Capitalize on Change
Wherever you sit or whatever job you do, you’ve just witnessed the biggest change to the financial services industry in living memory. A wave of regulations , the growth of emerging markets, and...
View ArticleMega-exchanges and the blur factor
In the past few months, it’s become clear that the trend of mega-exchange formation is already underway. Combinations include the London Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange, Singapore SGX’s bid...
View ArticleWith algorithmic trading, how can broker-dealers satisfy the buy-side’s...
Broker-dealers are grappling with the conflicting needs of the buy-side in an algorithmic trading market that grows more complex by the minute. Buy-side firms have an embarrassment of riches when it...
View ArticleMarket Data: the financial advisor’s cornerstone for enhanced service
In an uncertain market, financial advisors must constantly prove their value and build client trust. The ability to do this well relies on being productive, efficient and cost-effective at all times,...
View ArticleMarket data in the cloud: Scalable, mobile, cost-Effective
As trading strategies evolve and grow, so too does the need for innovation in market data. Over 1,300 institutional investors surveyed by Barclays Capital in April reported that they execute more than...
View ArticleFutures are safe
“Futures are safe”, that’s not an expression you hear very often. Let’s face it, in a world where most people’s exposure to futures markets is limited to watching “Trading Places” and hearing nightly...
View ArticleAre dark pools good for markets?
At SunGard’s City Day in Hong Kong, a panel looked at the issue of dark pools and how they can impact the wider market. Were they good for all investors? And how has the picture in Asia changed in...
View ArticleListed derivatives trading: Is your stomach strong enough?
Today’s futures commission merchants (FCMs) seem to be enjoying an almost permanent boom. March 2011 saw the highest volumes ever recorded across the world’s listed derivatives markets, excepting only...
View ArticleMining gold from rust belts
Global, international, emerging markets… these are words that I hear and use often throughout the day. It was interesting and enlightening to listen to analyst, Meredith Whitney’s keynote presentation...
View ArticleDealing with market abuse practices
Regulatory compliance is top of mind for every regulated firm across the globe. Market manipulation and insider trading activity proved to be trending topics among thought-leaders and delegates at...
View ArticleEmerging markets in Latin America: More than Brazil
A couple of years ago you wouldn’t have been far wrong in thinking “Brazil” every time you read ‘Latin America’ or ‘LatAm’. But today there are vibrant, expanding markets throughout Central and South...
View ArticleThe reign of derivatives
Investors and trading firms have always made the most of the symbiotic relationship between the equity and derivatives markets—devising strategies that exploit the strengths and weaknesses of each. The...
View ArticleMarket data and China: Meeting the needs of the growing investor community
Providing investors with low latency market data that is cost-effective, requires minimal infrastructure and provides real-time financial information from liquidity points in the global marketplace are...
View ArticleTaking the QCC challenge seriously
A recently approved options order - a type of block trade called the Qualified Contingent Cross (QCC) —is challenging the status quo of the listed options markets. It’s also raising questions about the...
View ArticleTrading in the Middle East: Spotlight on opportunities discussed at SunGard’s...
One of the major themes of this year’s London City Day was ‘Capitalizing on Change’ and the Middle East and Africa have seen quite a bit of change in 2011. So it was not surprising that the session...
View ArticleSave money and improve efficiencies in market data management – Part 1 of 2
The volatility in the financial markets is driving cost-cutting initiatives back to the top of every business manager’s list of priorities. As more markets become electronic, market data terminal...
View ArticleSave money and improve efficiencies in market data management – Part 2 of 2
In 2010, global spending on market data infrastructure grew to $7.8 billion according to estimates by Aite Group. Infrastructure, along with market data, is at the heart of any financial firm's...
View ArticleTransforming trading strategies into electrons
What’s truly amazing about a new video on high frequency trading is how a convergence of IT innovations has allowed us to trade nearly at the speed of light. But what is the importance of speed? Is...
View ArticleTalking market data? Cost, cost, cost!
The Financial Information Forum’s June capacity statistics showed new record peaks across 12 market feeds, with some showing record increases of up to 30 percent month-on-month according to market data...
View ArticleUS equity markets the most efficient deficient market
There is a distinct irony in regulators pushing for speed bumps in US equities markets after we’ve spent the last decade to make the national market system faster. Increasingly, when it comes to the...
View ArticleHow financial exchanges could take a page from Diddy and Glee
Over the last few years, we’ve seen the evolution and ascendance of the “mash-up” in the world of entertainment. For those not readily acquainted with the term, a mash-up generally refers to the...
View ArticleWhat can NYSE and Deutsche Boerse live with?
In the last couple of days, the European Commission has sent its list of objections to the NYSE and Deutsche Boerse around their anticipated merger. So how does the merger process advance from here? To...
View ArticleSame old song and dance
There are two hot topics which dominate the conversation among the trading industry these days; the brave new post Dodd-Frank landscape and the never-ending debate over the evils and virtues of...
View ArticleMarket abuse surveillance: Redefining the approach for an effective program
Compliance professionals face a huge challenge in selecting a suitable system for market abuse surveillance. Regulators are policing their markets with an unprecedented zeal and issuing the severest of...
View ArticleMarket data: Pain points and game changers
Every two years the market data community (consumers, exchanges and vendors) convenes at the World Financial Information Conference (WFIC) to discuss the trends and issues impacting the industry. This...
View ArticleFINRA notice 11-39: Interpreting the new US social media guidelines for...
