workflow automation

#Algorithm: Benchmarking the Cost of Post-Trade Processing

Patterns...  Preferably, persistent and predictable patterns...  It could be said that history is influenced by a series of pattern discoveries whereby new patterns are discovered with new tools, new technologies or new methodologies. Discovery always starts with variance of perspective, like a new pair of eyes.  And, that kind of trick never gets old - even during an era of hyper-intensive innovation. So, with that bit of philosophy as our backdrop, we arrive at today's lesson:  Alphacution discovered a persistent relationship between assets and headcount for asset managers, which led to new insights about strategy selections, technology spending, and workflow automation among a broad community of asset managers, hedge funds and others. This analysis was presented in its initial asset manager technology spending study, the Context Machine (April 2018). Upon further analysis, it turns out that there is also a persistent relationship between assets and headcount for asset servicers, like custodians and administrators. The significance of this discovery represents the beginnings of our ability to benchmark asset servicing costs and [...]

By |2020-10-05T21:22:35-04:00September 9th, 2018|Open|

Alphacution Riffs Ep 2 – Measuring the Pace of Automation

Episode 2 of our new video series, Alphacution Riffs, picks up where Episode 1 left off - and begins to describe our research mission, modeling methodology and research workflow. We also begin to lay the foundation for our "T-Greeks" benchmarking framework that focuses on measuring and comparing "return on technology" (RoT) - otherwise known as "technical leverage" - for banks and asset managers. Here, we describe how much of our core research effort is currently built on the basis of just 3 simple data points collected for a model library that currently represents 200 large banks, asset managers, hedge funds, and even certain proprietary trading groups, among others - more than 250+ FSI-related companies in all - and how each of those models covers several years, with many of our core models beginning in 2005. With these 3 data points and our 360-degree modeling strategy, we can move beyond the benefits of various market-sizing exercises to more impactful benchmarking exercises. This tutorial is important for our clients and broader network [...]

By |2020-10-05T21:19:20-04:00March 28th, 2018|Video|

Virtu Financial: More Acquisitions on the Way, If…

When we launched our first trading program at Quantlab in the late 90's, we didn't have direct market access yet. We generated an order list (overnight) that was worked throughout the subsequent market session at the discretion of an algo-equipped executing broker; some of whom now roam the halls at Jefferies / Leucadia. This was the era when 1- to 3-day portfolio turnover was considered fast - SOES bandits were still a thing - and Schwab would soon acquire electronic trading pioneer, CyBerCorp, from Philip Berber - a short drive down the road from our Houston headquarters in Austin, TX. Of course, everyone had nicknames then - as I suspect they still do now. Ed Bosarge, founder of what eventually became Quantlab (after at least 3 prior related incarnations that began for me around 1996), was known as Dr. Evil. Let's just say it's a hair-raising story about a swashbuckling pioneer of applied math involving a hideous toupee... I was known as Mr. Bigglesworth - or, "Bigsy" for short. No [...]

By |2020-10-05T21:19:11-04:00March 27th, 2018|Open|