Waters Wavelength

The September issue of Waters will mark our 25th anniversary as a publication. For it, Anthony and James spoke with over three-dozen senior executives in technology to hear their thoughts as to which technologies and enhancements will transform the capital markets over the next quarter century. For the podcast, they provide some takeaways from those discussions. Check out the September issue of Waters for a full look back at advancements in the space over the previous 25 years and look ahead at what's still to come.

This week, Josephine Gallagher, European reporter for Waters, calls in from London to talk with Anthony about the exchange-traded funds (ETF) marketplace. After speaking with experts from Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors and more for her August feature, she explains how technology is playing a greater role in this space, how alternative data and robo advisors are changing the sector, and whether or not Bitcoin ETFs will become a reality in the near future (hint: probably not.) And, being that Josephine is from the Republic of Ireland, she explains Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) sports like Gaelic football and hurling to a bewildered Anthony.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaelic_Athletic_Association https://www.waterstechnology.com/industry-issues-initiatives/3779766/etfs-priming-the-5-trillion-pump https://www.waterstechnology.com/industry-issues-initiatives/3755246/bitcoin-advocates-seek-to-navigate-etf-maze https://www.waterstechnology.com/trading-technologies-a

Kathryn Guarini, vice president of IBM Industry Research, and Bob Sutor, vice president of IBM Q strategy and ecosystem for IBM Research, talk with Anthony about advancements that have been made in the quantum space and explore what might be ahead. 2:45 Bob starts off by explaining where we are today with quantum development, how we got here and what some of the next benchmarks might be. 6:00 With over 94,000 individuals having used IBM Q’s environment, Kathryn examines why people in the financial services industry are starting to get interested in the topic. 8:00 Bob provides what he believes is a realistic timeline for a commercial quantum computer. 11:15 Then Bob explains how providers in the quantum computing space are both working together and competing against one another, at the same time. 13:00 Kathryn points to Monte Carlo simulations and intraday analytics as being areas that could potentially be improved by a quantum computer. 15:45 While some have posited that quantum computing could po

Greg Skibiski, co-founder and CEO of Thasos Group, a startup that provides geospatial data to the hedge fund industry, joins the podcast to discuss the alternative data sector and provides insights into some of the challenges, trends and use cases for this information. Beginning-1:45 Greg Skibiski joins the podcast and gives a quick recap of what Thasos has rolled out. 1:45-3:40 What are the biggest trends driving this explosion we’re seeing in the alternative data space? 3:40-5:30 How has hardware in the alt data space improved to allow for the increased use of this data? 5:30-8:15 When you look at a potential dataset to explore, what are the prerequisites you look for? 8:15-10:00 Why are so many players—from startups, to the biggest vendors, to the banks themselves—trying to get into this space with their own offerings? 10:00-12:30 For those concerned about privacy, how do you make sure that no personally identifiable information is shared with clients? 12:30-15:05 Do you provide context around the data,

Last week, Anthony and James discussed the announcement that State Street was buying Charles River Development. Well, a week later, and after speaking with over a dozen industry sources, they are back to dig deeper into this significant acquisition (2:15). But first, they look at some recent developments in the bitcoin ETF space, which is a topic they broached two weeks ago. This time, though, they dig into a story written by Josephine Gallagher that quotes executives from Goldman Sachs and Vanguard to get the institutional side of the industry’s thoughts (16:00). https://www.waterstechnology.com/organization-management/alliances-mergers-acquisitions/3774631/questions-raised-on-state-street-and-charles-rivers-boston-wedding https://www.waterstechnology.com/trading-technologies-and-strategies/3769671/traders-urge-caution-on-potential-bitcoin-etfs https://www.waterstechnology.com/industry-issues-initiatives/3760866/wavelength-podcast-episode-130-state-street-buys-charles-river https://www.waterstechnology.c

Big news today, as it was announced that State Street is buying order management system (OMS) giant Charles River. Anthony and James give their initial thoughts, though a longer, well-reported feature will be coming next week. They also discuss the alternative data space and, specifically, climate change data. 1:30 Holy crap… State Street is buying Charles River for $2.6 billion. 4:00 What are some of the immediate concerns? 9:00 What will happen with the rest of the OMS space? 11:00 Climate change data—an inside look at how the likes of Man Group, UBS, Deutsche Bank, Axa Rosenberg and the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development are using these datasets. https://www.waterstechnology.com/market-data-data-analytics/3746441/end-of-days-data-climate-content-heats-up 23:15 There’s a problem facing the quant research field, as new studies are finding that a lot of discoveries that were taken as fact cannot be replicated. Our colleague on Risk.net, Faye Kilburn, spoke with a wide array of people and one

This week, Anthony and James take a look at the tumultuous interdealer broker space and where it stands after John Phizackerley’s ouster at TP Icap (2:00). They then briefly discuss the latest bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) filing and whether these instruments will become a reality in the near future (8:00). And finally, James gives a quick 30-second recap of Croatia’s victory over England in the World Cup semifinals that sounds a bit like Morse Code (17:55). Editor’s Note: The longer feature on bitcoin ETFs will run on WatersTechnology.com on Monday, July 16.

