I think our lead fintech news brief about Instinet and Credit Suisse completing multiple equities transactions in T+0 via blockchain/distributed ledger technology [https://bit.ly/2OwJJWJ] may have more significance than at first glance. These two major players used the Paxos Settlement Service from Paxos Trust Company, a self-described infrastructure provide, to settle U.S.-listed equities trades on a… Read More >>
SEC to Patrol for ESG & Climate Change Sins
Climate change, a.k.a. global warming, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns are getting real for financial services firms, particularly those working in securities trading. This is also true for the regulators overseeing them such as the SEC. A case in point is our story this week about a $247 billion pension fund, the New… Read More >>
Biden Moves to Revamp the SEC & CFTC
President Joe Biden appears to be getting the SEC and CFTC that he wants after a bumpy transition period, and a rush of departures as the new team takes over. For starters, the Biden team has nominated Gary Gensler, the former chairman of the CFTC, to be the next chairman of the SEC. Gensler served… Read More >>
Holiday Gadgets to Help You Forget 2020
As 2020 heads toward the finish line, it’s time to think about winter holiday gadgets that will help distract us from the rougher edges of what is proving to be a painfully pivotal year. For the moment, I am spotlighting some interesting items that I became aware of because of the Pepcom Holiday Spectacular, a… Read More >>
CFTC Offers a Rewards System for Cooperation
The CFTC’s Division of Enforcement (DOE) is spelling out what it means when it says that a firm has been cooperative via an enforcement investigation. The goal is to let the public get a better view into how a firm maximized cooperation and minimized painful penalties. The clarity comes from a new guidance that the… Read More >>
Are Manual Systems Too Costly for Hedge Funds?
Hedge funds are paying a high price for manual processes and legacy IT infrastructures, according to new analysis from TradingScreen, a provider of software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings for transaction processing. The research indicates that hedge funds “are absorbing a punishing $8 million annual hit to their assets under management (AUM) due to high levels of manual… Read More >>
Asset Mispricing via the Crisis Tops Concerns: Survey
It is nearly impossible to draw useful conclusions about the effects of the economic crisis that we find ourselves in as a result of the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. But, a month ago, the CFA Institute released the results of a major survey of its membership that points to big concerns over mispricing,… Read More >>
Jefferies Honors CFO & Donates to Coronavirus Charities
The investment bank Jefferies Group held a Global Coronavirus Relief Charity Day on Wednesday, May 27, and, on the next day, announced that it will donate $9.25 million to more than 85 charities and relief efforts focused on those suffering from the COVID-19 virus. The firm dedicated this effort to the memory of Mr. Peregrine… Read More >>
Why StatPro Agreed to the Confluence Takeover
StatPro’s board of directors announced late last week that it had agreed to a takeover offer from Confluence via Bidco in an all-cash agreement of approximately £161.1 million ($201.3 million). The deal will take the company private — apparently in an effort to give customers fuller product platforms via a combined company. To recap, StatPro… Read More >>
Doing What We Can for 9/11 Survivors
Today, Americans are honoring those we lost on Sept. 11, 2001, including those who were in the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers. I will be taking time out to remember those Wall Street friends, former co-workers, and acquaintances who were taken away too soon. I will wonder what their lives would have been like, if… Read More >>
