Big Data and Smart Trading [ Source: SAP ]
September 2012-
The convergence of big data and smart trading is leading to the rapid development of new, profitable, and often fascinating trading strategies. These strategies extract and harness information from a myriad of conventional and not-so conventional data sources, often on a massive scale. Trading organizations employing these new big data trading strategies are searching for sustained profitability over extended periods of time.
This white paper explains what these strategies are and how to ...
IT Complexity Metrics - How do you measure up? [ Source: CAPCO ]
April 2012-
IT Complexity is so important that 'learning through failing' is no longer satisfactory given that this form of complexity so clearly and harshly impacts the cost, delivery quality and flexibility of the IT landscape.
We now need a robust and functioning model for complexity measurement and mitigation. This paper describes how Commerzbank, in partnership with Capco, is deriving such a model. We also examine how it can be developed over time to provide ...
Uber Architect [ Source: CAPCO ]
April 2012- What does a Solution Architect do? In deference to traditional deliverable-based architect role definitions, Solution Architecting spans the SDLC. While SAs are responsible for some deliverables, they primarily configure the required building blocks of the working product. They make transparent a myriad of tough decisions, encourage stakeholder collaboration, break deadlock and resolve difficult issues. SAs have a "line of sight" from ideation through implementation. Figure 1 summarizes the major processes by Project Management Institute (PMI) function ...
7 Critical Questions for Financial Services Firms [ Source: CAPCO ]
April 2012-
Despite uncertainty over the ultimate form and scope of the rules, smart financial services companies are moving ahead to prepare. Dodd-Frank is law, and many key provisions will be implemented regardless of how the next months' proceedings play out and political winds blow. The Volcker Rule will alter how banks trade and invest. The Collins Amendment will intensify capital requirements. The Lincoln Amendment will require some banks to spin off their swap desks.
...
IT Complexity: Measure, Model, Master [ Source: CAPCO ]
April 2012-
IT complexity: A new metric to evaluate the impact of change
What if complexity was a discreet, measurable metric rather than a discretionary, ambiguous term? Could a complexity metric reshape the decisions and activities of a CIO?
The information technology field is filled with quotes and anecdotes about organizations trying to contain, explain and manage complexity. Often these words reflect an inclination to assume that if complexity exists, we should try ...
Sales and Service [ Source: CAPCO ]
April 2012-
What are the forces reshaping the financial services industry?
Customer expectations are evolving and new channels are proliferating. Credit and market risks are growing. The lines between traditional and nontraditional banks continue to blur. These and other factors are having an unprecedented impact on the industry, compelling institutions to address competitive threats, solidify customer relationships, and strengthen fraud prevention and security measures.
How has the industry responded?
Forward-looking institutions ...
Real-time Data Feeds: Creating a Competitive Differentiator Through Event-Driven Trading [ Source: Bloomberg ]
November 2011- There's money in the microsecond. Traders today realize that market-moving insights can be gleaned from an ever-growing pool of unstructured data. Leading firms use complex strategies powered by machine readable news to compete in the low-latency space. Automated event-driven trading exploits market inefficiencies or volatility that arises in response to breaking news, economic releases and other events. While the average time it takes for news stories to move markets today is about 4 seconds, Bloomberg's Event-Driven ...
Improving Post-Trade Efficiency [ Source: Advent Software ]
December 2009- While much has been made of the fragmentation of liquidity and trade execution venues, little has been said about the fragmentation of the post-trade environment— a large and overlooked opportunity for efficiency improvement. With trading technology evolving to address execution challenges, it is time to look at the entire trade lifecycle with the goal of increasing efficiency and reducing operational risk in trade settlement. This document discusses the issue, identifies opportunities for improvement and outlines ...
Optical Networking for Capital Markets: The Bright Side of Dark Fiber [ Source: Ciena ]
August 2010-
Nowhere is low latency networking more critical than in the financial services industry, where competitive differentiation and profitability are often measured in microseconds. In recent years, financial firms have made great strides in reducing software, system and intra-network latency to speed transactions dramatically. Now, recent advancements in fiber technologies, end-point hardware and service offerings have created significant opportunity for latency reduction beyond the trading firm’s own data centers.
Read this paper to ...
Losing Customers Through Poor Financial Website Performance [ Source: Akamai ]
May 2010- Poor website performance leads to dissatisfaction more often than any other factor, particularly in financial services. As financial institutions add more features and functionality, have the basics of site performance and reliability fallen out of focus? Download this research study to learn more.
The Evolving Role of The Buy-Side Trader [ Source: SunGard Financial Systems ]
April 2010- SunGard recently commissioned a study on the evolving role of the buy-side trader in today’s dynamic economic environment, identifying challenges faced by traders today as well as those that need to be anticipated tomorrow. Based on their findings, SunGard concluded that choosing the right strategic technology partner while embracing new solutions is essential to tackling these challenges. SunGard’s Valdi helps firms trade multiple asset classes and source new liquidity for growth while managing ...
SunGard Valdi [ Source: SunGard Financial Systems ]
April 2010- SunGard recently commissioned a study on the evolving role of the buy-side trader in today’s dynamic economic environment, identifying challenges faced by traders today as well as those that must be anticipated tomorrow. Based on their findings, SunGard concluded that choosing the right strategic technology partner while embracing new solutions is essential to tackling these challenges. SunGard’s Valdi helps firms trade multiple asset classes and source new liquidity for growth while managing costs. ...
