Among the most troubling issues that FTF News reports upon via our enforcement stories is the sad truth that a lot of very bad people prey upon the elderly to steal their life savings via securities trading scams. To help combat this problem, three key organizations for the securities industry — FINRA, the SEC, and… Read More >>
Can Listed Derivatives Give Sustainability a Boost?
In case anyone thought otherwise, exchanges for derivative instruments do have a big role to play in facilitating sustainability, according to a joint report recently released by the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) and the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (SSE). The joint report, “How Derivatives Exchanges can Promote Sustainable Development — An Action… Read More >>
T+1 Gets a Nod from SEC Chair Gensler
Gary Gensler, the new chair of the SEC, is provisionally endorsing the industry effort to shorten trade settlement time from T+2 to T+1 as evidenced by his recent testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services, overseen by Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA). “I believe shortening the standard settlement cycle could reduce costs and risks… Read More >>
What Will Post-Pandemic Ops Look Like?
Like millions of Americans, I got my second vaccination shot over the weekend and I allowed myself to start thinking about a time when the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown might be history. Of course, it’s difficult to entertain such thoughts when there are still hotspots in the U.S., and when several parts of the world… Read More >>
Will Blockchain Deliver on Its Promises in 2021?
I think our lead fintech news brief about Instinet and Credit Suisse completing multiple equities transactions in T+0 via blockchain/distributed ledger technology [https://bit.ly/2OwJJWJ] may have more significance than at first glance. These two major players used the Paxos Settlement Service from Paxos Trust Company, a self-described infrastructure provide, to settle U.S.-listed equities trades on a… Read More >>
SEC to Patrol for ESG & Climate Change Sins
Climate change, a.k.a. global warming, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns are getting real for financial services firms, particularly those working in securities trading. This is also true for the regulators overseeing them such as the SEC. A case in point is our story this week about a $247 billion pension fund, the New… Read More >>
Biden Moves to Revamp the SEC & CFTC
President Joe Biden appears to be getting the SEC and CFTC that he wants after a bumpy transition period, and a rush of departures as the new team takes over. For starters, the Biden team has nominated Gary Gensler, the former chairman of the CFTC, to be the next chairman of the SEC. Gensler served… Read More >>
Holiday Gadgets to Help You Forget 2020
As 2020 heads toward the finish line, it’s time to think about winter holiday gadgets that will help distract us from the rougher edges of what is proving to be a painfully pivotal year. For the moment, I am spotlighting some interesting items that I became aware of because of the Pepcom Holiday Spectacular, a… Read More >>
CFTC Offers a Rewards System for Cooperation
The CFTC’s Division of Enforcement (DOE) is spelling out what it means when it says that a firm has been cooperative via an enforcement investigation. The goal is to let the public get a better view into how a firm maximized cooperation and minimized painful penalties. The clarity comes from a new guidance that the… Read More >>
Are Manual Systems Too Costly for Hedge Funds?
Hedge funds are paying a high price for manual processes and legacy IT infrastructures, according to new analysis from TradingScreen, a provider of software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings for transaction processing. The research indicates that hedge funds “are absorbing a punishing $8 million annual hit to their assets under management (AUM) due to high levels of manual… Read More >>