Phil Christianson, director of product management at Eze Software, joins the podcast to discuss ways in which firms of all types and sizes can improve their use of the Agile methodology (12:15-29:00). But before that, Anthony and James first look at House Bill 4785 and explain why it could be a problem for the construction of the Consolidated Audit Trail (2:00-10:00) and James gives his bold prediction for England’s football team as it heads in to the quarter finals against Sweden on Saturday (10:00-12:15).

This week’s podcast is new and improved thanks to a large investment to improve the sound quality of the show. Let us know what you think. Also on the show, Anthony and James discuss Digital Reasoning’s soon-to-be-released Cognition platform (3:30) and give a preview of the July issue of Waters (11:00). Additionally, Anthony goes off on a convoluted rant about the Supreme Court (16:15) and then James tries to pretend that he knows something about the World Cup (25:45). https://www.waterstechnology.com/market-data-data-analytics/3719941/digital-reasoning-readies-public-release-of-model-training-platform

On the podcast this week, Anthony and James first look at recent Brexit developments and examine how tech providers—and, specifically, Approved Publication Arrangement (APA) operators—are dealing with the looming 2019 Brexit deadline (1:15). They then provide a quick update in the fight between the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) (8:30). They hit on an important Supreme Court decision involving fourth-amendment rights and cellphone data (13:45) before transitioning to Tuesday’s primary elections in the US (18:30). They wrap things up by looking at some of the early results from this year’s World Cup (29:15). https://www.waterstechnology.com/risk-management-performance-reporting/3709301/bloomberg-eyes-amsterdam-for-trading-and-reporting-platforms https://www.waterstechnology.com/exchanges-trading-venues/3707136/sgxs-indian-products-live-for-now

On the podcast, Anthony and James read the tealeaves after William Hinman, head of the division of corporation finance for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said that “current offers and sales of ether are not securities transactions,” and what that could mean for cryptos, including bitcoin, going forward (2:45). Then they shift their attention to the concept of privacy and how lawyers (including James’ wife!) are addressing the issue today, and what that could mean for capital markets firms going forward (10:00). Finally, they wrap things up by giving their World Cup predictions and what that could mean for world peace in the future (23:00).

This week on the podcast, Anthony and James first look at the London Stock Exchange’s outage that resulted from “technical issues” with its auction system, and why the industry should expect more glitches—across the world—in the future. Then they turn their attention to both failed blockchain projects and projects that were announced last year that have actually gone fully live. They wrap the show up talking about the state of mainstream magazines (because we all know that Waters magazine is the finest magazine covering fintech in the world). Outages 1:45 What happened at the LSE? https://www.waterstechnology.com/exchanges-trading-venues/3685356/issue-with-auction-system-led-to-lses-morning-blackout 5:00 The regulators are starting to care more about outages. https://www.waterstechnology.com/exchanges-trading-venues/3529391/nyse-fined-14-million-by-sec-for-reg-sci-violations 6:00 Why we should expect more outages across the industry. Blockchain 8:15 First, a look at some of the failed blockchain projects th

On the podcast, Wei-Shen Wong, Waters’ Asia editor, joins to discuss the dispute unfolding between the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and India’s National Stock Exchange (NSE) over index licensing. Before that, though, Anthony and James look at how the European Securities and Markets Authority (Esma) has come down on reporting platforms, saying that the data they make available to the public is often not exactly in line with what the regulator wanted when it rewrote Europe’s trading rulebook. Esma v Reporting Platforms 2:00 What is the problem that Esma is looking to address? 3:15 What is Esma asking reporting platforms to do? 4:30 What are the main concerns for the reporting platforms? 6:00 What are politicians and market participants saying? https://www.waterstechnology.com/regulation-compliance/3672661/apas-under-pressure-as-esma-cracks-down-on-data-tangle NSE v SGX 10:30 Wei-Shen joins and begins by laying out the groundwork for how we got to this point, which started with the Securities and Excha

This week, Chris Isaacson, the chief information officer of Cboe Global Markets, joins the podcast to discuss the exchange operator’s mass migration of its futures and options exchanges to a brand-new technology base. Ever since Cboe acquired Bats in 2017—and, as Chris tells James, even before the ink was on the page—the plan had been to move to Bats’ proprietary technology, and the firm completed its latest migration on May 14th with the C2 Options Exchange. Chris discusses the challenges of moving an entire exchange’s the base while keeping it running, and looks ahead to the big project in 2019, when Cboe will be moving its flagship options exchange to the new foundation. Before that, though, a quick look at the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which went live on May 25. GDPR 2:15 GDPR is now live—here’s what you need to know. 6:15 Who will be the first to get hit with a fine? 7:30 A rule that snuck up on everyone. 9:45 What this means for the future. https://www.waterstechnology.com/regulation

