Waters Wavelength

Tony speaks with Joe Wald, managing director and head of electronic trading at BMO Capital Markets. But before that, Tony and Shen discuss their story about BlackRock’s mysterious “new” fixed-income tool, Aladdin Trader. Shen also talks about her recent trip to London. Skip ahead to 18:00 for the interview with Joe. https://www.waterstechnology.com/trading-tech/7951509/what-is-aladdin-trader-blackrocks-fixed-income-tool-still-a-mystery 18:00 – Joe joins the podcast and walks us through his role at BMO 21:00 – They dive into the SEC’s market structure proposals, and the macro trend of systematic trading 27:00 – Joe summarizes the changes to market structure in the US since Reg NMS 30:00 – Joe discusses what he believes to be the most controversial piece of the proposals 34:30 – Playing devil’s advocate for the changes the SEC is proposing 36:30 – How should firms work with third-party providers to prepare for these changes? 40:00 – How the 2024 US presidential elections may affect these proposals

It’s Thanksgiving in the US, so we decided it’s time to revisit some of the dos and don’ts for PR people. Then, they discuss how Reb is settling into her new city. Here are Parts One (https://www.waterstechnology.com/management-strategy/2458851/waters-wavelength-podcast-episode-18-dos-and-donts-for-pr-people), Two (https://www.waterstechnology.com/management-strategy/2479553/waters-wavelength-podcast-episode-50-dos-and-donts-for-pr-people-part-two), and Three (https://www.waterstechnology.com/industry-issues-initiatives/3415496/waters-wavelength-podcast-episode-85-cybersecurity-dosdonts-for-prs). And, here’s how to reach our London team: Rebecca Natale: rebecca.natale@infopro-digital.com Theo Normanton: theo.normanton@infopro-digital.com Eliot Raman Jones: eliot.ramanjones@infopro-digital.com Emma-Hillary Gould: emmahillary.gould@infopro-digital.com

This week, Bill Murphy, managing partner at Cresting Wave, joins Tony on the podcast to talk about the importance of putting the right foundations in place and having the right mindset before starting a technology project. 7:00 – Bill joins the podcast. 10:30 – They discuss the increasing pressure for quick wins. 14:00 – How important is it to get the foundations right? 20:30 – Bill walks through some lessons learned when looking at LLMs. 27:00 – How should firms quantify these projects? 34:00 – They discuss the move to cloud and the time it takes. 42:00 – Bill shares the major takeaway from his career so far. 48:30 – They close the episode, talking about the NBA finals.

This week, Yogita Mehta, commercial product director for corporate actions at SIX Financial, joins the podcast to discuss the existing challenges firms face in the corporate action lifecycle. 2:30 – Yogita joins the podcast and gives an overview of her career. 6:30 – They discuss the biggest challenges in the corporate action lifecycle. 13:00 – How do firms deal with these challenges? 15:30 – The talent pool is shrinking. 19:30 – Initiatives some exchanges are involved in to standardize the start of the lifecycle. 23:00 – Are there examples where automation can go wrong? 26:00 – Organizations that achieve 70-75% STP rates should pat themselves on the back. 30:00 – Yogita walks through some technology themes she sees within corporate actions.

This week, Adaptive Financial Consulting’s co-founder and CEO, Matt Barrett, joins Theo on the podcast to discuss the buy versus build debate. Then, they look at what characteristics firms are after in a trading system. https://www.greenwich.com/market-structure-technology/trading-technology-unveiled https://www.waterstechnology.com/trading-tech/7951276/integration-looms-large-for-buy-side-firms-deciding-on-whether-to-buy-or-build 2:30 – Matt joins the podcast and details his journey to Adaptive. 5:00 – What do we mean by “buy vs. build”? 7:30 – Is there a pattern of buying, building, and then integrating? What are the pitfalls in that process? 13:30 – How the rise of cloud facilitates innovation. 14:30 – Matt discusses what firms look for in a new trading system. 19:30 – There is always a degree of “buy” involved. 21:00 – Matt says the future of trading technology is increasingly cloud-provisioned. 23:00 – Is there more consolidation on the way?

This week, David Sharratt, global head of data product commercialization at Standard Chartered, joins Wei-Shen to talk about monetizing data. They discuss what a data product is, the steps necessary to build it, and the common pitfalls firms face in the process. 6:00 – David joins the podcast and talks through his 30-plus years in the capital markets. 7:30 – They address the evolving regulatory landscape and its impact on productizing data. 12:00 – A look at the competing dynamics for what constitutes a data product. 14:30 – How do firms deal with geographical boundaries? 17:30 – David explains why it’s imperative to start with a use case. 21:30 – The next question: Does it make commercial sense? 27:30 – Sometimes, the over-engineered solution is not necessarily the most appropriate. 30:00 – What are the typical pitfalls? 34:00 – Firms should devote time, resources, and funding for horizon scanning.

