Those who think that RegTech is only about technology geared to meeting regulatory requirements should think again. The term, say operations consultants and IT specialists, also represents a new state of mind, oriented toward maximizing the use of current applications, eliminating unnecessary ones, and reducing data discrepancies. “Whereas financial technology, or FinTech for short, focuses strictly […]
Swing Pricing for US Funds: Has the SEC Gone Far Enough?
Like it or not, fund managers will have to make peace with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new investment company reporting modernization program and liquidity management guidelines. They’re going to have to accept doing more to curb their liquidity risk and disclose more about their investment composition. Oddly, it’s a voluntary aspect of the new SEC […]
Outsourced Compliance Officers: Red Flag for SEC?
The decision of the US Securities and Exchange Commission to require fund managers to disclose on their Form ADV whether they have outsourced their chief compliance officer role is starting to cause some angst. Asset managers wonder if they will be targeted for additional scrutiny, only because they delegated their regulatory compliance work to an external provider. […]
Artificial Intelligence: The Next Frontier in AML Compliance
Concerned about potential regulatory fines and skyrocketing costs, the world’s largest banks are turning to artificial intelligence to improve their compliance with know-your-customer and anti-money laundering regulations. “The value proposition for AI solutions is highest for large banks with significant volumes, complexity, multiple lines of business and geographical reach as these banks are affected most […]
Fund Managers Outsource More Mid-Office Ops
Gone are the days when the middle office is maligned as being strictly a cost-center dragging down investment performance. Today more fund managers are concluding that more effective management of their middle office can not only reduce operating expenses, but also give them a competitive edge with investors and keep regulators at bay. Fund management […]
Blockchain for US Settlement: Three, Two, One, Takeoff? (Update)
(Editor’s Note: On Sept 14 itBit announced that its flagship Bankchain and other post-trade projects would be run out of a new firm Paxos with the same management. The former itBit, would be a division of Paxos, and continue to operate its crypto-currency trading platform). If US blockchain afficionados have their way, the technology […]
New TBA Margin Rules: Fund Managers, Brokers Retrench
Asset managers and broker-dealers will have to revamp some of their relationship terms, as well as those with the underlying investors, to meet the pending margin requirements for to-be-announced (TBA) transactions and other forward-settling fixed-income transactions. Panelists and attendees at a recent afternoon conference held by the Securities Industry and Financial Market Association about the Financial Industry […]
Catching an Insider Data Thief
Ten percent of employees will never commit a crime, ten percent of employees will, while 80 percent will only do so if the opportunity arises, predict fraud experts. It is that opportunity which asset management firms need to prevent through a combination of compliance controls and technology, say panelists and attendees at a recent symposium […]
New US AML Rules: Tough Enough to Catch the Bad Guys?
The US Treasury’s new rules on how financial firms must handle their responsibilities to know their customers and prevent money-laundering will be operationally challenging to follow, but perhaps not entirely effective in identifying the bad guys. The most controversial aspect of the new requirements — finding out the identities of the beneficial owners of the customers […]
Hedge Fund Managers: Five Areas of SEC Exam Focus
We have nothing to fear as much as the Securities and Exchange Commission itself. That is what hedge fund managers should be thinking about the US regulatory agency, warn legal experts. “A little paranoia will go a long way to ensuring they are prepared for a grueling round of exams this year,” says Ron Geffner, […]