The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is the largest, independent regulator of securities firms working in U.S. trading markets. A non-governmental and non-for-profit organization, FINRA’s mission is to serve all investors, ranging from large, corporate investors to individuals. The organization’s primary goal is to ensure that all investors receive basic protection by regulating and monitoring
Dodd-Frank
Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
Guest Contributor: Mark Ransom Day, Senior Account Executive, Marketing, Cognito Five Rules for Articulation and Advertising in a Post Dodd-Frank World In its current version, Dodd-Frank has 383,013 words. Anna Karenina has 349,736. Dodd-Frank is actually longer than one of the most famous long-novels-of-all-time. What this mammoth means for the capital markets industry, is that
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“What Is” A Separately Managed Account (SMA)?
A Separately Managed Account (SMA) is a private financial portfolio that is managed by registered financial advisor or through a brokerage for the benefit of the individual investor. This investment portfolio can include stocks, bonds, cash or any other form of traded securities. In comparison, mutual funds involve hundreds of investors often via multiple groups.
Clearing and Settlement
Clearinghouses, the Fed and “Bailouts”
Guest Contributor: Michael Walinskas, Chief Risk Officer, OCC The financial crisis of 2008 saw excessive risks in the over-the-counter market and lead to governmental intervention in a “Wall Street bailout” while listed markets and their central counterparty (CCP) clearinghouses performed well. This prompted global legislators and regulators to push for more OTC transactions to be
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“What Is” Anti-Money Laundering (AML)?
Anti Money Laundering, or AML, refers to a global push to stop the flow of currency generated by illegal activity such as that of organized crime and terrorist groups. AML practices require financial institutions to monitor and detect money-laundering through a series of regulations and procedures that track income flows and identity. In essence, money
Guest Blog
How Do Large Institutions Meet Resourcing Needs to Achieve Strategic and Regulatory Change?
Guest Contributor: Tom Spouse, CEO, Prospect 33 Volatile markets, unpredictable revenue streams, ever changing business lines and a constantly evolving landscape lead to many questions, not the least of which is: How can we truly commit to building the “right” resourcing model for the future? Building strategic resourcing partnerships for the future is always a
Cloud
“What Is” Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing is changing the way companies access IT resources. Rather than build out their own infrastructures, firms can use a cloud computing provider to manage its IT infrastructure in a more affordable manner than standard deployment. The provider then delivers those IT services via the Internet. Essentially, the cloud computing model encompasses all or
Back-Office
Get Your Big Data Under Control
Guest Contributor: Mark Wickersham, Director of Product, ByAllAccounts, Inc. Mid-market asset managers drowning in compliance costs are reaching for better reconciliation systems in order to expand their AUM without collapsing their margins. For many investment management firms, new channels of product distribution bring additional back-office operational burdens: new systems to learn, different ways to retrieve
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“What Is” Foreign Exchange (FX)?
Foreign Exchange (FX) transactions involve the exchange of two currencies. Investors, companies, individuals and government officials use FX for varying purposes. Currencies are traded through global, over-the-counter (OTC) markets and exchanges to buy, sell and speculate on FX transactions. The FX market was established in the 1970’s when international trades transitioned to floating exchange rates.
Guest Blog
Outsourcing Drivers
Guest Contributor: Jon Anderson, Head of Valuations & OTC Derivatives, SS&C GlobeOp Asset Managers of all stripes are pursuing the opportunity to outsource all or part of their operations to qualified service providers. The reasons vary, but hedge funds, pension companies, corporate treasuries and insurers are looking at outsourcing post-trade activities. Nowhere is this more