This week, David Hardoon, group chief data and AI officer at Union Bank of the Philippines, joins Wei-Shen on the podcast to discuss language models and how they add that conversation layer to knowledge. They then unravel some of the terminologies around LLMs and the fundamentals of what firms are trying to achieve. This episode is David’s second time on the podcast. He first came on to talk about challenges with AI and what operationalizing data and AI means. https://www.waterstechnology.com/data-management/7704916/wavelength-podcast-ep-218-david-hardoon-on-ais-unforeseen-challenges 2:30 – David joins the podcast and discusses how his role revolves around data. 5:30 – He gives his view of how we view language and communicate about language. 10:30 – The necessity of specialization in the LLM space. 14:30 – What are the challenges in creating that ring-fence? 18:00 – Let’s talk about the most important question: What are we trying to achieve? 21:00 – Finding the balance between innovation and running t

John Duigenan is the general manager for the Financial Services Industry for IBM. He joins Tony on the podcast to discuss the fields of generative AI and large language models. He has worked at IBM for more than 25 years in various roles. 4:00 – John joins the podcast and talks about how he started in the financial services industry. 6:00 – What’s the State of the Union for generative AI in the capital markets? 10:00 – What are some real-world use cases for generative AI in the capital markets? 15:30 – When it comes to data quality and the data being plugged into these models, what should people be most concerned about? 18:30 – John explains the difference between Watson and Watsonx, and the thinking behind the latter’s development. 25:00 – And finally, a look at the regulatory environment and how it pertains to generative AI.

This week, Steve Rubinow, former chief innovation and technology officer at the New York Stock Exchange and lecturer at the Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media at DePaul University, joins Tony on the podcast. They talk about AI disruption and the state of the education system. 3:30 – Tony reminisces about how he first met Steve. 7:00 – Steve explains how CIOs and CTOs assess the AI shift, particularly generative AI models. 14:00 – The best use of these tools is with an expert human-in-the-loop. 18:00 – People dealing with technology tend to fall into two groups. 24:00 – What does progress in AI mean for our future? 27:00 – Steve brings up the “ikigai” concept, a Japanese word that means “life purpose.” 32:00 – One of the important elements of AI is the timeframe. 35:00 – Thoughts on exchanges moving beyond their marketplace role. 38:00 – What becomes of the Big Tech firms? 43:00 – The state of academia and how it’s changing.

This week, Brad Levy, CEO of Symphony, joins Tony on the podcast. They discuss Levy’s vision for Symphony going forward and how his managing style has changed since 2020. 7:30 – Brad Levy joins the podcast and talks about his vision for Symphony. 10:30 – Brad chats about moving towards a markets-focused platform, extending to buy-side firms. 14:00 – The journey from a messaging system leveraging chat to a collaboration platform. 18:00 – Brad discusses Symphony’s acquisition of Amenity Analytics. 19:00 – Know your incentive and intention of AI. 22:30 – Brad and Tony discuss the challenges surrounding the current state of ESG. 27:30 – Brad talks about how his management style changed during the pandemic. 34:00 – Thoughts on industry adoption of open-source, large language models and generative AI, blockchain.

This week, Emanuele “Manny” Conti, Numerix’s new CEO, joins Tony on the podcast. They talk about his vision for Numerix’s future, the company’s acquisition strategy, and major trends that are changing the industry. 3:30 – Manny is a Midwesterner and a fan of Ohio State football, which Tony finds unfortunate. 7:30 – Manny discusses how he became familiar with Numerix and why he took the job. 13:30 – A look at the major trends driving change in the industry. 16:00 – Manny talks about his management style and whether he views himself as an outsider. 20:30 – What will Numerix’s acquisition strategy be going forward? 25:30 – As a manager, how will Manny help to guide Numerix’s tech evolution strategy? 33:00 – What keeps Manny up at night? 34:30 – Will Ohio State ever beat a Jim Harbaugh-led Michigan team again?

This week, Steve Moreton, global head of product management at CJC joins Tony on the podcast to explain why firms should start experimenting with virtual reality now, because VR’s capital markets adoption is not a question of if, but when. (Actually, it’s already here.) To view Moreton’s Metaverse presentation at FISD Netherlands from earlier this year, click here. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACfLdPF0pVA&t=1135s&ab_channel=SIIA) In 2017, WatersTechnology spoke with senior executives from Citigroup and Fidelity Investments about how they’re experimenting with virtual and augmented reality. For a blast from the past, click here. (https://www.waterstechnology.com/front-office-tech/2480705/the-reality-of-virtual-reality-vrs-future-in-financial-services) 6:00 – Steve Moreton joins the podcast and gives an overview of what CJC does and his different roles there. 8:30 – He walks through how VR is the next evolution of communication. 13:00 – How do avatars feel like a real-world experience? 14:00 – These h

This week, Reb joins Tony and Shen on the podcast. They talk about returning to in-person conferences after what feels like many years of having these done online. They delve into how these events can, and should, stimulate more interesting interactions—whether in the form of case studies or topic-specific fireside chats. Having the right moderator and the right speakers are key. Then, Tony goes on a long spiel about his thoughts on the finale of the TV series Succession, and also Barry.

