Waters Wavelength

This week, Wei-Shen speaks with Josephine about her experience attending the World Financial Information Conference (WFic) in Prague in mid-October. She also recounts some of the engineering streams and panels that discussed challenges with delivering and consuming data on the cloud. Do check out her story covering the cooperation between JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs. (https://www.waterstechnology.com/data-management/7950180/goldman-sachs-jp-morgan-join-forces-to-explore-market-data-in-the-cloud)

This week, with no guest in tow, Tony and Shen go off the rails discussing how firms are migrating more workflows and processes to the cloud. They then touch on interoperability, blockchain, APIs, and open source before circling back to the cloud.

This week, Andy Volz, chief operating officer at Clear Street, joins Tony on the podcast. They discuss the challenges existing technology infrastructures pose to the capital markets, the growing necessity of the cloud, and some trends in the market. 9:00 – Andy joins Tony on the podcast and gives an overview of his career and what Clear Street does. 12:00 – They discuss the bottlenecks in capital markets tech infrastructure. 14:00 – Where does the broker community struggle to provide additional insights? 18:30 – The advantage of being “cloud-born.” 20:30 – The lack of innovation in technology and regulation are systemic threats to liquidity within public equity markets. 22:00 – Andy explains how legacy infrastructure adds cost to end-users. 24:30 – Is there something fundamentally changing the markets? 28:00 – They discuss using blockchain in equity clearing and the risk of vendor lock-in. 33:00 – Andy gives an insight into Clear Street's next growth stages.

James Crosby, founder and CEO of data management firm Fencore based out of Singapore, joins Wei-Shen on the podcast this week. They talk about the risks of vendor lock-in and how firms—both end-users and service providers—are working towards interoperability. 4:30 – James joins the podcast and gives an overview of what Fencore does. 8:30 – They discuss if there's a balance between creating product stickiness and true openness. 12:30 – What are the biggest risks of vendor lock-in? 15:00 – How should firms balance consolidation of system providers versus spreading across different providers? 17:30 – James talks about how having a single approach to systems is a utopian ideal. 19:00 – What needs to happen to achieve true interoperability between different systems? 21:30 – James walks through the work required in implementing and configuring a new platform. 23:30 – How does providing flexibility to the end-user work from a contracting perspective? 28:00 – They discuss what the end state of interoperability may look like.

Bill Dauge, head of alternative data at Nasdaq, joins Tony on the podcast this week. They talk about Nasdaq's partnership with AWS and what it entails, and the trends that are driving this. 4:30 – Bill joins the podcast and gives an overview of his role at Nasdaq. 7:30 – He goes into Nasdaq's partnership with AWS and the exchange's overall cloud strategy. 9:30 – Bill outlines the journey to becoming a fully cloud-native exchange and the current challenges, such as speed and security. 15:00 – They assess the cloud landscape and scalability. 18:30 – There is another layer coming: data as a product. 21:00 – The next shift is data delivery mechanism, better query interfaces, tools, and dashboards. 25:00 – Bill addresses the main challenges in deploying cloud infrastructure at scale.

Joining Wei-Shen on the podcast is Enrico Bruni, managing director and head of Europe and Asia at Tradeweb. They discuss electronification in the repo markets, particularly in the dealer-to-client space, and Tradeweb's “reverse onion” approach. As Bruni puts it, there's nothing simple in repo land. 7:00 – Enrico joins the podcast and gives an overview of his time at Tradeweb. 8:30 – Then, they discuss the current state of electronification in repo markets in the dealer-to-client space. 12:00 – He walks through Tradeweb's “reverse onion” approach to automating some repo workflows. 15:00 – What are the existing barriers to further additional electronification of repos? 17:00 – What role do OMS providers play here? 20:00 – The element of bilateral execution can make workflows more complex. 21:30 – Enrico talks about the ongoing initiatives the industry is working on. 22:30 – Then, he discusses the difference between electronification of repos in the US, Europe, and Asia. 28:00 – Enrico walks through Tradeweb's roadmap for 2022. 35:00 – They close the podcast talking about their shared love for durian.

This week, Manisha Kimmel, chief policy officer at MayStreet, joins Jo Wright on the podcast. They get into the weeds on the NMS plan, the fee amendment, and the comment letters submitted to the SEC. https://www.sec.gov/comments/s7-24-89/s72489.htm https://twitter.com/MayStreetTech/status/1473405655306354691 2:30 – Manisha joins the podcast. She gives an overview of her career before and at MayStreet. 7:30 – Manisha gives background on the so-called CT plan and the Market Data Infrastructure Rule. 9:00 – Litigation is holding up implementation of the plan. 15:30 – They talk about what exactly the fee amendment proposed. 18:30 – Manisha outlines the controversial debate around charging for market data based on cost versus value. 33:00 – What now? Manisha walks through what could happen next.

