This week, Anthony is back on the podcast with Wei-Shen. They talk about the investment Swedish private equity firm EQT made in Rimes Technologies, as well as the two acquisitions the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) made this week. Then, they discuss some drawbacks of AI when looking at predicting market movements.

https://www.waterstechnology.com/management-strategy/4811986/rimes-wards-off-sale-speculation-with-investment-from-eqt

https://www.waterstechnology.com/management-strategy/4812921/cboe-buys-hanweck-and-ft-options-in-dual-acquisition

https://www.waterstechnology.com/technology/4798531/nomura-chief-warns-of-ais-limitations

1:00 – Tony joins the podcast to talk about this week’s acquisition and investment news, and issues with using AI as a predictability tool of market movements.

3:00 – Then, he cautions how M&A speculation stories generally, might be a play to perhaps make the valuation of a company look better, highlight the competition, et cetera.

9:00 – Tony explains why he finds it interesting that EQT invested in Rimes.

11:30 – Then, they talk about the conflict of interests that could arise if an exchange does acquire such a company like Rimes.

13:00 – Next, they discuss the acquisitions that CBOE recently made to boost its risk analysis capabilities.

20:00 – Tony and Wei-Shen then talk about whether AI could truly predict market movements.

28:30 – Could AI be like a shot of steroids to traders, if used correctly?

31:00 – Then, they talk about how the idea of time has been distorted by how we consume content, where we are sometimes more willing to binge-watch 8-hours of a TV series, but not as willing to watch a 3.5-hour movie.

36:00 – They wrap up the podcast by admitting how impossible it is to live without our mobile phones.

Sara Dillon, FactSet’s head of private markets, joins the podcast to discuss the private markets and how firms are looking to pull together this disparate information to glean trading insights. Prior to joining FactSet last year, she had spent 17 years at General Atlantic, most recently serving as chief research officer.

1:15 When we talk about the private markets and private markets data, what are we talking about?

2:00 What are the main challenges when it comes to capturing this information?

3:15 A real-world example of this data in motion.

5:00 How do you avoid the noise?

6:15 What’s the difference between private market data and the whole scope of alternative data?

7:45 Where can firms go wrong when incorporating this information?

9:00 Why are investors taking greater notice of this space?

12:30 What new data is available today that wasn’t available before?

13:45 How does the private markets group fit into the larger FactSet offering?

15:15 How is the industry pushing toward standardization?

16:30 What led Sara to join FactSet?

This week, Josephine Gallagher, UK senior reporter at WatersTechnology, joins Wei-Shen on the podcast. They talk about the feature Josephine wrote about the proliferation of deepfakes (https://www.waterstechnology.com/management-strategy/4780806/the-proliferation-of-fake-information), and what it could mean for the capital markets. As firms increasingly turn to new and unique alternative data sources such as sentiment scores, and web scraping, they need to ensure the data they plug into their systems is authentic.

1:00 – Josephine joins the podcast to talk about what interested her the most about deepfakes.

3:00 – Then, they discuss two well-known deepfakes and how it’s near impossible to spot signs of tampering.

5:30 – Josephine and Wei-Shen then talk about an example that NICE Actimize’s Robert Tharle made on how criminals used a deepfaked voice of a CEO to steal $250,000.

6:30 – Does that mean firms need to implement multi-factor authentication or multi-factor authorization?

9:00 – They discuss how some big tech firms like Facebook and Google are creating tools to detect manipulated forms of media, and what is involved in that.

11:00 – How will these firms address the issue of scalability?

16:30 – Although not directly impacted by deepfakes as yet, why should financial institutions seriously consider this issue?

18:00 – They wrap up the podcast by talking about their separate vacations to Turkey, including some close run-ins with the local dogs and cats.

This week, Jonathan Kellner, chief executive officer, and Tom Fay, chief operating officer at the Members Exchange (MEMX), join Tony on the podcast. They talk about why there's a need for a new exchange in the US (https://www.waterstechnology.com/management-strategy/4082911/challenging-us-exchanges-will-be-uphill-battle-for-memx-experts-warn), the work that has gone into getting it off the ground, and what else needs to be in place before launching. 

1:30 – Wei-Shen and Tony briefly highlight some of the stories new to the website this week, including a deep-dive into API security (https://www.waterstechnology.com/technology/4774536/apis-frontier-of-a-new-threat)and how the likes of UBS and BlackRock are looking to break into the Chinese market (https://www.waterstechnology.com/management-strategy/4772186/asset-managers-look-for-partnerships-to-expand-in-china).

MEMX

4:30 – Jonathan and Tom join the podcast and talk about what MEMX is all about.

9:00 – Then, Jonathan explains how MEMX fits into the already-fragmented exchange marketplace in the US.

14:00 – Tom explains what has been done and what else needs to happen before MEMX can go live.