Trading Ecosystems: Meeting the Challenges of Today's Fragmented Liquidity Markets [ Source: Savvis ]
May 2010- Trading “ecosystems” offer an attractive solution to the challenges raised by liquidity fragmentation, regulatory change and technology innovation. Such ecosystems bring together liquidity points, content, services, and IT infrastructure to enable successful execution of the entire trading lifecycle. They allow trading firms to shift the burden of technology acquisition, maintenance, and management over to specialists, while supporting critical pre-trade, trade execution, and post-trade activities so they can focus on their core businesses, improve operational efficiencies ...
Reform vs. Innovation: Opening the Right Doors [ Source: SunGard Consulting Services ]
April 2010- Jeffrey Wallis, managing partner, SunGard Consulting Services, discusses how the “too big to fail” principle, driven by the interconnectedness of financial firms, could lead to an economy where a company could be “too small to succeed”.
Measurement and Characterization of Latency in Trading Networks [ Source: Corvil Ltd ]
July 2008- Latency during busy periods can be much larger than the values seen during the rest of the trading day. By definition, the busy periods are the times when most traders want to trade. Therefore statistics measured during these periods are key metrics for understanding performance. Simple service level targets based on daily or even monthly values are a poor guide to the conditions that traders will experience in practice. This white paper enables readers to ...
The Forrester Wave: Complex Event Processing (CEP) Platforms, Q3 2009 [ Source: Progress Software ]
September 2009-
Forrester Research, Inc. has named the Progress? Apama? complex event processing (CEP) platform as a standout leader in "The Forrester Wave™: Complex Event Processing Platforms, Q3 2009"(August 2009) Report. In this detailed review of products, the Apama platform received the top score in current offering and market presence.
According to the report: "Progress Apama earned high marks for its event processing features, its development tools, and its business end-user tools, propelling it into its ...
Solace's Unified Messaging Platform [ Source: Solace Systems ]
June 2009- Solace's Unified Messaging Platform is the first solution that handles all the major types of enterprise messaging in a single purpose-built hardware platform, with a single API and detailed management and monitoring. The Unified Messaging Platform simplifies the messaging infrastructure, improves performance, reduces time to market for new applications and slashes operational complexity and expense. Solace's Unified Messaging Platform supports ultra-low latency data distribution, high volume fanout, persistent message queuing and WAN-optimized messaging, all with ...
Lower Project Costs and Time of Technology Rollouts [ Source: Concert Technologies ]
September 2008- The rapid deployment of nationwide technology rollouts requires well-defined processes, robust management skills, and a unique understanding of how to get the job done. Without a proven Technology Rollout System, you run a high risk of project complications that result in increased costs, missed deadlines, and an overwhelming burden on internal resources. This paper explains what a Technology Rollout System is, how it lowers costs and saves time without compromising quality, and provides essential questions ...
TS-3000i TimeSync Web-based Clock [ Source: Amano Cincinnati, Inc. ]
May 2009- Amano's innovative TS-3000i turn-key web based clock provides users with automatic time synchronization for validated time. This clock will run on its own by employing easy-to-use resident time synchronization schedules with a back-up system that sends e-mail notification and SNMP trap alerts. It also generates time sync reports on events for a potential audit. The TS-3000i will provide the end user with savings in time, effort and money! Time synching clocks are used ...
Structured Products Gain Traction in Eastern Europe [ Source: Orc Software ]
December 2008- Eastern European financial markets are increasingly looking beyond equities and other “plain vanilla” investment products. As markets mature, a move to more sophisticated investment products follows naturally. The current economic unrest has accelerated this trend. Trading in warrants, certificates and other structured products is now growing rapidly across Continental and Eastern Europe. From this follows an increasing need for technology to support “financial engineering.”
Liquidity Risk Management - Good Practices for Broker Dealers [ Source: Tata Consultancy Services Ltd ]
February 2009- The paper deals with criticality of adherence to good liquidity management practices by broker dealers. Liquidity is essential to the viability of broker dealer firms. Any risk posed to the timely and cost-effective supply of liquidity can be disruptive in many ways. Therefore, it is crucial for broker dealers to devise and implement appropriate liquidity risk management practices and strive to create a risk sensitive culture across their organization.
Multi Symbol Spread Trading White Paper [ Source: Aegisoft, LLC ]
June 2008- This whitepaper explains what multi-symbol spread trading is an how it works.
Hedge Fund Portfolio Pricing Best Practices [ Source: Paladyne Systems ]
May 2008- Hedge fund pricing has always been, at best, a highly inconsistent and unreliable process. The hedge fund industry has never been required to adopt a standard policy for valuing securities, especially the private, illiquid, and over-the-counter asset classes. However, recent market volatility and mounting pressure from institutional investors has forced hedge fund managers to focus on the adoption of a standardized pricing and valuation methodology. More recently, the issue of pricing and valuation has escalated ...
THE NEXT GENERATION PRIME BROKER [ Source: Paladyne Systems ]
October 2007- As the hedge fund industry continues its rapid growth and assets pour in at record levels amid rising institutional allocations, industry dynamics are changing significantly. Recent high-profile blow-ups have led to calls for increased operational scrutiny and transparency of investment processes. Managers have been forced to upgrade their operations and accounting infrastructures amidst intense cost pressures. Competition for investors has moved managers away from traditional investments into emerging markets and over-the-counter products which has created ...
The Need for Multi-Prime Brokers [ Source: Paladyne Systems ]
October 2006- In the fast changing and demanding world of hedge funds, managers continue to chase opportunities by expanding into strategies that promise higher returns, while managing their operating costs. At the heart of any hedge fund’s operations is its dependency on the prime broker—or as is the case in most leading funds, dependency on multiple prime brokers. For smaller managers the structural challenges of adding a second or third prime can be prohibitive and ...