Blog


When It Comes To Big Data, Do The Benefits Outweigh The Risks?
May 21, 2013 @ 10:54 AM | By Devon Buffington- Advanced Systems Group

Having the systems and capability to process mass amounts of data is a benefit to a financial firm, but the same capabilities could create data security and privacy risks.

continued...



When Is Compliance A Competitive Advantage?
May 20, 2013 @ 10:33 AM | By Rex Gooch- SunGard

When compliance is working, it often goes unnoticed and flies under the radar. However, the value of a good compliance program is hard to measure.

continued...



Culture Clash: Transparency Versus Proprietary Data at Bloomberg
May 15, 2013 @ 10:56 AM | By Marcus Holland- FinancialTrading.com

The news media requires transparency and openness, while trading on Wall Street thrives on minimizing information leakage and protecting proprietary data.

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The Security Holes Investment Firms Are Ignoring
May 09, 2013 @ 09:22 AM | By Phil Albinus

Hackers are becoming smarter, more resourceful and more brazen. Is your investment firm fortified against someone who has the power to bring your operations down?

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The HFT Debate: Looking for Consensus
May 02, 2013 @ 10:17 AM | By Dan Solak- Thomson Reuters

Although supporters of HFT and its detractors will always clash, market participants agree that one thing has certainly changed: the role of technology in the equities markets.

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Industry Inertia Hampers E-Trading
April 29, 2013 @ 10:00 AM | By Greg MacSweeney

Institutional traders see some value in fixed income electronic trading, but a lack of a regulatory push and the desire to maintain existing business models is causing inertia in the move to electronic trading methods.

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Bankers Could Soon Face Jail For Reckless Behavior
April 26, 2013 @ 11:50 AM | By Melanie Rodier

A UK banking commission is currently debating the proposal, with many in favor of punishing reckless acts with jail time.

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Who Was Really Behind The Twitter Hack That Wiped Out $136 Billion?
April 25, 2013 @ 09:54 AM | By Melanie Rodier

While the Syrian Electronic Army claimed responsibility for the attack, the FBI, SEC and CFTC are now investigating the hack.

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4 Ways To Stop Twitter Hacks That Swing The Markets
April 24, 2013 @ 14:03 PM | By Melanie Rodier

The fake AP tweet this week left traders and quants scratching their heads over their vulnerability to breaking news on social media.

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Amid Conflict of Interest Debate, New SEC Chairman To Appoint Enforcement Lieutenant
April 22, 2013 @ 11:14 AM | By Melanie Rodier

The appointment follows the departure of Robert Khuzami, who revamped the division in the wake of the financial crisis with a record number of enforcement cases.

