THEME COVER


FOCAL POINT

How do you find that “just right” point between too much technology and not enough; between tracking your traders’ every move and going with your gut instinct? How do you know when to invest in developing technology in-house and when to bring in outside expertise? How does the buy-side rate the sell-side? Bill Stephenson, Franklin Templeton Investments’ Senior Director of Global Trading Strategy, speaks to Greg Lee of Deutsche Bank about the tipping point between sensible and opportunistic.


The growth in scale of many large-asset owners, the failure of financial infrastructure during the Global Financial Crisis, the move of custodians into investment management administration and cheapening access to trading and portfolio management technology is creating the environment for a substantial change in the financial services industry. David Goodman of Macquarie Securities (Australia) Ltd., explores how this change will have a dramatic effect on the way traditional asset managers relate to their largest asset owner / pension fund customers.


What key features do successful exchanges share that encourage liquidity; how automated trading drives growth and why markets will attract incremental liquidity with the advent of global Commission Sharing Agreements (CSA). Robert Barnes, Managing Director, Equities of UBS Investment Bank explains market structures and shares his thoughts on best practices that encourage efficiency and liquidity growth.



INSIGHT

Kevin Mc Partland of TABB Group explains the metamorphosis of the Exchange today and how the very definition of an “Exchange” is being transformed.


Credit Default Swaps, FX Forwards and FX Swaps are the latest set of financial instruments to experience a move towards standardization and are fitting nicely into the model provided by FIX, while the OTC energy market has been leveraging FIX. Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s (CME Group) Matt Simpson discusses the potential for participants who can extend their FIX implementations to support OTC trading and clearing


Nomura’s Ben Springett provides an overview on some of the key issues impacting European market structure including liquidity fragmentation, consolidated tape, regulatory framework and dark pools, while sharing his own thoughts on some of the changes likely to occur in Europe this year.



OPINION

Peter Randall of Equiduct Systems shares his opinion on the changing nature of electronic trading in a fragmented world, including a European consolidated tape.


The traders’ ability to take advantage of latency is influenced not only by their skill as a trader, but also the tools they have at their disposal, including hardware and software architecture, network topology and physical distance from execution venues, writes BT Radianz Services’ Matthew Lempriere.



UPDATE

An increasing number of exchanges and clearinghouses are adopting FIXML, an XML version of the FIX Protocol, for communicating post-trade data, says Mary Ann Burns of Futures Industry Association.


Jean-Remi Lopez of SunGard Global Trading responds on the role played by FIX in enabling post-trade teams to provide more accurate and timely information to decision makers, thereby benefitting their institutions.



AMERICAS

What are the benefits and challenges of sponsored access? What would be the implications of SEC’s proposed rules on market access? Aite Group’s Sang Lee argues that while naked sponsored access is causing concern among market participants, regulation alone cannot remove all systemic risk.


There are few places that inspire more confidence for long-term investments than the BRICs markets, with Brazil probably presenting the most balanced profile in terms of growth, democracy, economic stability and diversification. Carlos Barros of Agora CTVM explains.



EUROPE

What are the consequences of European regulatory changes and where are the MTFs headed, according to Matteo Cassina of Citadel Execution Services.


The automated/black box trading boom has finally arrived in Eastern Europe, says Andrea Ferancova of WOOD & Company.


The Fidessa Fragmentation Index (FFI) provides a measure of how different stocks are fragmenting across primary markets and alternative venues.



ASIA

James Shapiro, Head of Business Development at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) shares his thoughts on why vibrant competition among the Indian stock exchanges, such as the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE), is a key driver for rapid development of the Indian financial markets.


Ned Phillips, CEO of Chi-East elucidates on how despite the lack of a regional trading framework, non-displayed venues (NDVs) or dark pools are gaining momentum in delivering benefits to Asian investors.



JAPAN

Mihai Bistriteanu of Citigroup focuses on the trading pattern changes post the implementation of Tokyo Stock Exchange’s ‘Arrowhead’ and its many opportunities and challenges.



FIXGlobal BROADCAST



LAST WORD