Predictive best execution trading and executing at speed may become a regulative necessity rather than a competitive advantage.

4  from  Automated Trader Magazine

April 16th, 2008 - London’s ‘FORUM’ Delegates Urge Business and Technology Functions to ‘Speak the Same Language’ for Cost-Effective Back-Office Processing

 

 

Sophisticated activities such as predictive trading to find best execution and executing at speed may become a regulative necessity, rather than tools for securing competitive advantage, according to representatives from more than 30 FSA-regulated financial institutions, at the London FORUM, yesterday.

Participants at the event called for business and technology functions to ‘speak the same language’ for more cost-effective and efficient back-office operations. During one of the interactive audience debates, 30% of firms stated that they have developed their own best execution policies but that industry collaboration could have significantly reduced costs.

The growth in the number of trading venues and the ability to identify the disparate trading counterparties consistently was also cited as a major cause of complications within the entire trading process, by participants.

PJ Di Giammarino, CEO, JWG-IT, commented: “Liquidity in today’s market is no longer sticky. With new trading venues entering the market every month, the ability to pick the right venues will be a key differentiator to the customer.” When asked about the importance their organisations’ boards placed on the need for good reference data, the participants’ responses were polarized. While 10.5% of firms said that their board had little understanding of this need, with nothing in the budget for this financial year, another 10.5% confirmed that they had detailed knowledge of the key reference data issues affecting their business and that projects and budgets were defined and underway.