Why pay high advisory fees to talk to a wealth manager when a high-tech algorithmic system can provide advice for a fraction of the cost? That’s the argument given by broker-dealers and investment advisors when convincing investors of the merits of robo-advice platforms. However, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) apparently thinks that far more […]
Investment Fund Transfer Agents: Forget About Monitoring Brokers
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has the right intention in wanting to update its outdated rules for transfer agents, say investment funds transfer agents and their legal counsel, but its approach in regulating shareholder recordkeepers of buy-side firms may be flawed. Among the growing list of concerns is whether investment fund transfer agents might […]
Syndicated Loans Market: An Evolution is Coming
Nineteen days and counting. That’s the average time it takes to settle a US syndicated loan. It’s a far cry from the two or three days for other asset classes, but fund managers, broker-dealers, agent banks and even regulators are waking up to the fact the gap must be closed to reduce risks and costs. […]
Mutual Funds to SEC: We Can’t Swing Prices
When proposing new rules, the US Securities and Exchange Commission often plays catch-up to the changing technological or market times. Not so when it comes to the practice of swing pricing, part of its new proposed rules for liquidity management.by US registered investment funds. Nothing short of a revolutionary change in operational capabilities would be needed […]
US Registered Funds: Say Hello to Derivatives Risk Managers
Must have knowledge of derivative products, risk management, compliance procedures, technology implementation and project management. An MBA or graduate degree in financial engineering is required. A certified financial analyst designation is preferred. Those are the likely employment requirements for the derivatives risk manager that many US registered investment funds will have to hire if the Securities and Exchange Commission […]
US Swing Pricing: Getting the Process Right
The US mutual fund managers may soon be following in the footsteps of their European peers in adopting swing pricing, but how ready are they to overcome the operational and compliance challenges? If the tone of discussions at a recent standing-room-only event hosted in New York City by the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI) is any indication, the answer is […]
Harmonizing ISO 20022 Messages: Only Best Efforts Apply
Understanding unfamiliar accents and dialects can be hard, even if you come from the same country and supposedly speak the same language. Imagine how users of ISO 20022-compliant messages must feel as they struggle to process the current variants of the up-and-coming messaging standard. Their solution: create ISO harmonization groups and hope they can reach […]
Playing With Swing Pricing: Tough Choices for US Fund Managers
The goal of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s new proposed rules for swing pricing for mutual funds may be noble, but their potential implementation is already causing plenty of strife, say operations insiders. A swing price, according to the US regulatory agency is an adjustment to the net asset value, based on a huge purchase […]
New Alternative Fund Messages: Second Time the Charm?
The alternative investment funds market is undergoing an eight year itch. That long ago in 2007, a group of securities depositories, fund administrators and custodians launched a project to create ISO 20022-compliant message types for orders and redemptions of units of alternative investment funds. The level of adoption of the new messaging was disappointing, and it […]
US T+2 Settlement: The Long Journey Officially Begins
What a difference a day makes. Until September 16, the US financial industry had only been talking about a two-day settlement cycle. Only a preliminary roadmap of the stepping stones to T+2 had been completed, indicating that at least 30 operational workflows will be affected, requiring rule, behavioral and technology changes. On that day Securities and Exchange Commission […]