WARNING: Explicit content. This episode contains swear words, please listen with caution. You have been warned. Tony and Shen go on a long rant about Covid, kids on scooters, and spatial awareness. Enjoy! Merry Christmas!

This week, Jennifer Peve, managing director, and head of strategy and business development at DTCC, joins Wei-Shen on the podcast. They discuss how tokenization could help solve some of the challenges in US private markets and how the Digital Securities Management (DSM) platform that DTCC aims to launch in 2022 can potentially help. 3:00 – Jennifer joins the podcast and gives an overview of the challenges in the private markets and how a tokenized solution can help. 7:00 – Then, she walks through how DSM looks to achieve. 10:30 – What does “good control location” mean? 16:00 – Jennifer details the genesis of Project Whitney and how it led to DSM. 18:00 – She then points to how the transaction consent engine paired the public blockchain and DSM can restrict unvalidated transactions. 22:00 – DTCC could extend DSM to other use cases in the future. 27:30 – There's a bit more work to do before DSM launches. 30:00 – Jennifer gives her thoughts on how blockchain projects have developed in the past year.

This week, Bill Murphy, managing partner at Cresting Wave, joins Tony on the podcast to talk about innovation discovery, talent acquisition, and technology battlefronts. 5:00 – Bill joins the podcast. 7:00 – They discuss the challenge of recruiting technical talent. 12:00 – The technology innovation space is crowded. 14:00 – Should tech leaders be more willing to take risks? 17:00 – Bill explains the impediments that CTOs face today. 20:30 – Looking at cyber security, how can firms use new tools to protect their organizations better? 23:00 – There are so many technology battlefronts. How does Cresting Wave help organizations? 25:30 – Bill explains how some firms steal time from tech leaders. 29:00 – Then, he gives some advice to CTOs today. 31:30 – They close with predictions for the NBA finals.

We're stepping a little outside the box this week! Garry Cooper, CEO and co-founder at Rheaply, joins Tony on the podcast to discuss the circular economy. Rheaply is a software-as-a-service company that helps enterprises re-source assets and services. 5:30 – Garry joins the podcast and defines the circular economy. 7: 30 – Then, he details problems with the circular economy and how his company, Rheaply, fits in. 9: 30 – Garry explains the concept of sharing the sugar and how Rheaply technology helps global banks. 13:00 – How important is data to reuse efforts? 17:00 – Is there a way to automate some of the manual processes of gleaning that data? 20:00 - Garry explains how he got into sustainability. 24:00 – Can the circular economy help with inflationary and supply chain issues? 25:30 – How do we convince local governments to take more steps contributing to the reuse initiative? 31:00 – What's the most random thing Rheaply has ever taken inventory of?

This week, we have a return guest on the podcast. Likhit Wagle, general manager of global banking and financial markets at IBM, joins Tony to discuss mainframe modernization and its importance, particularly since it will be a while before banks put a substantial portion of their mission-critical workloads onto the public cloud. 5:00 –Wagle joins the podcast and details why it's necessary to consider mainframe modernization efforts. 8:30 – He says banks need to prioritize which applications should be modernized and rationalized. 10:00 – It will take some time before banks put a substantial chunk of particularly mission-critical workloads onto the public cloud. 11:00 – Firms want to be cloud native. Why is it important to modernize mainframes if the end goal is to move away from them? 15:00 – Wagle says the winning strategy is a hybrid strategy—public, private, on-prem. 16:30 – Then, he walks through IBM's latest z15 mainframe, and the new version, which will come out in early 2022. 18:00 – Where do mainframes fit into the AI and analytics ecosystem that banks and asset managers want to leverage? 22:30 – Will there be an even split between public cloud, private cloud and mainframe? 25:00 – Then, they discuss how quantum computing impacts the idea of mainframes, public and private cloud. 28:30 – More banks are preferring buy versus build. Does that software sit on the public cloud?

This week, Geoff Horrell, head of innovation at the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), joins the podcast to talk about the exchange's innovation strategy after the Refinitiv acquisition, deep learning, and the ideation process. 5:00 – Geoff joins the podcast and gives an overview of his remit at LSEG. 7:00 – Then, he explains what has changed since LSEG acquired Refinitiv and how that expands the coverage area of LSEG Labs. 9:00 – Geoff walks through some examples of innovation in post-trade and capital markets space. 11:30 – They discuss the ideation process at LSEG Labs. 14:30 – It's about identifying ‘quick wins.' 16:00 – Geoff talks about a recent project LSEG Labs built. 23:00 – Moving forward, LSEG Labs will prioritize projects in sustainable finance and digital assets. 27:00 – Fresh off the LSEG Labs AI/ML 2021 report, Geoff explains one of the key findings: deep learning is now the favored type of machine learning. 35:00 – They wrap up discussing innovation in Emea and Asia versus the US.