Wavelength Podcast Episode 121: An Examination of CQRS; Coinbase’s Institutional Play This week, Dave Remy, the chief technology officer for Linedata’s asset management vertical, and Chris Condron, principal software architect in the asset management unit, join the podcast to discuss developments in the CQRS-ES space. For those not in the know, CQRS is a data architecture pattern that stands for Command Query Responsibility Segregation, and ES is Event Sourcing. While that might not jump out as being the sexiest of topics, it’s actually a very interesting development in the tech world that is seeping into the capital markets. Dave and Chris discuss the benefits and challenges of the pattern and provide their insights as to how firms can start to experiment with it. But before that, James gives an update on some big news coming out of the crypto space and then at the end, Anthony and James pick an easy target to make fun of—the MTA. https://www.waterstechnology.com/exchanges-trading-venues/3642886/crypto-ma

This week, Anthony and James examine the issue of clearinghouse management and the risk of non-default losses at a center counterparty clearinghouse (CCP). Essentially, how do these entities manage operational risks around cyber-attacks, fraud or disaster recovery. Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) argue that they shouldn’t be responsible for risk they don’t introduce into the clearinghouse; CCPs argue that the whole point of a clearinghouse is to mutualize risk. This topic is coming to a head because earlier this year the European Parliament proposed rules on how these should be managed, the first time anyone’s really codified it. Under this, the CCPs have to contribute 25 percent of what they put into the default fund—known as their “skin-in-the-game”—to cover these risks, before they dip into member money that is meant to be there to guarantee trades. James discusses the main issues involved, how serious a non-default loss could be versus something like a member default, why everyone should care about

On the podcast, Anthony and James examine the M&A space, specifically as it pertains to acquisition-hungry SS&C and its aborted bid for Fidessa. They also hit on all the features that have gone live in the last week and then have a discussion about data privacy and how much people are willing to give away. 0:00-4:30 Housekeeping notes and how to apply for this year’s Waters Rankings. 4:30 SS&C chief executive Bill Stone says the tech giant is still interested in making deals even after it declined to bid for Fidessa. But first, what’s going on with the Fidessa-Temenos-Ion saga now? 9:00 SS&C has cash to spend—will it spend it, should an attractive target present itself? 12:30 What can DST expect from being part of the SS&C family? 14:15 Some reckless speculation as to which company SS&C might look to gobble up next. 20:45 A look at the features that have gone live in the past week. (See below for links.) 30:00 A discussion about data (and DNA) privacy in an era where people don’t care about privacy. M

Anthony calls James from Raleigh, North Carolina, where he’s spending his vacation, to talk about happenings from the past week. Included is a look at both RTS 27 and RTS 28 in Europe, how exchanges are using AI to monitor their markets and how some are worried that so-called Big Tech providers like Google might start taking aim at the financial markets and squeeze out some of the more traditional players in the space. (See ‘The Lineup’ section below for more detail.) Then, at the end, a special pullout from a recent webinar that provided something of a “State of the Union” for the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) rollout in the US. Here are the speakers from the webinar, which was moderated by James: Tom Sporkin, Partner Buckley Sandler Joshua Beaton, CAT Program Manager and Head of US Regulatory Reporting CTB/Executive Director, Morgan Stanley Nathan Call, Director of RegTech Solutions, Protegent, Global Financial Services, FIS The Lineup 2:00 Exchange executives are not happy about requirements stemming

On the podcast, Anthony and James take a look at some of the topics that will be discussed at this year’s North American Innovation Summit, including artificial intelligence (AI), chatbots and fintech disruption. To hear the full interview, listen in the player above, or you can download it. 0:30 The North American Innovation Summit—register today. 2:30 Why are artificially intelligent tools gaining in popularity? 5:00 Some examples of AI being used in the capital markets. 12:00 Some thoughts on quantum computing. 15:30 Will chatbots become prevalent on the trading floor? 24:00 The benefits and challenges that fintechs offer. 26:45 What risks and opportunities do banks face by being so active in setting up innovation labs? 31:45 James tells us about his favorite dive bars in London.

On the podcast, Anthony and James first discuss the potential Temenos-Fidessa deal and what the entry of SS&C Technologies and Ion Investment Group means for Fidessa going forward (4:15). Then they turn their attention to bitcoin, but rather than look at it as an investment vehicle, they examine some of the byproducts of bitcoin, such as the energy it takes to mine for these coins and some of the real-world impact that’s already had, particularly in Tony’s old college town of Plattsburgh, NY (11:30). They also hit on the Anthony Joshua-Joseph Parker fight (30:30), and they give some TV picks to watch over the weekend (33:30). Also, the Women in Data and Technology Award write-ups are now live online and we have also posted a longer feature where eight of our winners give advice for advancement in what is a male-dominated world.