February 2006
 Cover Story Can Asset Managers and Hedge Funds Converge? Traditional asset managers are venturing into the alternative investment arena. But can long-only funds merge their trading desks with hedge funds without raising red flags? Electronic Marketplaces What Is 'Best Execution'? Though traders are required to strive for best execution, it has not been definitively defined. Fortunately, new tools can help firms identify good trades. Algorithmic Trading The Financial Services Industry Increases Its Demand for Transparency Buy-side traders increasingly are demanding transparency into - and control over - broker algorithms. But the sell side may be hesitant to share its secrets. Data & Infrastructure The NYSE Is Releasing NYSE Bonds The New York Stock Exchange kicks off the new year by reentering the bond market with an equity-trading model. Industry Voice Transaction Cost Analysis Provides Important Details About Trade Executions Trade confirmations often don't include details that the buy side needs to conduct true transaction cost analysis and identify best execution. Hidden Orders and Dark pools Are Taking Order Secrecy on Wall Street to a New Level The continued growth of electronic trading may mean a decrease in the hidden costs of actively traded funds. Research Watch There Are Changes Ahead for Asset Managers Including Increased Autonomy and a New Skill Requirements The regulatory environment and the structure of the securities market are in a state of transition. The upside for asset managers is increased autonomy. |
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From The Editor NYSE Asks for NMS Delay Looks like REG NMS Could be postponed again. As Advanced Trading went to press, the New York Stock Exchange was preparing a letter to be sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission to ask for a one-month postponement of the new trading rule. Market Intelligence Monitor 110 Is Rolling Out an Internet Search Service for Hedge Funds and Institutions Monitor 110 offers Internet search service for institutional investors that ranks online content by relevance. WSI Corporation Launches WSI MarketFirst Product To Give Energy Traders An Edge on Government Weather Forecast Energy traders who wait for a key government weather forecast each day could get a jump on the news thanks to a new product from WSI Corp. that predicts an hour ahead of time what the government model will reveal. Thomson Integrates OMS, TradeWeb To enhance the workflow of asset managers and buy-side traders active in fixed-income markets, Thomson Financial launched TradeCentral, an order management system (OMS) that comes pre-integrated with Thomson TradeWeb, the electronic fixed-income and derivatives marketplace. FlexTrade Unveils FX Block Trading Eyeing the success of crossing systems in the equities market, FlexTrade Systems has launched what it claims is the first block trading system for FX currency pairs.
Street Cred Regulating the Financial Services Industry Is a Balancing Act Getting regulation right is like balancing on a knife's edge - tilt too far one way and the industry is hamstrung; tilt too far the other way and reduce the trust that is required for a functioning capital market. At The Close  Can and Should Asset managers Integrate Hedge Fund Technology With the Buy Side's Existing Systems?It's easy to start a hedge fund these days. All one needs is a spreadsheet, a telephone, an execution management system (EMS) and a prime broker to finance the positions. |