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Our Thought Leaders

  • Ivy Schmerken, Editor at Large
    Ivy is Editor-at-Large for Advanced Trading and Wall Street & Technology. Ivy is responsible for writing in-depth feature articles, daily blogs and news articles with a focus on automated trading in the capital markets. As an industry expert, Ivy has reported on a myriad number of topics including high frequency trading, algorithmic trading strategies, market structure, electronic trading in fixed income , colocation in data centers, Dodd-Frank regulation and the new derivatives landscape. Ivy meets with software companies and other innovators and writes about cloud computing, OMS/EMSs and other financial technologies.
  • Phil Albinus, Contributing Editor
    Phil Albinus is the former editor-in-chief of Advanced Trading. He has nearly two decades of journalism experience and has been covering financial technology and regulation for nine years. Before joining Advanced Trading, he served as editor of Waters, a monthly trade journal that analyzed the challenges of the CIO for sell side, buy side firms and exchanges. He has moderated countless briefings, webinars and industry panels. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English from the State University of New York at New Paltz and lives with his wife and three children in Ossining, NY. Follow him in Twitter at @philalbinus
  • Joe Saluzzi, Partner and co-head of equity trading, Themis Trading
    Joseph Saluzzi is partner, co-founder and co-head of equity trading of Themis Trading LLC, a leading independent agency brokerage firm that trades equities for institutional money managers and hedge funds. He is also the co-author of Broken Markets -- How High Frequency Trading and Predatory Practices on Wall Street are Destroying Investor Confidence. Mr. Saluzzi is a frequent speaker at industry conferences on issues involving market access, algorithmic trading and other sell- and buy-side concerns. He has provided expert commentary for media outlets such as CBS's 60 Minutes, BBC Radio, Bloomberg Television & Radio, CNBC, Fox Business, BNN, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Reuters, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg News. Mr. Saluzzi also has authored articles for Traders Magazine, Dow Jones and Journal of Investment Compliance. Prior to Themis, Mr. Saluzzi headed the team responsible for equity sales and trading for major institutional accounts at Instinet Corporation for more than nine years. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with an MBA in Finance and received a Bachelor's Degree in Finance from New York University.
  • Michael J. Levas, Founder, Senior Managing Principal, Director of Trading, Olympian Group of Investment Management Cos
    Michael J. Levas has been in the investment management business for over twenty years and is the founder,senior managing principal & director of trading at the Olympian Group of Investment Management Companies. Prior to Olympian, he was a VP and Portfolio Manager in the Private Client Group at Lehman Brothers Inc. Prior to that, he was a VP with SG Cowen, UBS PaineWebber and Bear Stearns where he managed in excess of $250 million in both institutional and retail portfolios. Mr. Levas is the former founder and managing member of Olympian Securities LLC, and is a licensed Series 24 general securities principal, Series 7 general securities representative, and a Series 65, 66 investment adviser representative with (FINRA). Mr. Levas is also the former founder and principal of Olympian Futures LLC, a former (NFA) registered introducing broker, and a licensed Series 3 associated person. Mr. Levas currently holds the Chartered Portfolio Manager (CPM) designation from the American Academy of Financial Management. Mr. Levas completed investment management studies at Harvard Business School and additionally, Mr.Levas has completed the Hedge Fund Programme at The London Business School. He is a current member of the CFA society of South Florida, Securities Traders Association of Florida, The National Association of Active Investment Managers, and formerly served on the 2008/2009 board of directors of The Hedge Fund Association. Mr. Levas is a frequent conference speaker, and commentator on the financial markets & asset management industry.He has been featured throughout the U.S.,Canada, Latin America, Europe, Asia and in numerous publications, and media outlets including BusinessWeek, Dow Jones Newswires, The Financial Times,Smart Money,Hedge Fund Manager Week, Wall Street Letter, Euromoney, Wall St.& Technology,The Economic Times, Securities Industry News, Alternative Investment Review, Advanced Trading, Markets Media Magazine, TradeTech , Reuters, Bloomberg and National Public Radio.
  • Alexander Fleiss, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer, Rebellion Research Partners LP