This week, Shen records the podcast at The Grapes, Limehouse, one of the oldest pubs in London. (Fun fact: Ian McKellen owns it.) She’s joined by Reb and Nyela, as well as Theo and Eliot, our newest reporters representing WatersTechnology in London. It’s chaotic, extremely noisy (cause we’re at a bar, duhh), and Shen is greatly outnumbered by Gen-Zers. Dear listener, you have been warned.

This week, Tyler Derr, chief technology officer at Broadridge, joins Tony and Shen on the podcast. They discuss how Broadridge has grown through acquisitions, interoperability in the capital markets, blockchain use cases, and thoughts on emerging technologies. 4:00 – Tyler joins the podcast and walks through his background in the transfer agency space to his current role at Broadridge. 7:00 – He talks about some lessons learned through acquisitions as a CTO. 10:00 – From a capital markets perspective, how is the acquisition model and creating best-of-breed solutions through that changing? 13:00 – Openness to a platform is key. 17:30 – Legacy “walled-off gardens” are being challenged. 19:00 – How can firms be better integrators? 25:00 – Tyler shares his thoughts on blockchain use cases in the capital markets. 33:00 – How is Broadridge helping clients move to T+1? 37:00 – Tyler’s thoughts on large language models, low-code/no-code, and quantum computing.

This week, Tony and Shen discuss the upcoming North American Financial Information Summit (Nafis) on May 16, 2023. They walk through the themes that will be discussed during the summit and why they are important. You can find more information about the summit here: https://www.financialinformationsummit.com/na , and if you want to register, you can click here: https://nafis.eventmaker.io/ You can reach out to Tony at anthony.malakian@infopro-digital.com or Shen at wei-shen.wong@infopro-digital.com

This week, Jerome Kemp, president at Baton Systems, a company looking to transform post-trade processing using distributed ledger technology (DLT), joins Wei-Shen on the podcast. They talk about the processes within the post-trade ecosystem that can benefit from DLT and some of the challenges that firms face in the implementation phase. 3:00 – Jerome joins the podcast and gives an overview of his career and Baton Systems. 6:30 – He talks through the main challenges within the post-trade ecosystem. 10:00 – Why is DLT a good fit for post-trade? Which process would benefit most? 14:00 – There needs to be some reality testing before using DLT to solve a problem. 18:00 – Where do firms encounter challenges when implementing a DLT-based system? 22:30 – Jerome talks about a recent partnership between Baton and BNY Mellon. 31:30 – Any solution only works as well and fast as the slowest in the chain. How can this change? 34:30 – What other technologies are driving change in post-trade processes?

This week, Stephen Richardson, head of Apac and senior vice president of financial markets at Fireblocks, a digital asset security platform, joins Wei-Shen on the podcast. They chat about private key security and the technology traditional firms need to interact with digital assets. 5:00 – Stephen joins the podcast and gives an overview of Fireblocks. 7:00 – He explains the technology behind managing private keys. 10:00 – The difference between multi-signature and multiparty computation infrastructure. 18:30 – Stephen discusses how Fireblocks works with traditional custodians. 21:30 – What are some institutional-grade tools that are still missing? 26:00 – They discuss settlement infrastructure considerations. 30:30 – How can firms better enable interoperability and harmonization of tech infrastructure between traditional and digital assets? 38:30 – What needs to change from a people standpoint? 43:30 – Stephen talks through some trends in this space that may take off this year.

This week, Matt Smith, CEO of compliance technology and data analytics firm SteelEye, joins Wei-Shen on the podcast to discuss the evolution of compliance solutions for electronic and voice communications and the regulatory landscape. 1:30 – Matt joins the podcast and talks through some of the points in a report SteelEye released at the end of 2022. 6:30 – He explains the nuances between how the regulators in the UK and the US approach how firms meet systematic and control obligations. 13:30 – They talk about the prevalent communication mechanisms. 16:30 – Matt details some of the creative loopholes. 19:00 – Are there examples of the regulators being too invasive? 22:30 – Matt discusses what’s in the pipeline for SteelEye. 30:00 – What is the future of compliance for e-comms and voice?

Andrea Gentilini, head of SEI Novus, joins Wei-Shen on the podcast. Together, they talk about using the term ‘target operating model’, and how the buy side should use data to evaluate managers’ skillsets better. 3:00 – Andrea joins the podcast and gives an overview of his career and how he landed at SEI Novus. 6:30 – He gives an analogy about how asset allocators and managers only treat their fever symptoms. 10:00 – They talk about how asset allocators want more context from their data and how technology can help. 16:00 – Then, they get into the target operating model. What does it mean, and why is it needed? 18:00 – Sometimes, the problem is the infinite investment horizon. 21:00 – How do asset managers approach the Tom now, especially when looking to incorporate new technologies? 26:00 – Why don’t allocators, and asset managers use behavioral analysis tools more?