Guest Contributor: Magnus Almqvist, senior product specialist, SunGard’s Protegent The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is turning up the heat on national regulators to enforce and monitor MiFID conduct of business rules, where Article 37 of the MiFID Implementing Directive aim to ensure that firms 1) sell only suitable products to their clients and
Compliance
The Conversational Advisor: You mean I have to talk on social media?
Guest Contributor: Sheryl Brown, Social Media Coordinator, Ash Brokerage Social media is a communication mecca. Whether you’re introvert or extrovert, social media is the line drawn in the sand and makes both communication styles equal. For financial advisors, this is both exciting and overwhelming at the same time. It tickles me when advisors ask me, “You mean
Compliance
Greek Mythology and the Boulder of Compliance
Guest Contributor: Stephen Taylor, Senior Market Manager, U.S. Enterprise Risk & Compliance, Wolters Kluwer Financial Services In Greek mythology Sisyphus, the King of Ephyra, was punished by the Gods for his wrong doing. His sentence? Roll a very heavy boulder up a steep hill, only to watch it roll back down. Repeat this action for
Back-Office
Manage Risk, Comply with Regulations and Increase Alpha with an IBOR
Guest Contributor: David Kubersky, President and Managing Director, SimCorp North America Fragmented position-keeping across the trade lifecycle presents significant risks to buy-side firms. As the SimCorp Journal paper, “The Investment Book of Record: One Version of Truth from Front- to Back-Office,” explains, “When investment processes and asset classes are supported by multiple systems across the
Compliance
Putting Your Social Media Policy into Practice – A Techie’s Guide
Guest Contributor: Terry Ray,Vice-President, Software Development, Temenos In January of 2013, the FFIEC released proposed guidance for financial institutions regarding social media. As the year draws to a close, if your institution has not already written, revised and gotten board approval for your social media policy, you would be wise to do so now. Great!
Buy-Side
Valuation Considerations for Illiquid OTC Derivatives
Guest Contributor: Matthew McFarland, Director, Business Development, CBOE Mandated clearing of certain interest rate swaps and credit default swaps was recently completed with the addition of Category 3 participants on September 9. While the advent of mandatory clearing presents several challenges, one aspect that has garnered little attention is valuations. OTC market participants, accustomed to valuations
Compliance
Six Necessary Steps for Anti-Bribery and AML Screening Improvement
Guest Contributor:Henry Balani, Managing Director at BankersAccuity’s Risk and Compliance Group In an era of enhanced scrutiny, larger fines and the ongoing internationalization of anti-money laundering (AML) and anti-bribery regulations, organizations are facing increased risk and numerous challenges in achieving and maintaining compliance. For any organization, successfully complying with AML and anti-bribery and corruption regulations
Compliance
Whitepaper: What to do when (and before) SEC examiners arrive in your office
Are You Compliance-Ready? 12 Timely Takeaways for Preparing for the SEC’s 2013 Examination Priorities Click here to download Discover: – What the changing regulatory landscape means for you – What the SEC is focusing on in 2013 and beyond – How to perform a self-exam of your firm’s compliance readiness – Questions to ask yourself
Compliance
Back to Business with CLO 2.0
Guest Contributor: Mike Molaro, Managing Partner, NorthPoint Financial Some of what were perceived to be the riskiest securities of the pre-financial crisis are back. The Collateralized Loan Obligation (CLO) market indicators are pointing to a profitable resurgence and growing inventory for these instruments. CLOs are special purpose vehicles (SPVs) with securitization payments in the form of
Compliance
What Can Hedge Fund Administrators Learn from Madonna?
Guest Contributor: George Michaels, CEO, G2 FinTech One could say Madonna owes a great deal of her multi-decade success to her ability to “reinvent” herself and keep pace with the ever-changing music scene. The hedge fund administration industry could learn a thing or two from this strategy. Hedge fund “admins” are perfectly poised to capitalize