    Alexander Fleiss serves as Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Rebellion Research Partners LP, a Global Macro hedge fund and financial advisory that invests across all asset classes and is based in New York. Mr. Fleiss also oversees the firm's institutional research division, Rebellion Economics, which offers coverage of 44 countries. Mr. Fleiss has spoken about Artificial Intelligence investing at conferences, colleges and in the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, BusinessWeek, Bloomberg News, Geo Magazine and Institutional Investor. Prior to co-founding Rebellion Research in 2007, Mr. Fleiss served as a Principal at KMF Partners LP, a long-short US equity fund. While at KMF, he was primarily responsible for investments in the financial service, technology and consumer industries. Mr. Fleiss began his investment career as an analyst for Sloate, Weisman, Murray & Co which was acquired by Neuberger Berman. Mr. Fleiss developed investment algorithms with the firm's CEO, Laura Sloate who is now a partner at Neuberger Berman. Mr. Fleiss received a BA Degree from Amherst College.
  • Gavin Little-Gill, Global Head of Front and Middle Office Asset Management, Managing Director, Asset Management for North America
    Gavin Little-Gill joined Linedata in 2007 and is responsible for Linedata's North American asset management business and the global front and middle office asset management businesses of Linedata. In this role, Gavin has overall responsibility for the vision, strategy and growth across the business. Prior to assuming this role, Gavin was Global Head of Asset Management Product Strategy where he oversaw global product management and strategy for all of Linedata's Asset Management Solutions. Before joining Linedata, Gavin was employed at Tower-Group for six years most recently holding the role of Group Research Director, overseeing the Securities and Investments practices. During that time, his research concentration was technology trends on the buy-side with a focus on trading technology. Prior to joining Tower Group, in 2001 Gavin spent 12 years in various capacities working in the financial industry. Two of these years' where spent at a US subsidiary of CDC-IXIS as Vice President. Prior to CDC, Gavin was with Scudder for nine years, most recently as Vice President. Gavin holds an M.S. in Finance from Boston College and a B.A. from Bates College, Maine. In addition, he has a Certificate in Pensions and Benefits from Bentley College, in Massachusetts, and has successfully passed the first exam of the C.F.A. Gavin has held Series 6, 7, 63, 24, and 26 registrations.
  • Sugata Ray, Assistant Professor of Finance, University of Florida
    Sugata Ray is an Assistant Professor of Finance at the University of Florida. His research interests include hedge funds and market microstructure. Prior to joining the finance department at the University of Florida, he worked as a consultant for financial institutions with Oliver Wyman. He holds Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral degrees in finance from the University of Pennsylvania.
  • Sean O'Dowd, Capital Markets Program Director, Teradata
    Sean O'Dowd leads the Global Capital Markets program at Teradata for Industry and Marketing Solutions. In this role Sean focuses on industry strategy, marketing and field enablement. Areas of focus span financial market structure, regulations and technologies that impact the business models and strategies of financial markets firms (buy-side, sell-side, wealth management, custody, exchanges, and retail brokers). Topics include many of the large transformational technologies impacting capital markets, such as cloud services, mobility, information management and big/fast data, unstructured data and analytics. Additionally, Sean covers many industry specific trends and technologies including electronic trading, investment management operations, wealth management and personal finance, oversight infrastructure (Government agencies and SRO's). Sean's personal area of expertise lies within investment management, derivatives securities and trading technology.
  • Adam D. Honoré, Managing Director, FinQloud, NASDAQ OMX
    Adam Honoré is a managing director at NASDAQ OMX responsible for global business development and the ISV program for FinQloud. Prior to joining NASDAQ OMX, Mr. Honoré was the research director of the institutional securities practice at Aite Group. He specializes in financial services technology, focusing on strategic technology initiatives associated with high performance trading, market data, machine-readable content, smart order routing, technology services, and risk management issues.
  • Brooke Allen, 30-Year Industry Veteran
    Brooke Allen is a 30-year industry veteran who most recently founded a quantitative trading desk now celebrating its 17th year in continuous operation. For years he wrote a monthly piece for International Family Magazine, in 2009 he founded NoShortageOfWork.com to discuss work life, and in 2011 he created Questions For Colleges (Q4Colleges.com) to discuss issues facing higher education. Now he is beginning a series for us here on his beloved Securities Industry. Before you decide to trust him or collaborate with him, look at BrookeAllen.com where you will find his Personal Disclosure Statement.
  • Justin Schack, Managing Director/Partner, Rosenblatt Securities