This week, Lou Maiuri, COO at State Street, joins Tony on the podcast to discuss State Street's acquisition of Brown Brothers Harriman's Investor Services business and the firm's strategy beyond that. They also cover how firms can build interoperability within the organization and some of the challenges with the new landscape of working remotely. 6:00 – Lou joins the podcast and gives a breakdown of his responsibilities at State Street. 9:00 – Then, he details how State Street's acquisition of Brown Brothers Harriman's Investor Services business is really a consolidation deal with many plusses. 11:30 – BBH's Investor Services business is “the god of small things.” 12:30 – Lou says the deal is strategic and is accretive to State Street's strategy. 14:00 – They discuss how retaining talent and executing the integration is the next key step. 18:30 – Customers want technology that speaks the same language. 23:30 – It's not a good model if customers don't have choices. 32:30 – They close out talking about how remote work worked and the areas where it is more challenging.

Happy Labor Day! This week on the podcast, Wei-Shen, and Tony discuss how Big Tech firms are eyeing more of the capital markets space and the roadblocks they may face. We talk about a recent column written by our very own Josephine Gallagher and some of the other Waters Wrap columns written by Tony. https://www.waterstechnology.com/buy-side-technology/7835481/a-tale-of-two-titans-microsoft-vs-bloomberg https://www.waterstechnology.com/topics/waters-wrap

Kris Hopkins, head of capital markets at SBI Digital Markets, the Singaporean subsidiary of SBI Digital Assets, joined the Waters Wavelength Podcast to talk about digital assets and why he thinks capital markets firms should get more involved. 2:00 Kris joins the podcast and talks about how he started his career as an intern at the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange. 4.30 How is the capital markets dealing with digital assets today? He says these new asset classes will have to ingrain themselves in the traditional institutions at some point. 7.30 Kris discusses why he decided to join SBI Digital. 12:30 Digital assets are not all about crypto. The challenge is that people generally think it is. 13:00 Another angle is asset tokenization, which can be compelling for capital markets firms. 16:00 Security token offerings are regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. That gives people and organizations a wider range of investment opportunities to look into. 22:00 One of the challenges for security tokenization is liquidity. 28:00 How should firms approach digital asset projects?

This week, Wei-Shen and Tony discuss climate change and how it will accelerate climate migration. Then, Shen gives a breakdown of her journey back to Hong Kong and how the early days of quarantine have been

The pandemic has been a lot about “glow ups” and, equally, “glow downs” on a social and individual level. This week, Wei-Shen and Tony discuss how Covid-19 impacted our usual habits, from working out in the mornings to having a better sleep schedule. With many of us still experiencing a languishing blend of work/gym/home life, how do we get back on track and form better habits? How do we come out of this? And, can companies help in any way? Yes, they can. Sure, there are limits to what (and how much) they can do to help, but every little gesture counts. How can they instill positivity in their staff?

Shameek Kundu, former chief data officer at Standard Chartered, and now head of financial services and chief strategy officer at Truera, a startup dedicated to building trust in AI, joined the Waters Wavelength Podcast to talk about AI explainability and how regulators approach the use of AI. 5:00 Shameek joins the podcast and talks about the speed and focus that moving to a startup has given him. 10:00 While today there is broad adoption of AI within the capital markets firms, the depth may not be there. 11:30 The question cannot always be, ‘Why not use AI?' It could also be, ‘Why do I use AI?' 14:30 Shameek says infrastructure for building and deploying ML models is still an art more than science. 15:30 The barriers that exist for AI in capital markets is the lack of trustworthiness and reliability of those models over time. 21:30 Not many firms have a mature data and infrastructure blueprint to allow for AI innovation. 23:00 Shameek adds that in some ways, the data translator role is a stop-gap measure. 26:00 How are regulators looking at the use of AI? 36:00 Shameek is excited about the use of data in addressing the current and next generation's problems.

This week, Wei-Shen and Tony give listeners an overview of our three heavy-hitters of the week. https://www.waterstechnology.com/data-management/7842386/putting-the-green-in-green-data-rise-of-impact-investing-drives-esg-ma https://www.waterstechnology.com/emerging-technologies/7841241/technical-difficulties-openfin-says-its-committed-to-fdc3-while-others-have-their-doubts https://www.waterstechnology.com/data-management/7841696/one-step-closer-how-exchanges-are-seeking-tighter-relationships-with-clients They start with Max Bowie's ESG consolidation story first. Then they hit on Reb Natale's piece on interoperability (Tony's favorite topic) and OpenFin's commitment to FDC3. Then Shen gives a summary of the exchange data licenses story she and Joanna Wright wrote.