21:30 – How is MEMX unique from a technological standpoint, and which aspects will be built internally or outsourced?

31:00 – Jonathan explains how culture will drive the exchange’s success.

37:00 – Then, he talks about his brief dalliance with Coinbase, and what he thinks of cryptocurrency and digital assets.

38:30 – They wrap things up by talking about the pressures that the buy-side and sell-side want answers for in 2020.

This week, Wei-Shen and Tony discuss the increase in data that firms will see coming to market as a result of 5G networks and IoT-connected devices. They talk about how firms might tackle this, following on from the current challenge firms face with alternative datasets. Then, they discuss some of the concerns surrounding the rollout of 5G and what that means for the future of financial firms and people.

2:00 – To start, Tony gives an overview of his 5G and IoT story. (https://www.waterstechnology.com/technology/4743391/5g-iot-are-you-ready-for-the-data-deluge)

4:00 – They discuss the vast amount of data that will come to the market as a result of 5G rolling out, coupled with more IoT-connected devices.

6:30 – Then, they question how firms will deal with this mountain of data coming in, as this is one of many key challenges firms deal with now?

9:00 – Is the key deciding when to fail when experimenting with noisy datasets?

13:00 – Will this mean we’ll see more consolidation in the industry?

15:00 – Tony breaks down some of the political, privacy, and potential health concerns 5G could bring.

21:30 – Then, they talk about whether there’s a need for New Year’s resolutions.

26:00 – Wei-Shen and Tony wrap up the podcast crooning to Max Bowie’s latest Christmas data song. (https://www.waterstechnology.com/data-management/4732271/let-it-snow)

This week, Wei-Shen and Tony talk about how firms experiment with AI and ML and how firms should be more specific when they talk about these techniques. Then, they discuss the issue of gender and industry working groups, and what that might mean for the future.

1:30 – First, they talk about Hamad Ali’s Wells Fargo story. (https://www.waterstechnology.com/data-management/4714551/wells-fargo-exec-banks-struggle-to-feed-hungry-ai)

7:00 – They discuss the need for failure when experimenting with machine learning.

15:30 – What’s the timeframe when it comes to implementation?

16:00 – Then they talk about the EDM Council’s formation of a Women in Data interest group

21:00 – What’s the ROI for these groups?

26:00 – Tony explains how he’s not ready for the next 20 years.

27:30 – They discuss changes the industry needs to make when it comes to managerial styles.

33:00 – Wei-Shen wraps up the podcast for 2019 with jolly holiday wishes. (aka, see you all in 2020.)

On the podcast this week, Wei-Shen and Tony briefly discuss the Waters USA conference. Then, Billy Hult, president of Tradeweb Markets, speaks with Duncan Wood, global editorial director for Infopro Digital, about the changing face of trading, how Tradeweb stacks up against the likes of tech companies like Bloomberg and Symphony, the dimming allure of exchanges, and much more.

3:00 – Billy joins the podcast with Duncan

7:00 – Billy and Duncan talk about Tradeweb post-IPO

14:30 – Next, they discuss Tradeweb’s expansion into new asset classes

18:30 – Duncan asks about how Mifid II’s best execution requirement creates challenges

21:00 – Which trends are having the greatest impact on the market structure debate

28:00 – What is the difference between an old-style exchange and an interdealer broker

32:00 – Billy responds to whether Symphony is a disruptive force

39:30 – To wrap it all up, Billy bravely answers Duncan’s random quick-fire questions

Prior to today, there have been two hosts of the Waters Wavelength Podcast: Dan DeFrancesco and Anthony Malakian. Now, we have a third: Wei-Shen Wong! Anthony, aka, Tony, will still co-host, but Wei-Shen, aka, Shen, will run the show from here on out. Here's to new beginnings!

This week, Shen and Tony discuss Waters USA, which will be held on Dec. 2-3 at 1 Liberty Plaza Convene in Manhattan. They discuss digitization, new jobs in data, and the problem with polls painting a broad stroke.

https://events.waterstechnology.com/watersusa

Giles Nelson, CTO of financial services for MarkLogic, joins the podcast to discuss data issues facing the capital markets, data warehousing, and Hadoop.

1:00 Giles Nelson joins the podcast.

2:00 Conventional approaches to managing data are stuck in the 1970s, according to Giles.

7:00 How to change hearts and minds.

15:00 Data warehouses—are they dead?

22:00 The balance between emerging technologies and legacy technologies.

26:00 Is the Hadoop hype gone, or just changing?

32:00 Why do firms need to be both innovative and think outside of the box, as well as stay responsible to not flush funds down the drain on a shiny new object.

This week, Jonathan Clark, CEO of Luminex, and David Hagen, Luminex’s head of product, join the podcast to look at some of the challenges and opportunities that traders on the buy side face in today’s evolving, increasingly-automated market (3:30). Also, at the start, Anthony gives an update on the Waters Asia event taking place this week.