Post-Trade Forum

The Post Trade Forum's aim is to propagate debate and discussion between senior practitioners in Post Trade Operations in the global securities market; to bring about increased awareness and knowledge across both buy-side and sell-side financial institutions in financial products and be a focal point for firms and practitioners to air views.

Gary Wright Analyst at BISS Research

Risks in Systems and Standards

The UBS rogue trader has once again brought risk to the forefront of banks thinking. No doubt the usual hand wringing, system reviews and updates will be the response to the anticipated regulatory crack down. Banks around the world will be undertaking risk reviews and analysing their own operational processes and practices and as with many times p...

26 September 2011 /regulation

Gary Wright Analyst at BISS Research

Outsourcing - IT Management Cop Out

It's incredible how many people still think building a system in-house is less risky and more cost effective. There are more internal developments that fail and at best come in over time and over budget and just does not do what was hoped for when the project began. Let's be realistic the majority of IT people in financial services firms think the...

02 September 2011

Gary Wright Analyst at BISS Research

Short selling the argument

I have been debating the importance of short selling to markets and investors over the past few days and next year will be creating a debate for the Post Trade Forum on short selling. However, what has amazed me is the almost complete lack of understanding there is around about the importance of short selling. It has certainly become emotive. The...

26 August 2011

Gary Wright Analyst at BISS Research

Outsourcing takes a blow

The recent announcement by Penson that it is undertaking a massive restructuring worldwide including selling the UK (and potentially the Australian) Back office outsourcing business could be an indicator that the existing outsourced industry is about to go into a mass change. Penson have tried to become a world supplier of back office outsourced s...

15 August 2011

Gary Wright Analyst at BISS Research

The value of European CCPs

In an industry full of risks the role of the central counterparty is perhaps the most important of the market infrastructures. The recent past shows distinctly how much firms have had to rely on CCPs when markets go into massive volatility swings. It’s not the slides so much as the swings. As massive share price rises can cause almost as much coun...

03 August 2011

Gary Wright Analyst at BISS Research

SaaS Regulations and the IT Rat-Race

There is a real interest growing from buy-side firms to move away from licensing software as on-going regulatory changes hit budgets hard. Many wealth managers have said to me for years that the black hole that is the IT budget is proving a drain on business development and improved investor services. It is ironic that many software firms often use...

28 July 2011

Gary Wright Analyst at BISS Research

The Cloud is hovering this Summer

Outsourcing in financial services has a real chequered history. Successful outsourcing has been matched by unsuccessful outsourcing, resulting in doubt on its benefits by the majority of financial services firms. More people than I can remember have said to me over the years that outsourcing just doesn’t work, there are far too many risks and the ...

26 July 2011

Gary Wright Analyst at BISS Research

Outsource or insource?

I have spoken to many vendors over the years about their business and how prospects are looking and I usually get the same response.They are always competing with inhouse developers. This despite a growing list of failed in-house developments and a increasing list of new developments needed to be compliant. Equally I speak often to financial servi...

20 July 2011

Retired Member 

Clearing House consolidation is via intraoperability

The first Post-Trade Forum hosted by the London Stock Exchange, got off to a cracking start with an ‘First Class’ panel representing a cross-industry focus, debating in forthright style, the future of European Clearing Houses. The panel included Kevin Milne, Director of Post-Trade Services, London Stock Exchange, Anthony Belchambers, CEO, FOA, Hen...

27 June 2011

Gary Wright Analyst at BISS Research

Prepare to repel all borders! Says Captain Jack Sparrow

LCH.Clearnet are evidently repelling all borders with a number of unknown organisations (but we can make a very good calculated guess at who they are) pitching to buy the Clearing House. This is a sensitive time for the securities industry as changes of a violent storm magnitude are destabilising the markets and making it difficult for financial s...

07 June 2011