Guest Contributor: Stevie D. Conlon, senior director and tax counsel, Wolters Kluwer Financial Services It seems investment tax issues continue to become more complex, and this year is no exception for the financial services industry—particularly given the multiple facets of the cost basis reporting law. One of the law’s requirements is that issuers of securities
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“What Is” The Fiscal Cliff?
The “fiscal cliff” metaphor refers to the downward swing in the U.S. economy that was expected to follow if Draconian tax increases and spending cuts took effect in 2013. The tax increases and spending cuts were a result of a debt ceiling agreement reached in 2011 between President Obama and Congress. The agreement followed a
Guest Blog
Reconciliation is the Key to Controlling OTC Derivative Exposures for the Buy Side
Guest Blog Contributors: Mary Harris (left), Business Manager TriResolve and Susan Hinko (right), Head of Industry Relations TriOptima The new year brings with it an onslaught of requirements for managing OTC derivative portfolios, cleared and uncleared alike; and also presents new challenges with parallel tracks for processing and collateralizing the transactions. While standardized credit and interest rate
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“What Is” Risk Management?
For financial services firms, risk management is the process of managing exposure and mitigating losses that can come via financial transactions. Risk management practices involve identifying and analyzing the potential losses of an investment and developing strategies that are consistent with an organization’s objectives to eliminate or minimize potential risks. Risk exposure can arise from
Data Management
“What is” Market Data?
Market data refers to the electronic streaming of prices, volumes and related information used for the trading of securities. Most market data emanates from trading venues such as stock and derivatives exchanges while reference data comes from issuers and is usually collected by market data vendors. Firms perceive price data via ticker symbols. Firms can
Guest Blog
Community Sourcing in Financial Services PR: You Bring the Pizza, I’ll Bring the Pop
Guest Contributor: Steph Johnson, Head of North America, Aspectus PR Brian Prentice, a research vice president with Gartner Group’s emerging trends and technologies group in Sydney, Australia, was an early adopter of the term ‘community sourcing.’ It describes a software development and deployment model where participating organizations make their internal application and development resources available
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“What Is” FINRA?
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is the largest, independent regulator of securities firms working in U.S. trading markets. A non-governmental and non-for-profit organization, FINRA’s mission is to serve all investors, ranging from large, corporate investors to individuals. The organization’s primary goal is to ensure that all investors receive basic protection by regulating and monitoring
Dodd-Frank
Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
Guest Contributor: Mark Ransom Day, Senior Account Executive, Marketing, Cognito Five Rules for Articulation and Advertising in a Post Dodd-Frank World In its current version, Dodd-Frank has 383,013 words. Anna Karenina has 349,736. Dodd-Frank is actually longer than one of the most famous long-novels-of-all-time. What this mammoth means for the capital markets industry, is that
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“What Is” A Separately Managed Account (SMA)?
A Separately Managed Account (SMA) is a private financial portfolio that is managed by registered financial advisor or through a brokerage for the benefit of the individual investor. This investment portfolio can include stocks, bonds, cash or any other form of traded securities. In comparison, mutual funds involve hundreds of investors often via multiple groups.
Clearing and Settlement
Clearinghouses, the Fed and “Bailouts”
Guest Contributor: Michael Walinskas, Chief Risk Officer, OCC The financial crisis of 2008 saw excessive risks in the over-the-counter market and lead to governmental intervention in a “Wall Street bailout” while listed markets and their central counterparty (CCP) clearinghouses performed well. This prompted global legislators and regulators to push for more OTC transactions to be