This week, Shen and Tony delve a little into Facebook and Apple’s privacy feud, in which Apple is, in an iOS update, prompting users to give apps permission to track their activity. Facebook could be hurt by this move as it directly threatens revenue from targeted ads. How does that argument fit into overall privacy concerns as people start to go into hybrid remote-working models? Shen and Tony discuss how surveillance technology and compliance tools can dig into people’s privacy. But if people want to work with a bit more freedom or have the option to, what is that privacy trade-off? Then, Tony brings up his favorite topic, app interoperability, and how it could create privacy concerns we’ve not thought about before.

This week’s episode is all about Tony! First off, he’s now fully vaccinated! Wei-Shen calls him out for bragging that he doesn’t (usually) get reactions to vaccines. Tony also had his first in-person interview at the very-loved White Horse Tavern in Downtown Manhattan. We discuss his issues with anxiety and how he has dealt with it so far. Then, they discuss how things will start to change when people start to go back to offices. There will be new anxieties that people have to deal with. How do firms manage that without alienating their workforce? How do they encourage their people to overcome their anxieties instead of shrinking away from things that make them uncomfortable? The key, we think, is also in showing empathy, even when we don’t fully understand the why or how.

This week, Keiren Harris, strategy-based market data consultant and the founder of DataCompliance, joins Wei-Shen on the podcast to discuss how exchanges in Asia are approaching their data business. Keiren also writes about market data issues on MarketData.Guru. Also, next week from May 17 through to May 20, we have the WatersTechnology Innovation Exchange Data Insights Spotlight. Check out the agenda here. https://events.waterstechnology.com/innovation-exchange-data/agenda 5:00 Keiren joins the podcast, and they start with how things are literally heating up in Hong Kong. 7:00 He explains how exchanges are transitioning from providing raw data service to one where they’re adding value to their products, and the challenges in doing so. 10:00 Asian exchanges are a bit farther in the development of their data service. 13:00 The Singapore Exchange (SGX) has refocused over the years to develop its index business. 17:00 Keiren says the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) is the classic transition exchange in terms of data. 21:00 Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) is still playing in the data space, not in the value-add space yet. Why change something that works? 28:00 Sometimes, getting information out of some exchanges is like getting blood out of a stone. 30:00 Japan Exchange Group (JPX) should be more of a giant in the exchange data business, but it is potentially held back by organizational culture. 38:00 Bursa Malaysia faces a different problem. There’s limited resources to maximize innovation in the data business.

This week, Annie Wu, senior conference producer at Infopro Digital (WatersTechnology’s owner), joins Wei-Shen on the Waters Wavelength Podcast. They talk about the switch from physical to virtual events, AI matching engines for networking, and the future of capital markets events. Annie also gives a preview of our upcoming events—WatersTechnology Innovation: Data Insights Spotlight and WatersTechnology Innovation Exchange: Business Strategy & Leadership Spotlight. https://events.waterstechnology.com/innovation-exchange-data https://events.waterstechnology.com/innovation-exchange-leadership

This week, Robert Wigley, chairman at UK Finance, joins Wei-Shen on the Waters Wavelength podcast to talk about his new book ‘Born Digital’ and how firms can attract Gen-Z talent. 7:00 Bob joins the podcast and gives an overview of his book ‘Born Digital.’ 10:00 He explains how purpose has changed. Gen-Z particularly looks to join companies that serve some societal purpose too. 13:00 How can companies in the capital markets drive sustainability and inclusivity in their hiring policies and actually put words into action. 17:00 Achieve, or explain! 18:00 Bob explains the concept of ‘phigital workspaces’ and how biophilic workplaces are becoming more popular. 21:00 The challenge in this more blurred workplace environment is how companies can reinforce teamwork and facilitate innovation. 23:00 Demonstrating technology sophistication is a key criteria for Gen-Z. 28:00 Every company has its own culture, but they should recognize that it can impact how they attract new talent. 31:00 It all comes down to recognizing the values that Gen-Z puts highly.

Eugene Stern, head of market risk product, and Brad Foster, head of enterprise data content at Bloomberg respectively, join the Waters Wavelength Podcast to talk about a range of topics relating to the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book and how firms are looking for product offerings that are more modular and flexible. 4:00 Eugene and Brad join the podcast. 6:00 Eugene talks about why firms are still struggling with FRTB implementations. 10:00 Brad details the data challenge and how it presents an opportunity for banks to review their data management strategies. 13:30 To have that consistency and alignment in data management strategies, what do firms need to address today? 16:00 FRTB brings about a change in the balance between regulatory capital calculations and risk measures for internal risk management. For example, the internal model approach has gotten very challenging to implement due to very specific requirements. Instead, banks are tending towards the standardized approach from a reg cap perspective. 22:00 Eugene talks about bringing data and analytics together as a strategy and how Bloomberg builds its offering. 25:00 Then they discuss the lessons learned along the way in better helping clients with the FRTB journey. 30:00 Bloomberg is looking at ways to plug the data gaps that clients by providing modularity and flexibility. 35:00 There could be parallels to the challenges for FRTB to Libor transition.

