(Client relationship management (CRM) systems have become a necessity as more financial services firms continue to function with staff and clients working remotely due to the pandemic-induced office closings. So says Jiro Okochi, president of Tier1 Financial Solutions, whose offerings serve firms in the capital markets and banking arenas. The pandemic conditions underscore the need… Read More >>
Why Did the Tokyo Stock Exchange Halt Trading?
In a bid to honor the fading art of the follow-up story, I have been rooting around to find out what has happened to the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) since its systems outage earlier this month. To remind you, the TSE had an unprecedented halt to trading for a full day on Oct. 1, but… Read More >>
RBC Capital Markets Launches AI-Based Trading Platform
‘Aiden’ Yields Solution to Cut VWAP Slippage Securities traders at RBC Capital Markets and scientists who specialize in artificial intelligence (AI) at vendor Borealis AI have been collaborating to deliver Aiden, an AI-based electronic trading platform that exploits “deep reinforcement learning” to facilitate better trading results and insights for clients, officials say. “In doing so, both… Read More >>
Morgan Stanley Buys Eaton Vance & E*TRADE
Amid a lot of conflicting news stories, Morgan Stanley recently announced that it wants to acquire the wealth and investment management firm, Eaton Vance Corp., and that it closed its acquisition of online, discount brokerage E*TRADE Financial Corp. — signs that Morgan Stanley and other Wall Street giants are trending toward safer waters than the… Read More >>
Electra Targets Manual Woes in Client Fee Billing
Electra Billing 6.0 Launches Electra Information Systems, a provider of reconciliation and other post-trade processes for the buy side, has launched Electra Billing 6.0, a system for audit and workflow control, designed for client-fee billing. Electra Billing 6.0 is intended to “reduce risk by increasing the accuracy and efficiency of approval workflows throughout vital… Read More >>
Paper Security Certificates Must Go: DTCC
The Depository Trust and Clearing Corp. (DTCC), a major post-trade infrastructure, systems, and services provider, is on a mission to convince the U.S. securities industry to get rid of paper-based, physical securities and replace them with electronic records. The proper term for the effort is dematerialization, which the DTCC says is an essential transition that… Read More >>
Kroll Settles CMBS, CLO Ratings Case for $2M
The Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) has settled with the SEC over allegations that the ratings company had problems with the internal controls governing the rating of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), and of collateralized loan obligation combination notes (CLO Combo Notes). KBRA has agreed to pay more than $2 million to settle the charges. “KBRA… 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 >>
Credit Suisse Securities Settles Another Blue-Sheets Case
Are blue sheets difficult to file correctly? The question arises because Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC has been fined $600,000 for “failure to submit to the [Securities and Exchange] Commission true and complete data in response to Commission staff electronic blue sheets (‘EBS’) requests, resulting in the reporting of EBS that was incomplete or deficient.”… Read More >>
EBS’s EMS to Link to IHS Markit’s thinkFolio
EBSI Connectivity Slated for Q4 EBS, a provider of electronic trading platforms and IT for foreign exchange markets, will be offering connectivity between the EBS Institutional (EBSI) execution management system (EMS) and thinkFolio, a multi-asset investment management platform from vendor IHS Markit, vendor officials say. The new service is slated to be available during the… Read More >>








