The SEC Mandate and the New Era of Market Structure
The US repo market is in the middle of a transformational moment as market participants ready for the SEC’s new mandate for central clearing of US Treasury cash and repo transactions.
Solving the Investment Trilemma: Revisiting our 2023 Report into Custom Basket Forwards
This month, Nasdaq announced the first trade in its Custom Basket Futures (CBF), an innovative new contract designed to provide asset managers with flexibility, capital efficiency and counterparty risk mitigation.
Embracing Volatility
Trump’s 2.0: What It Means for FCMs
Alpha generator: AI in reference data
Artificial intelligence pitches are fast becoming a regular feature of budget allocators’ briefs. While there is undoubtedly much hype around this new technology, it is clearly also a development with potentially revolutionary implications for the financial industry. One of the less explored corners of this trend is reference data, where early applications of AI are forming part of a step-change in how firms approach these data sets.
US Treasury Markets: Plotting the Sell-Side’s Path to Mandatory Clearing
US cash Treasury and repo markets are on the brink of a significant shift in market structure, with the introduction of mandatory clearing from the end of 2025.
Where are the opportunities for European market participants today?
Acuiti recently partnered with the FIA to conduct a study into the key trends in European listed derivatives markets. The report was based on a survey or interview with senior executives at over 100 European firms across the buyside, sellside and software and infrastructure providers.
What are the top trends in FCMs’ front-office investment?
With rising costs, regulatory complexity and increased client demands, the Future Commission Merchant (FCM) front-office is an arena of constant change.
Futureproofing Derivatives Post-Trade
The volatility that resulted from the initial spread of Covid-19 in the spring of 2020 led to record volumes in listed derivatives trades. Coming as the market transitioned to remote working in a matter of days, it is no surprise that post-trade infrastructures came under pressure.
What is next for retail brokers in Europe?
Regulators across Europe are increasingly curbing activities in retail investing. Last year, Spanish regulators introduced a ban on CFD promotions and distribution, marking the latest move in a growing trend towards curtailing retail trading in OTC-based products such as CFDs.
Derivatives reconciliations: the path to perfect
In 2021, Acuiti was commissioned by HelloZero to conduct a study into derivatives reconciliations processes across the sell-side. In the wake of the covid-19 pandemic and the associated unprecedented level of volumes and operational disruption in listed derivatives markets, we found reconciliations were in need of investment.