Wall Street & Technology

WST

The End of Labor Arbitrage

June 23, 2007 | By Penny Crosman

The age of outsourcing to India for the cheaper labor costs is over, according to S. Premkumar, corporate officer and global head-financial services at Indian outsourcing firm HCL Technologies. Where once a function performed by 100 U.S. employees could be handed over to 100 Indian employees who could do it for significantly less, the diminishing value of the dollar combined with the strengthening of the rupee and increasing salary levels in India have wiped out the benefits of such labor arbitrage, he points out. Captives, too, have lost their luster, Premkumar says - they don't grow well because they're too focused on cutting costs and they're not good at sharing people and resources.

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NYSE Euronext Develops Dark Pool for Crossing Portfolios

June 12, 2007 | By Ivy Schmerken

With dark pools gaining traction among institutions seeking leak-proof matches, one of the worldis largest liquidity pools is venturing into the crossing network space. By the end of this summer, NYSE Euronext is expected to launch NYSE MatchPoint n a point-in-time benchmark crossing-network geared to large index funds and mutual funds looking to matching portfolios of stocks.

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Sell Side Continues to Invest in Data Centers July 29, 2010
Financial firms spent $1.8 billion on data centers in 2009, and 2010 spending will go even higher, TABB Group says.

Is Financial Services IT Innovation Dead? July 19, 2010
Has IT ingenuity fallen victim to cost and compliance pressures? Four of the financial services industry’s top technology leaders offer their opinions in exclusive interviews.

Executive Q&A: NYSE's Steve Rubinow Discusses Competing on Education June 30, 2010
NYSE Euronext EVP and Co-CIO Steve Rubinow says that even though the exchange has a hard time competing for tech talent on Wall Street, the state of technology innovation in the U.S. is just fine.

The Possible Long-Term Benefits of High-Frequency Trading June 23, 2010
Despite the controversy surrounding high-frequency trading, the trading style actually is beneficial to long-term investors and to the market at large, argues Arzhang Kamarei, Managing Partner, Tradeworx.

Executive Q&A: AXA Equitable's CIO on Innovation and IT Investment June 15, 2010
Kevin Murray, EVP and CIO of AXA Equitable, thinks the carrier’s investment in enabling technologies such as rules engines and SOA have been key to its continued strong performance during economic turmoil.

The Low-Latency Imperative: How Fast Is Fast Enough? June 15, 2010
Conventional wisdom may assert that everyone on Wall Street wants to be as fast as possible. But latency is a matter of perspective, influenced by trading style, instrument class and even the tools used to measure it.

Executive Q&A: BNY Mellon’s New CIO John Fiore June 15, 2010
In an exclusive interview just before his promotion to CIO, Fiore shared his thoughts on technology innovation.

Data Management a Top Priority for Wall Street Firms June 09, 2010
While improving data quality long has been viewed as a back-office efficiency play on Wall Street, the financial crisis and ensuing regulatory scrutiny have thrust data management into the spotlight, transforming it into a top business priority.

Citi's Jon Beyman Discusses IT Talent, Technology Development Concerns June 07, 2010
Jon Beyman, managing director of operations and technology for Citi's global institutional client group, discusses the search for IT talent on Wall Street and the dangers of the U.S. falling behind other nations in technology development.

More Scrutiny in an Altered World May 20, 2010
Companies scramble to adjust to new rules of the road while governments weigh curbs on leverage and demands for more transparency.

Raymond James Launches Into SOA May 11, 2010
What started as a relaunch of its outdated Investor Access client Web portal morphed into the transformative adoption of service-oriented architecture at Raymond James Financial Services.

3-D Portfolio Modeling Provides New Clarity May 10, 2010
As portfolio managers rethink risk management post-crisis, some are embracing three-dimensional portfolio modeling technology to improve diversification, reduce risk and appeal to investors.

Hedge Funds Face Massive Transformation May 05, 2010
As they prepare to comply with new and more stringent rules, hedge funds must align their technology and processes to provide the transparency demanded by regulators and investors alike.

Managing OTC Derivatives: Never Waste a Good Crisis April 15, 2010
OTC derivatives didn't cause the financial crisis, but they certainly played a part. However, OTC derivatives may end up being the scapegoat while other larger risks are overlooked.

