2023 and explains why more improvements need to be made in the New Year.
Waters Wrap: On EMSs, regulation, and (among others) BlackRock Aladdin
Regulators in the US and Europe have turned their sights on execution management system providers. Anthony examines some of the questions the industry is trying to answer.
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Firms step up non-compete use to protect tech, data IP
US states are increasingly banning or limiting the use of non-compete contracts, but financial firms are using them more frequently to safeguard proprietary tech and data assets—including the knowledge of the individuals who work on them.
What is Aladdin Trader? BlackRock’s fixed-income tool still a mystery
Sources tell WatersTechnology that Aladdin Trader will expand on the platform’s ‘limited’ execution functionality.
Waters Wrap: Examining ASX’s CHESS do-over
The Australian exchange was the first exchange to be all-in on DLT—and the project failed. Anthony speaks with ASX’s Tim Whiteley to discuss the lessons learned and why he thinks the second attempt will succeed.
The IMD Wrap: Are server life extensions putting profits before performance?
Cloud providers are having to make more hardware available to keep pace with takeup—including older machines that under previous policies would have been retired already. But the move is proving profitable … and risky.
Industry unsure of SEC’s new short-selling transparency rule
Does the SEC’s recent 10C-1a rule provide sufficient transparency while protecting traders’ short-sale positions from a GameStop-style backlash? The data will be key.
Waters Wrap: As quantum’s skeptics grow in number, believers need better messaging
As you explore ways to use genAI, do you benefit from having ML and NLP experts on staff who have followed AI evolution for years? Anthony thinks that’s an important question when talking about quantum exploration.
Settlement ‘instructions’: Firms look to US for guidance as Europe braces for T+1
Operations professionals in Europe look across the pond for lessons in managing shorter settlement cycles.
Traders, vendors seek to modernize chronically underinvested FX tech
The average FX professional uses eight applications at any one time. But integrating the FX workflow is a daunting task.
New crypto Isins seen as ‘really important’ step for TradFi adoption
Execs at TP Icap and Societe Generale say the identifier removes a major barrier for crypto acceptance.
Waters Wrap: Reading the fixed-income tea leaves
A lot gets made about how much fixed income has been electronified. Anthony says that “percentage” ignores the important technological evolutions and strategic shifts being made by the vendor community.
Has cloud cracked the multicast ‘holy grail’ for exchanges?
An examination of how exchanges—already migrating to the cloud—are working to solve the problem of multicasting in a new environment.
Ignoring ESG data simply doesn’t make business sense
There’s a brewing controversy about “woke” ESG investments. But politics aside, ESG as a dataset brings more transparency to investment decisions.
ICE to offer ultra-low latency data between the US and Europe
The offering will run eastward, connecting routes in the US with European markets in London, Frankfurt, and Bergamo.
SS&C Advent is working towards its cloud evolution
Three years after laying out its cloud roadmap, the vendor is still pushing ahead with the Genesis platform as the foundation.
Social distancing: Putting a $ value on the ‘S’ in ESG
The ‘social’ pillar of ESG has been much overlooked and underserved in terms of reporting and accurate and available data. That’s changing.
How exchanges are becoming more than just marketplaces
Wei-Shen examines how exchanges are branching out and pursuing new ventures that could bring them fresh revenue streams.
Ex-LSEG execs partner to offer data strategy consulting
Dunlap and White have held senior roles on the buy side, sell side, and at vendors and exchanges, over careers spanning more than 30 years each.
ICE: LLMs drove 60% increase in ICE Chat trades
The exchange revealed it has been working with LLMs for a decade to drive automation around its messaging platform. Now, it’s looking for more uses across all asset classes.
Waters Wrap: Big Tech’s subtle plans for capital markets domination
Amazon, Google, IBM and Microsoft aren't just cloud providers anymore—and their tentacles are going to spread deep into trading systems going forward.
CME-Google cloud partnership already yielding new data analytics
CME is spending a small fortune to migrate its technology to Google’s cloud, betting on the cloud’s ability to return a large fortune from development of new data products and services.
Outsourced trading sees uptick as buy side seeks more bang for its buck
Buy-side firms see outsourced trading as a way to simplify their operating model, while custodians see an opportunity to sell bundled services.