More buy-side firms than you think are moving IT infrastructures and operations to the cloud and then laying off back-office staffs. So says Todd Gottula, executive vice president and chief technology officer for Advent Software. Tighter margins are compelling firms to find efficient ways to “manage disparate systems” and the cloud option is getting popular,… Read More >>
Boston
Normally, this blog focuses on insights into very detailed post-trade operational and IT management issues that are key to what you do every day. I try to focus on what’s useful to you and I hope that I have succeeded in the past. For this post, I will take a detour and focus on what… Read More >>
The Trust Issue
Financial services firms in the U.S. and Europe have taken several hits when it comes to trust as revealed via public relations giant Edelman’s 2013 Trust Barometer. Recent scandals have turned the tide in favor of BRIC and Asia-Pacific firms, according to the Edelman survey. But these far-flung venues may not be the safe havens… Read More >>
Time to Dump Your Legacy Systems?
A survey of 125 financial services firms in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific, sponsored by SimCorp StrategyLab, hits on a tricky question for many firms—just when do legacy systems simply cost so much to maintain that to replace them would be more cost-effective? This issue is hitting home just when most firms are focusing their… Read More >>
Compliance and the Promised Land
One of the legacies of 2012—a tumultuous year by anyone’s standards—is that financial product innovation has been put on the shelf by the constant flow of new regulations (with more to come) and a weak recovery that has squeezed profit margins. Most firms have been quickly shifting their energies and budgets to compliance. In fact, as… Read More >>
Are Obama and Christie a Model for Bipartisanship?
I am cautiously optimistic about the bipartisanship of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and President Obama as they combine forces to help the Garden State recover from Hurricane Sandy. Could it be a model for Congress and the White House to work together on fiscal matters and financial regulation—even if it only lasts for the… Read More >>
Market Data Vendor Management 101
Regulatory reform, competitive pressures and the need to optimize data across the enterprise are pushing custodians, service providers, consultants and securities firms to constantly refine their reference data management strategies. As their strategies evolve, all players in the operations matrix will have to hone their relationships with their market data vendors, which should be collaborative… Read More >>
How to Take On Cyber Fraud
Financial services firm can do lot to prevent “a digital Pearl Harbor” caused by cyber fraud and effective ways to combat such attacks were the focus of a session at FTF’s 5th Annual Hedge Fund Operations & Technology Conference, held yesterday in New York. In their session, David Z. Bodenheimer and Linda Lerner, two anti-fraud… Read More >>
Your Financial IT Spend in 2012
Taken together, two key surveys provide a snapshot of how you and your fellow market participants are allocating your financial technology dollars in 2012. Not surprisingly, the regulatory overhaul of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives trading is the single biggest budget driver. It’s also no shock that the buy side is still dragging its feet on the… Read More >>
A Thousand Points of Light on the OTC Front
To paraphrase a former president, there are “a thousand points of light” when it comes to activity on the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives execution, clearing and valuation fronts. Variety abounds as State Street touts a platform that will compete against sell-side offerings and major sell-side players such as BNP Paribas gear up to ready offerings for… Read More >>