Commodities Traders Increasingly Adopt Algorithms March 29, 2010
Commodities traders increasingly are adopting algorithms, but these aren't the equity markets' automated trading strategies, as commodities algos often make room for human discretion. By Ivy Schmerken

Capital Markets Firms Turn to Cloud Computing March 29, 2010
Despite disagreement on the actual definition of 'cloud computing,' capital markets firms increasingly are turning to the technology to achieve scale, cut costs and improve time to market. But not everything about the cloud is white and fluffy.

Proactive IT Monitoring Strategy Emerges for Complex, Low Latency Infrastructures March 26, 2010
A new strategy, Business Transaction Processing, has emerged for monitoring and troubleshooting high-volume, complex environments in investment banks.

Riding the Cloud to Market: Q&A With Marc Chaikin March 26, 2010
Marc Chaikin, who developed the first real-time analytics workstation for stock traders and portfolio managers, talks to WS&T about his latest venture and how he is using the cloud to deliver data to investors' smartphones.

Industry Working to Build Infrastructure to Enable Central Clearing of OTC Derivatives March 25, 2010
While Congress hammers out details of OTC derivatives reform, buy-side firms and dealers are working to connect to central counterparty clearinghouses to enable central clearing and reduce counterparty risk.

The Tangled OTC Derivatives Marketplace March 25, 2010
Rather than build connections to multiple central counterparty clearinghouses, many buy-side firms will rely on third-party services to bridge the gap in OTC derivatives clearing.

Bank Debt Deals Pose Operational Risk March 16, 2010
Alternative investments firms are realizing they cannot manage an entire asset class in a non-systematic manner.

Post-Crisis, Banks Paying Close Attention to Vendor Risk When Choosing Tech Partners March 09, 2010
Post-crisis, Wall Street firms are paying closer attention than ever before to vendor risk when choosing their technology partners.

Eaton Vance Overcomes Document Management's User-Interface Shortcomings March 08, 2010
During its enterprise content management deployment, Eaton Vance discovered the devil was in the user-interface details.

Configurable 'Ticker Processors' Accelerate Automated Trading February 24, 2010
FPGA-based computers minimize the latency of feed-handling algorithms.

Wall Street Firms, Hedge Funds, Recruit CIA, Ex-Military Intelligence February 08, 2010
Wall Street firms and hedge funds are actively recruiting former CIA and military intelligence officers in a bid to boost their security and risk management practices.

Why the Industry Is Changing Options Symbology February 01, 2010
The options industry has outgrown five-character options symbols and is converting to a more-descriptive format that will help investors understand the instruments they are trading.

New Options Symbology Phased In February 01, 2010
New options symbology was phased in on Feb. 12, seemingly without any problems. But given the far-reaching nature of the conversion for brokers, exchanges, clearing firms and vendors, some kinks still could arise.

Insider Trading: Can It Be Stopped? January 29, 2010
With the SEC under pressure to salvage its battered reputation, the regulator has been acting with new-found zeal to eliminate insider trading.

Transamerica Finds Back-Office Efficiency, Accuracy Through Insourcing January 25, 2010
Asset manager saves money and improves the accuracy of data by pulling fund administration back in-house.

Futures Exchange ELX Blends Hosted and Homegrown Ops Platforms January 25, 2010
Billing and member communications are two of the functions for which the nascent exchange has turned to software as a service.

Document Automation Helps Diversified Investment Advisors Decrease Ops Budget by $1.3 Million January 25, 2010
Print-on-demand capabilities help investment advisory firm eliminate manual document generation processes.

10 Trends That Are Reshaping the Wall Street Back Office January 25, 2010
With new regulations on the way and calls for greater scrutiny and transparency into how financial instruments are priced and cleared, the importance of a strong back office is destined to receive a lift this year. Here are 10 developments that are reshaping Wall Street's operations departments and the technology they use.

The Search for Alpha: Analyzing Unstructured Data January 21, 2010
Researchers and Wall Street firms are analyzing the avalanche of Internet content -- including news feeds, blogs and Twitter posts -- to help improve trading performance.