In mid August, FINRA issued a much awaited follow up to its notice 10-06 regarding securities firms use of social media. This guidance was issued in the form of notice 11-39 (FINRA Notice 11-39) which...
View ArticleStatistical data and systemic risk – A view from the European Central Bank
Is it possible to predict future crises based on economic indicators from the past? Two ECB leaders, Andreas Hake, head of division, statistical information services, and Jean-Marc Israel, head of...
View ArticleExchanges have a lot to be thankful for
It’s hard for me to believe that Thanksgiving has come and gone—the kick-off to the holiday season of 2011. Thanksgiving often gets trampled or left behind in retailers’ race to get to the lucrative...
View ArticleWarsaw: Poland’s exchange to continue to flourish
Last month I visited Warsaw to moderate a panel at the FOW Derivatives World CEE (Central and Eastern Europe) conference. As ever it was a pleasure to be in Poland but this time it was particularly...
View ArticleLatin America: More than Brazil, taking the first steps
Beyond mature markets, investors and trading firms looking for opportunities should keep in mind the potential an emerging market offers. By that benchmark, then, Colombia, Peru, Chile and Argentina...
View ArticleMaking sense of MiFID 2
Interested parties have now had time to digest the European Commission’s October MiFID 2/MiFIR proposals, and major questions have been raised by a wide range of people. Looking briefly at the main...
View ArticleWhy should brokers focus on total cost of ownership?
For smaller European broking firms, particularly those engaged in regional business, the implementation and management of technology and connectivity across multiple trading venues post-MiFID is...
View ArticleThe Time Has Come for Options Dark Pools
...Now perhaps you're thinking, "Thanks for the summary, Russ. Gotta go." But I'm not finished yet; my interest isn't in equities. Equities are so 2008. In my world, equities are nothing more than a...
View Article3 Key Facets of Market Monitoring and Surveillance
We’re now experiencing a new technology shift... It’s no wonder, then, that there is an increased focus from regulators on market monitoring and surveillance tools, and their use among market...
View ArticleConsolidated Audit Trail: More than One Way to Skin this CAT
This blog post originally appeared on Advanced Trading. The Securities Exchange Commission voted in July 2012 to require exchanges and broker oversight groups to have a single system to monitor and...
View ArticleASEAN Today, Africa Tomorrow?
This blog post originally appeared on TabbFORUM. The ASEAN link went live this week, linking Singapore Exchange and Bursa Malaysia members and traders, completing a project started five years ago....
View ArticleTrading in the Middle East: Turning a Corner?
Trading in the region will eventually become more attractive and accessible to overseas investors, but the panelists in Dubai implied that regulators were understandably quite cautious at present. Of...
View ArticleSuccess in Middle East Trading: Keeping it Simple
New regulations, such as Dodd-Frank in the U.S. and and MiFID II Europe, are focused on systemic risk and transparency. However, in the Middle East, systemic risks are typically well-contained and...
View ArticleOnly the Beginning for Exchange and Clearing Innovation
As global regulators move to implement new rules designed to control the swaps markets, the world’s futures exchanges are responding with bold and innovative structural changes intended to reduce or...
View ArticleWhy DMA Makes Sense for Southeast Asia
Direct Market Access (DMA) trading has become increasingly prevalent worldwide as more buy-side traders take advantage of available technology to execute their own orders. As many markets in...
View Article2 + 2 = 5: The Value of Exchange Alliances
A version of this article originally appeared in The National. Last month, the Stock Exchange of Thailand joined the ASEAN Trading Link, an alliance comprising three exchanges from across southeast...
View ArticleEuropean Equity Trading: Research and Regulation Collide
Tabb Group’s new report, “European Equity Trading 2012/2013: Changing the Rules of Engagement,” highlights some issues that we must hope politicians will note during their review of the MiFID...
View ArticleBack to the Future
This blog post was originally published on DerivSource. The news that NASDAQ OMX is investing into Dutch alternative venue TOM MTF proves once again how much the European trading landscape has changed...
View ArticleSunGard Viewpoint: The Transformation of the Sales Trader
A Q&A with Scott Franc, managing director in SunGard’s Fox River business on the transformation of the sales trader. To listen to the full discussion, please click the audio link below:
View ArticleLimit Up-Limit Down: Where’s the Limit?
With the advent of this new Limit Up-Limit Down rule, the onus is on broker-dealers to have a system in place that will not allow executions to occur outside the set price bands nor quote outside the...
View ArticleWhen Every Penny Counts, Firms Must Operate Smarter Through Deeper Data Analysis
The full version of this blog post originally appeared in Wall Street & Technology. It also appeared on Bank Systems & Technology. Today's economic environment has become increasingly...
View ArticleCome Trade with Me
A version of this blog post was originally published by the Financial Times. Recently, I traveled to Madrid. I booked a flight on British Airways and found myself flying… Iberia. Of course these days...
View ArticleDoes HKEx Have the Midas Touch?
This blog post originally appeared on TabbFORUM. The London Metals Exchange (LME) achieved record transactions in April, which may suggest the Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing (HKEx) was smart to...
View ArticleSunGard Viewpoint: Attention on the Gulf Region’s Financial Markets
This SunGard Viewpoint comes from Philippe Carre, global head of connectivity, SunGard's capital markets business The expected multi-million-dollar windfall in investment following the recent upgrade...
View ArticleA European Consolidated Tape – How Much Longer Must We Wait?
This blog post was originally published on TabbFORUM. European equity brokers face a number of challenges during the current ‘interim’ between the original MiFID Directive of 2007 and its MiFID 2...
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