On this episode of the Wavelength Podcast, Wei-Shen and Tony discuss their backup data habits.

On this episode of the Wavelength Podcast, Wei-Shen and Tony discuss tech disruption in the bar industry.

George Mussalli, chief investment officer of equity investments at the firm, and Mike Chen, the firm’s director of portfolio management and sustainable investing, joined the Waters Wavelength Podcast to talk about a range of topics relating to ESG. Innovation Exchange: Mike Chen will be a speaker at this year’s Innovation Exchange, a virtual conference that will be held from March 22-25. To listen to Chen’s panel discussion and others, you can register here: https://events.waterstechnology.com/innovation-exchange-tech/register-now?form_track=podcast 2:00 To start, George and Mike give background on PanAgora and the firm’s ultimate investment strategy. 6:00 Mike explains what ESG means to PanAgora. 9:00 George lays out the ultimate investment objective for a chief investment officer when incorporating ESG into a portfolio. 15:00 Let’s get hypothetical: A company is extremely climate efficient and has extremely high employee satisfaction, but they have terrible board diversity and make monetary contributions to organizations that are deemed poor when it comes to social justice issues—do you ditch that company even if it’s producing solid returns? How do you build a flexible framework to adjust an ESG portfolio easily? 23:00 Mike and George talk about how the firm builds predictive and forward-looking models in nature, even if the data tends to be point-in-time. 29:00 Mike drills into avoiding data bias in the ESG space. 35:00 George explains how ESG metrics fared under the strain of the pandemic. 36:00 Mike says greenwashing is the greatest challenge facing the ESG space as we head on into 2021 and beyond.

On this episode of the Wavelength Podcast, Wei-Shen and Tony talk about the importance of communication when it comes to M&A activity within a company.

This week, Wei-Shen and Tony speak with WatersTechnology’s new GameStop editor Rebecca Natale to get the skinny on the Reddit vs. Wall Street saga. WARNING: As noted at the start of the podcast, there are a fair number of curse words that are uncensored used throughout this episode. Please do not listen if you are offended by that kind of language, and for the love of God, wear headphones if you are in a public place listening to this, or are around children.

Wei-Shen and Tony are trying a different format this year with the podcast, and they start by discussing mental health and ways to help and support coworkers and friends.

For the last podcast of 2020 here at WatersTechnology, Wei-Shen speaks with Likhit Wagle, general manager of global banking at IBM, about how financial firms are approaching cloud and containerization technologies. 5:00 Likhit joins the podcast and opens by explaining how banks should approach their cloud strategies. 13:00 He then discusses IBM Cloud for Financial Services and how banks are currently migrating to the public cloud. 16:00 Next, they look at the challenges associated with a cloud architecture versus on-prem. 23:00 Then he examines optimal ways for firms to keep on top of their cloud expenditure. 30:00 From there, Wagle delves into the challenges and costs associated with sunsetting an application. 34:00 He follows that with a look at how IBM Cloud for Financial Services structures contracts around flexibility. 38:30 While a believer in containerization, he analyzes what firms should be aware of when using these services? 46:00 Wagle wraps up the conversation by talking about his hopes for 2021.

This week, John Lin, founder and now chairman of Grasshopper, a Singaporean prop-trading firm, joins Wei-Shen on the podcast. They talk about his experience as a trader, why he left, and the projects he’s working on now. 4:00 John joins the podcast and talks about travel challenges during the pandemic. 8:00 John talks about his experiences in the open outcry trading pits, building a company from the ground up, and what led him to step back from his day-to-day responsibilities. 15:30 When it comes to technology, John says change is a constant, and it’s a reason why banks have struggled to keep pace with new innovations. 24:00 John next explains why he’s a believer in blockchain’s long-term adoption. 33:30 Since stepping back as CEO of Grasshopper, John’s joined something called Mastermind, which is a collection of innovative thinkers from an assortment of different fields. He discusses some of the more interesting projects that he’s been involved with through Masterminds. 44:30 To wrap things up, he talks about some of his passions, from wellness initiatives to digital collectibles. https://www.thegrastaman.com/# https://open.spotify.com/user/1213086788?si=hVN5c92URsCxOcp7VN-c1g https://www.waterstechnology.com/technology/7722086/point-break-how-vendors-push-their-products-to-the-limit https://www.waterstechnology.com/data-management/7721356/at-the-fringes-of-realism-agent-based-models-take-hold-among-quants https://www.waterstechnology.com/data-management/7719291/regulation-wont-address-market-data-costs https://www.waterstechnology.com/data-management/7719531/massive-land-grab-sps-ihs-markit-buy-creates-data-juggernaut-but-users-fear-price-hikes https://www.waterstechnology.com/management-strategy/7720356/waters-wrap-sp-ihs-markit-and-the-land-of-giants-also-more-on-aml-tech https://www.waterstechnology.com/data-management/7720701/sp-markit-its-not-over-yet