Alpha Capture Systems Measure the Value of Sell-Side Trade Ideas January 13, 2010
To drum up commissions, sell-side sales professionals increasingly are communicating trade ideas to buy-side clients via alpha capture systems such as youDevise's Trade Information Monitor, which provide performance metrics around the trade ideas.

Exclusive: 2010 IT Spending to Rise 6%, CIOs Cautiously Optimistic January 08, 2010
Capital markets firms will spend almost $42 billon on technology globally in 2010, up from an expected $39.7 billion in 2009 and $41.8 billion in 2008, according to a soon-to-be-released study from Aite Group.

Evaluating Outsourcing Options December 28, 2009
The technology and capabilities of outsourced portfolio management systems offer functionality that is comparable to their installed counterparts. But not all outsourced solutions are created equal.

CME Group Thrives on Technology Innovation December 07, 2009
As the operator of the Chicago Mercantile and other exchanges, CME Group's competitive advantage increasingly is built on technology innovation.

Mutual Funds and Cost Basis Compliance: Plan Now to be Prepared in 2012 December 07, 2009
The fund industry's procrastination in implementing cost basis reporting systems may have a dramatic impact on investor satisfaction over the long-term.

Industry Aims to Secure Cloud December 02, 2009
The obstacle to large financial firms' use of public clouds has been security, but industry groups and vendors are working to fix this. And internal clouds, protected within a firm's own firewalls, are under construction.

Capital Markets to Broaden Use of Hosted Software in 2010 November 30, 2009
Still-tight budgets and small IT staffs will drive Wall Street firms' preference for renting software rather than buying it.

Investors Demand Hedge Fund Transparency November 23, 2009
Institutional investors are already demanding more transparency from hedge funds. Not to be outdone, regulators are readying new rules for hedge fund reporting.

New Regulatory Requirements Require Data On-Demand November 23, 2009
With a plethora of proposed regulations in the pipeline, financial services firms are facing more strenuous audits and data reporting requirements that could result in penalties if firms get them wrong.

Social Networking Is Here to Stay November 23, 2009
Social networking is changing the way consumers, investors and traders interact and share information. But all companies are struggling to show how the technology is actually adding to the bottom line.

Derivatives Clearing Gives Congress Fits November 23, 2009
The Challenge Congress is working on legislation for OTC derivatives reform, but there is still no agreement on mandatory clearing of standardized instruments or on how exotic instruments will be handled.

No Country for Old Risk Models November 23, 2009
Congress and taxpayers agree on one thing: Financial firms cannot continue to make large, risky bets and expect a government bailout. Survival in 2010 will hinge on more-effective risk management processes and technology.

Data Projects to Pave the Way for Business Intelligence November 23, 2009
Business intelligence tools can deliver decision-making insight to areas on Wall Street that sorely need it, such as portfolio and risk management. The catch? Data has to be clean, accurate and organized (if not integrated), which means shelved enterprise data management projects may get resurrected.

High-Frequency Trading Controversy Continues to Swirl November 23, 2009
Regulators are scrutinizing the surge in high-frequency trading strategies, which account for more than 60 percent of equities executions by some estimates. Charges of unfair access likely will continue to drive the HFT controversy in 2010.

Dark Pools Seek Limited Transparency November 23, 2009
Dark pools provide institutional investors with a valuable venue for trading large blocks of securities. But new regulations may change the way market participants interact with anonymous trading venues in 2010.

WS&T Presents the Capital Markets Outlook 2010 November 23, 2009
Wall Street & Technology editors examine the top 10 trends that will shape the capital markets in the coming year.

OTC Derivatives Reform Doesn't Go Far Enough November 18, 2009
Independent consultant calls for more competition between securities and futures clearinghouses, allowing ATSs into futures and combining the CFTC and SEC into one agency.

Dynamics of Technology Economy Are Key to Mastering Balance of Expense and Value November 16, 2009
Companies that take charge of their internal technology economy microclimates today by balancing quantitative and qualitative analysis will be in the best position to leverage technology for extreme competitive advantage.