    Justin Schack is a Managing Director and Partner at Rosenblatt Securities, an institutional agency brokerage in New York. Schack heads the firm's Market Structure Analysis group, which provides institutional traders, investors, exchange groups, regulators and other clients with in-depth intelligence on global market structure and the exchange industry. Prior to joining Rosenblatt in February 2008, Schack spent 14 years as a financial and public-affairs journalist, most recently as Assistant Managing Editor of Institutional Investor, where he authored more than 20 cover stories during his eight years on the magazine's staff. His work has been recognized with awards from the National Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Society of Business Publication Editors. Schack holds a BA in history from Seton Hall University and an MA in history from the University of Connecticut.
  • John Bates, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Progress Software
    John Bates is an Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Progress Software. In this role Bates is responsible for leading the team that creates and evolves the Progress vision and strategy, leads market research and due diligence for acquisitions to support the strategy, and evangelizes the Progress strategy and solutions to customers, partners and other constituencies. With an extensive background in the Capital Markets industry, Dr. Bates has pioneered new techniques in algorithmic and high frequency trading, real-time risk and market surveillance.
  • Matt Samelson, Principal at Woodbine Associates, Inc.
    Matt Samelson is a Principal at Woodbine Associates, Inc. focusing on strategic, business, regulatory, market structure and technology issues that impact firms active in and supporting the global equity markets. He brings to the firm a wealth of experience in U.S. and international equity sales and trading, quantitative analysis, consulting, and research. Mr. Samelson has interacted extensively with the media. He has appeared on CNBC and been quoted in a range of major publications including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times, Forbes, Business Week and CNBC Market Watch. He has also been quoted in various trade publications, including Institutional Investor, Trader Magazine, Advanced Trading, Wall Street & Technology, Wall Street Letter, Trading Technology Week, and Securities Industry News.
  • Stephen Davenport, Director Equity Risk Management, Wilmington Trust Company
    Steve is responsible for developing risk-managed investment strategies for high-net-worth clients. He has a strong background in quantitative investment analysis, and a sophisticated approach to asset allocation and the use of derivatives. In particular, he has managed a call writing strategy for clients seeking additional income for the last six years. Steve began his career with State Street Global Advisors and later joined Columbia Management Investment Advisors in Boston as a senior investment advisor. During his career, Steve has focused on developing comprehensive solutions for families, executives, and entrepreneurs with concentrated stock positions. Steve holds an M.S. in Finance from Boston College's Wallace Carroll School of Management as well as bachelor's degrees in industrial engineering and mathematics/computer science from Columbia University and Providence College, respectively. Steve holds CFA designation and he is a member of Atlanta Security Analyst Society.
  • Brian Conroy, President, Fidelity Capital Markets
    Brian Conroy is president of Fidelity Capital Markets (FCM), the institutional trading arm of Fidelity Investments providing trading, products and services to a wide array of clients and Fidelity businesses. Fidelity Investments is a leading provider of investment management, retirement planning, portfolio guidance, brokerage, benefits outsourcing and other financial products and services to more than 20 million individuals, institutions and financial intermediaries. Previously with Fidelity, Mr. Conroy served as senior vice president and head of Global Equity Trading for Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMRCo.), the investment advisor for Fidelity's family of mutual funds. In his role beginning in 2005, he led a team of traders responsible for significant daily order flow throughout the world. He also oversaw securities lending and foreign exchange (FX) for the Fidelity family of mutual funds. During his tenure with FMRCo., Conroy designed a team-based approach that better integrated the analysis and trading functions to distill and connect insights, ultimately enhancing fund performance and shareholder value. He assumed his current position with FCM in March 2011. Prior to joining Fidelity in October 2005, Mr. Conroy was chief operating officer for Sigma Capital in New York. Prior to Sigma, he served as director of Execution Trading at SAC Capital in Stamford, Connecticut. From 2001 to 2002, Mr. Conroy was head of America's Equity Trading for ABN Amro and served as head of U.S. Listed Equity Trading for JP Morgan from 1999 to 2001. Mr. Conroy began his career in financial services in 1987 as a senior equity trader for Goldman Sachs. Previously, he was an assistant football coach for Princeton University. Born in 1964, Mr. Conroy received bachelor of arts degree in religion from Dartmouth College in 1986.