This week, two bank technology executives join the podcast to discuss what’s driving innovation in the capital markets during a pandemic, and the challenges that lie ahead. Before that, Wei-Shen incorrectly calls this Episode 222. In her defense, she's under two-week quarantine. Let's get to the show! Joerg Landsch: Head of Innovation, Americas, Deutsche Bank Apoorv Saxena: Global Head of AI Technology, JP Morgan Chase 4:00 How did the pandemic change “innovation” projects in 2020? 10:00 How did AI development change this year? 16:30 How has cloud, API, and open-source adoption help banks navigate the challenges of 2020? (Some DLT and quantum computing talk in here, too.) 23:30 What were some of the key lessons learned during the pandemic? 28:30 Why is interoperability and breaking down data siloes becoming even more important? 33:30 What are the greatest challenges when it comes to keeping a team engaged when everyone is working remotely?

Wei-Shen and Tony take a look at some headlines involving ESG. Come for the headlines, stay for the snark.

This week, Wei-Shen and Tony discuss some headlines from across the industry. 2:30 Texas woos financial services firms located in New Jersey. (Dallas Morning News) https://www.dallasnews.com/business/technology/2020/11/09/nasdaq-and-other-trading-exchanges-to-meet-with-texas-gov-abbott-about-potential-move/#:~:text=The%20Dallas%20Morning%20News%20reported,the%20state's%20business%2Dfriendly%20environment. 11:00 Goldman moving staff to lower-cost cities around the US/World. (Business Insider) https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-staff-low-cost-hubs-dallas-salt-lake-bangalore-2020-11 24:30 The best programming languages & platforms for data science in finance. (efinancialcareers) https://news.efinancialcareers.com/us-en/3004783/graham-giller-data-science-finance

David Hardoon, senior advisor for data and artificial intelligence at UnionBank of the Philippines, joins to discuss all things artificial intelligence and machine learning. 4:00 David talks about his previous role at the Monetary Authority of Singapore. What can you do vs. what should you do? 8:30 He explains how the accessibility of data and ML tools can lead to the convergence of ML algos. 15:00 How do firms get an edge? Hope is not a strategy. 18:00 Simulation is key in exploiting operational alpha. 27:30 How does adversarial AI play a part in this? 33:00 What should traders do to ensure authenticity? 40:00 David explains what operationalizing data and AI at UnionBank means.

This week on the podcast, Wei-Shen talks with Victor Alexiev, director and head of programs and strategic partnerships for Citi Ventures APAC. They talk about some of the challenges and opportunities within banks and how D10X—Citi Venture’s internal entrepreneurship program, which looks at moonshot projects—tackles them. 3:30 – Victor joins the podcast and gives an overview of Citi Ventures and its three pillars—investment, exploration, and learning. 10:30 – Then he delves into some of the projects D10X has worked on recently. 13:00 – Most of the solutions don’t necessitate using emerging technologies. 15:00 – Defining the problem comes first. 20:00 – Challenges and themes Citi Ventures and D10X are looking at. In Asia, Citi is interested in the lifecycle of tokenized securities. 28:30 – Victor explains how the team at D10X is expandable. 32:00 – The team is looking at advanced data analytics, ML, and NLP to mine external content for signals.

After a couple late postponements, Wei-Shen and Tony just spend the show having a conversation about Tony’s new pool cue and other nonsense (start of podcast), some conversation about the current M&A market (5:00), and then they get into politics (18:30). Enter at your own risk. (Editor’s note: This was recorded last week, but I—Tony—am lazy and took forever getting this posted…back soon this week with a guest.)

On February 3, 2020, it was publically announced that Bill Murphy—Blackstone’s CTO for almost a decade—would be leaving the firm at the end of March. Bill rejoins the Wavelength podcast—for a record fifth time—to discuss some of the lessons he learned while working at the private equity giant, and the next phase of his career. (2:00-47:00) At the backend of the podcast, Wei-Shen and Tony discuss Refinitiv’s plans going forward after the launch of Workspace (47:30-end). https://www.waterstechnology.com/data-management/7692821/of-refinitiv-and-old-rivalries 3:30 Bill discusses his decision to join Cresting Wave. 7:15 For those who have fared well during the pandemic, what went right? 10:30 What are the dangers of making knee-jerk tech decisions to answer Covid-related needs? 13:30 When it comes to the buy v. build debate, are banks more wary of taking the lead on moonshot projects? 19:00 Do banks and asset managers risk falling behind if they hand too much off in the innovation space? 21:00 What interests Bill the most in genre of “innovation” and why is technical debt hindering the capital markets? 28:30 What does technical debt look like when it comes to machine learning and data analysis? 35:30 Working remotely v. working in the office—how will that dynamic change in a post-Covid world? 40:00 Blockchain? 41:30 ESG? 43:30 Quantum computing? 45:00 Deep learning? Bill Murphy’s previous episodes: https://www.waterstechnology.com/trading-tools/2461751/waters-wavelength-podcast-episode-22-blackstone-cto-bill-murphy https://www.waterstechnology.com/trading-tools/3056376/waters-wavelength-podcast-episode-60-bill-murphy-blackstone-cto https://www.waterstechnology.com/industry-issues-initiatives/3473326/waters-wavelength-podcast-episode-105-blackstones-bill-murphy-part-3 https://www.waterstechnology.com/technology/4078696/wavelength-podcast-episode-150-bill-murphy-of-blackstone-group