Goldman Sachs Sets Gold Standard for IT Innovation October 27, 2009
By focusing on in-house development capabilities and a culture of collaboration, Goldman Sachs has built outstanding risk management and algorithmic trading products.

WS&T's 2009 Gold Book: Wall Street's Top Technology Leaders Drive Innovation in Tough Times October 19, 2009
Managing IT during a bull market is relatively easy. Managing a technology organization during a financial crisis is a different story. WS&T recognizes seven IT leaders who have driven exceptional technology innovation during the past year.

Morgan Stanley Aims for the Clouds October 19, 2009
David Reilly, CIO of Enterprise Infrastructure, heads Morgan Stanley's industry-leading cloud and virtualization initiatives. He's not afraid to rely on vendors for substantial chunks of these and other projects.

NYSE Euronext Innovates at Warp Speed October 19, 2009
NYSE Euronext and CIO Steve Rubinow are focused on doing things faster, including communication, development and, of course, competing in the low-latency trading arena.

Fidelity Investments' Unwavering Commitment to the Mobile Channel October 19, 2009
Early on, Fidelity recognized the value of providing customers with a complete mobile offering, and chief wireless officer Joseph Ferra is committed to creating the best user experience possible.

TradeKing Embraces Social Networks October 19, 2009
Online investing/social networking site TradeKing is tapping interactive community-building tools to breathe new life into the online brokerage space.

Allianz Global Investors' Small Application-Support Team Provides Big Results October 19, 2009
Allianz Global Investors' three investment management companies will soon run on a single platform maintained by a tiny 33-person IT team that is managed by Steve Rapp, managing director and CTO.

BlackRock's Analytics Pay Off in More Ways Than One October 18, 2009
BlackRock's analytics and pricing models are so well respected that the firm made a business of them. Now the federal government is one of its top customers.

Morgan Stanley Seeks Transparency Into Inter-Party Latency With Exchanges and MTFs October 12, 2009
Broker signs deal wtih Corvil to monitor market data plants and order execution traffic to gain visibility into inter-party latency.

More Features Archive

Greg MacSweeny Column

Fidessa Expands Buy-Side EMS into Asia

Harvey Pitt: SEC Looking, Not Acting on Dark Pool Explosion

eSpeed Sees Court Decision as Win in TT Patent Case

NYSE Euronext Unveils NYSE TransactTools As Global Backbone for Accessing Liquidity Worldwide

JPMorgan Losing Data and Making Headlines

Cuomo Wins Big on Data Privacy

Larry Tabb Column

Deutsche Bank Uses Princeton Softech to Monitor Application Performance

GemStone Bolsters IBM Platform With Virtualization Solution

SunGard Strengthens Wealth Management Functionality

Today's Money Managers Are Leveraging Funds Into Alternative Investment Products

Electronic Trading Resource Center

As markets move faster and trading in all types of investment classes continues to migrate to electronic trading, the technology that supports trading strategies is evolving at a rapid pace. Reducing latency and building systems that can match orders in hundredths of a second will be required if firms want to continue to compete in many markets.

Events

July 25, 2007 Live Event headline

August 28, 2007 Another Web Event Title

August 29, 2007 Third Web Event Title blah balha blah

August 30, 2007 Fouth live event title tata

August 36, 2006 Fifth web event title

Whitepapers

Respond to financial market conditions and clients -- on demand: IBM software solutions for the financial markets industry
This solution sheet addresses the challenges & opportunities that exist today for midsized financial services/markets firms by explaining how these firms can achieve end-to-end business integration with industry-leading solutions from IBM and IBM Business Partners.

MiFID - How to Deal With Four Critical Reference Data Issues
As a result of emerging regulatory framework, the extensive changes surrounding the way data is gathered, managed, shared and retained will have significant impact for both buy side and sell side firms. This paper sheds light on some of the data issues stirred up by the MiFID revolution and suggests four pragmatic ways of addressing those needs.

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Market Place

Unexpected Surge in Trading Volumes and Volatility Raises Infrastructure Concerns for Hedge Funds

Experts Share Basic Ways To Reduce Power Consumption In Data Centers

These Servers Are Really Cool

Don't Panic, but the Grid's Going Down

What's a Green Data Center?

Wells Fargo Taps Web 2.0