Hard at Work: The Buy Side Rebuilds and Refocuses for a New Trading World

As the capital markets refocus in the aftermath of the financial crisis, buy-side firms aren't waiting to see how things shake out. Instead, asset managers and hedge funds are undertaking major technology projects to keep their edge in the new trading world.

Even while firms continue to keep a watchful eye on regulatory changes and work to keep up with Washington, many are taking this post-crisis opportunity to build something new and different. But we're not talking about simply a new set of algorithms or a new smart order router; firms are undertaking large-scale projects to dramatically improve trading on the desk. Advanced Trading caught up with three firms to find out what they learned from the financial crisis, how they are moving forward, and what their big focus on the trading desk is for this year and beyond.

York Capital Management is in the process of rolling out a new enterprise portfolio management system that will leverage a multi-asset-class security master file and provide comprehensive risk management and compliance. J.P. Morgan Asset Management is pursuing a multimillion-dollar project to automate the trade order workflow on its trading desk, leveraging portfolio manager profiling and a strategy server that decides how, when and where to trade orders. And Northern Trust, which consolidated its trading operations for a more unified trading desk just in time to weather the financial storm, now is adjusting its broker-dealer relationships and risk management focus to support continuing growth.

Read on to find out how these firms are transforming the trading desk and building out a brighter future.