This week on the podcast, Wei-Shen talks with Hans Brown, head of enterprise innovation and chief information officer for corporate technology at BNY Mellon. The two delve into the topic of innovation and what that word means today compared to pre-coronavirus. Before that, Tony highlights two big stories posted on WatersTechnology.com from the past: Refinitiv’s new Workspace platform and what this rollout means for Eikon and Thomson One, and a deep-dive into Bloomberg’s Financial Instrument Global Identifier (FIGI). The interview begins at the 5:00 min mark. https://www.waterstechnology.com/data-management/7689651/refinitiv-begins-move-away-from-eikon-thomson-one-with-debut-of-workspace https://www.waterstechnology.com/data-management/7690251/bloombergs-figi-a-case-of-red-light-green-light

Once again, Wei-Shen and Tony are poaching a panel from the inaugural WatersTechnology Innovation Exchange. This week, the conversation centers around data: lessons learned from the coronavirus pandemic; why banks are increasingly embracing the cloud; a look at whether or not disaster recovery will change after Covid; and our panelists wrap it up by looking into their crystal balls and predict one major trend that will develop in 2021. Skip to the 5:00 mark if you don't want to hear about Tony's birthday weekend and just want intelligent conversation about data. Michael Ruttledge, chief information officer and head of technology services, Citizens Bank David Wright, chief data officer for North America, Commerzbank Andrew Foster, chief data officer for the Americas, Deutsche Bank

This week, Wei-Shen and Tony step aside and turn the podcast over to a panel of AI experts. Last week, executives from Bank of America, Prudential, FactSet, and University College London were on a panel at the inaugural WatersTechnology Innovation Exchange. They talked about a range of topics pertaining to AI and machine learning, including issues around explainability, where banks struggle to implement AI, and the buy-v-build debate. https://events.waterstechnology.com/innovation-exchange Laura Hamilton, global head of treasury technology, Bank of America Michael Natusch, global head of AI, Prudential Emine Yilmaz, department of computer science, University College London (UCL) Ruggero Scorcioni, principal machine learning engineer for cognitive computing, FactSet

This week on the podcast, Clare Flynn Levy, founder and CEO at Essentia Analytics, joins to talk about her shift from the buy side to going “native”. Before that, Wei-Shen and Anthony talk about the WatersTechnology Innovation Exchange, which starts on September 9. To register for the three-week virtual event, use this link: https://events.waterstechnology.com/innovation-exchange/book-now * Clare joins the podcast and explains the reason for starting Essentia Analytics and what it means to “go native”. (5:30) * Using analytics to trust your gut, or let you know if your gut is wrong. (15:00) * How can understanding behavioral biases help push active managers forward? (16:30) * Clare discusses how AI biases play into the fund management process. (32:00) * For those on the buy side not using behavioral analytics, what’s holding them back? (38:00)

Since it’s the end of August, Tony and Shen—mainly Tony—ramble incoherently about Covid tests and influencers. Come September, we’ll be back with guests and (hopefully) informative conversations about fintech. This one is more about laughs and fun.

This week’s podcast is something of a preview for next month’s WatersTechnology Innovation Exchange. Tony, Wei-Shen, Max Bowie, and Joanna Wright got together for a Microsoft Teams video call to help promote the event, but the conversation was good (and long) so we decided to put the full thing up on the podcast. Max kicks things off talking about how banks might look to turn their office spaces into something of a WeWork for fintechs (8:30). Joanna has been writing a lot about ESG of late, both from a regulatory perspective, as well as looking at actual use cases, so she delves into how ESG is being used in today’s markets (14:00). Wei-Shen looks at innovation in the APAC region and how Asia may be ahead of North America and Europe when it comes to tools that allow employees to work remotely (19:00). Finally, Tony asks some follow-up questions of the three editors (26:00-55:00). To register for the Innovation Exchange, which will be held over the course of three weeks—September 9-22—click here: https://events.waterstechnology.com/innovation-exchange/book-now https://events.waterstechnology.com/innovation-exchange https://www.waterstechnology.com/management-strategy/7552636/space-exploration-how-will-banks-handle-unwanted-costly-real-estate-post-covid https://www.waterstechnology.com/management-strategy/7666226/moonshots-shelved-banks-spend-on-home-working-tech https://www.waterstechnology.com/data-management/7659301/a-look-at-how-ubss-concentrated-alpha-team-integrates-esg-data https://www.waterstechnology.com/data-management/7535166/four-asset-managers-explain-how-they-incorporate-esg-data https://www.waterstechnology.com/regulation/7650701/regulators-defend-esg-data-requirements https://www.waterstechnology.com/data-management/7657196/hsbc-launches-esg-reporting-service https://www.waterstechnology.com/regulation/7546186/esg-disclosures-will-be-a-data-sourcing-headache-for-the-buy-side https://www.waterstechnology.com/technology/7521746/ping-an-nlp-takes-on-greater-importance-in-turbulent-times https://www.waterstechnology.com/operations/7664921/bny-mellon-deutsche-bank-to-extend-fx-api-for-indonesia-and-india

This week, Wei-Shen and Tony talk about a recent story published on WatersTechnology (link below) where tech execs from UBS, Deutsche Bank, Societe Generale, and Nomura discuss where they're directing their IT budgets (2:00). The gist is that so-called innovative moonshot projects are being put on the backburner...Tony and Shen take a contrarian view. Also, what happens if banks cut back on their metropolitan office footprints (15:30)? To wrap things up, Tony and Shen discuss what their own personal moonshoots are (20:00). https://www.waterstechnology.com/management-strategy/7666226/moonshots-shelved-banks-spend-on-home-working-tech https://www.waterstechnology.com/management-strategy/7552636/space-exploration-how-will-banks-handle-unwanted-costly-real-estate-post-covid

This week, Wei-Shen and Tony share their thoughts on new alternative datasets relating to the pandemic, and how investment firms are taking advantage of it. 2:00 – Tony talks about how he’s putting together the August issue of the WatersTechnology magazine, focused on our coronavirus coverage. 4:00 – They discuss Jo Gallagher’s story on vaccine tracking data as an alt dataset, and how it can signal potential “winners” to investment professionals. (https://www.waterstechnology.com/data-management/7660636/vaccine-tracking-data-the-next-big-alt-dataset) 8:30 – Advancements in NLP and sentiment analysis has helped give these new datasets a leg up. 10:00 – Tony talks about geolocation data is used to monitor foot traffic in and out of hospitals. (https://www.waterstechnology.com/data-management/7534286/geolocation-data-spotlights-covid-recovery) 13:00 – Then, they discuss the privacy issues associated with geolocation data, and how many don’t realize the personal data they’re giving away. 19:30 – They wonder if government entities would regulate the use of wearing fitness trackers in the future.

This week on the podcast, Simon Maughan, Liquidnet’s head of trading alpha, joins (3:00-35:30) to discuss the current landscape in the agency-broking space and the buy side’s need for strong analytics in today’s trading environment. Then Wei-Shen and Tony jump back on (35:30) to discuss a documentary that they both watched, and somehow they try to connect it to the world of AML/KYC. (Note: There's a bit of an awkward cut as Wei-Shen and Tony went longer than anticipated talking about a documentary, so we tacked that on at the end.) 3:00 Simon joins the podcast. 7:00 He first talks about the state of agency trading and cost-of-trade issues. 10:30 How have the needs of the buy side changed? 19:00 Over the past few years we’ve seen agency brokers use block trades to drum up business, employ nifty algos to attract clients, while incorporating transaction-cost analysis and other data points as value-adds. Is there a point where the road runs out on what an agency broker can offer? 23:00 He then explains the need to deliver the right information, at the exact point that it is needed, to the right person. 26:00 After the acquisitions of OTAS, Prattle, and RSRCHXchange, what were the greatest challenges in bringing those systems together?   30:00 The world of execution management and analytics is evolving; how can a firm like Liquidnet differentiate itself from the major execution and analytics providers? 33:00 To round things out, Simon talks about some of the lessons he’s learned during the pandemic.

This one is more of a therapy session for Wei-Shen and Tony. No tech on this one, folks. On the show, Wei-Shen vents her frustration over Hong Kong’s third wave of coronavirus-related lockdowns (0:00-8:30). Tony vents his frustration over how the United States is handling the pandemic (8:30-12:00). Tony proceeds to ramble about the need for human contact…where he’s going this, no one really knows (12:00-15:00). Next they both talk about the need for empathy, and what that means…and Tony rambles some more (15:00-35:30). To finish things on a much lighter note, they seamlessly transition to a vastly more important topic: the TV show “Search: WWW” (39:00). (Editor’s Note: Stay for the last five seconds to hear Tony admit that he was rambling too much.)