FINRA Trying to Be More Transparent; No Easy Trick

Posted on November 19, 2016 by admin

Brokerdealer regulator FINRA trying to be more transparent is no easy trick considering that its constituency is often conflicted when it comes to the topic of disclosure and visibilty, but industry veteran Tom Gira, EVP of Market Regulation is putting his best foot forward.

(Traders Magazine) –Nov 19–The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is right on top of the evolving financial market structure and to that end, has announced new initiatives designed to increase market transparency.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is right on top of the evolving financial market structure and to that end, has announced new initiatives designed to increase market transparency.

Thomas Gira, Executive Vice President, Market Regulation at FINRA, laid out the regulator’s future plans in remarks made Tuesday, November 15 at the Inaugural Traders Magazine Equity Market Structure Town hall forum at the Upper Story in New York City. In speaking to the audience, he assured that the group is on top of changes in the market and seeks to continue to provide clarity, guidance and transparency into the trading markets.

Tom Gira, FINRA EVP Market Regulation

Gira provided a brief recap of what initiatives have already been put into place, creating a “multi-faceted safety net for the markets and are designed to promote investor confidence.” Among the changes, he told of how regulators adjusted the market-wide circuit breakers, which give market participants an opportunity to assess their positions, valuation models and operational capabilities when extreme periods of volatility occur. On top of that, the marketplace now has a limit up/limit down regime, which addresses the type of sudden individual stock-price movements that the market experienced during the May 2010 flash crash.

Also, he reminded that the Securities and Exchange Commission has also passed the Market Access Rule, which requires firms entering orders into the market, or allowing their customers to enter orders into the market, to have pre-trade controls to avoid erroneous and duplicative orders and to establish pre-trade capital and credit controls on orders entered into the market, among other things. And most recently, the SEC implemented Regulation SCI to strengthen the technology infrastructure of the U.S. securities markets.

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“In sum, I think we are rightly focusing on the evolution of the market more than whether there is something seriously wrong with the market,” Gira said. “So in that vein, I would like to focus on how FINRA is working to stay ahead of issues through our focus on transparency and by making use of innovative technology in our surveillance programs.”

Among the new transparency initiatives, FINRA is continuing to look at ways to expand its Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine, or TRACE, which looks at the trading of corporate bonds and their trade data, including the price and size. The system is now looking at expanding TRACE to include transaction and quote data for the $13 trillion Treasury market.

“There is currently no centralized trade reporting system for Treasuries. Regulators, including FINRA, the SEC, the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Board, have taken steps to implement a transaction-reporting regime for Treasuries,” he said. “Starting next July, firms will have to report certain transactions in Treasury securities to TRACE.”

At this time, he added FINRA will not disseminate information on transactions in Treasuries. This new requirement will significantly enhance the ability of FINRA and other regulators to understand trading activity in Treasury securities.

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Wall Street Firms Rise and Ride FAR To Fund Autism Research

Posted on September 30, 2016 by admin

Wall Street Firms and Broker-Dealers based across the NY tri-state area are preparing to get into gear in advance of the 2nd Annual Autism Science Foundation’s Wall Street Rides FAR Cycling Event for Autism Research. On Saturday, October 8, over 150 representatives from the Wall Street community will gather to cycle in support of innovative, life-changing autism research.

Per coverage courtesy of TradersMag John D’Antona, The Autism Science Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides funding directly to scientists conducting cutting-edge autism research to discover the causes of autism and develop better treatments. The ride, which takes place at Saxon Woods County Park in White Plains, New York, gives participants a choice of four scenic routes through the beautiful fall foliage of the Lower Hudson Valley: 4 miles, 20 miles, 30 miles, and 62 miles.

Bryan Harkins, Bats Global Markets

The event is being spearheaded by Bats Global Markets EVP Bryan Harkins, who, along with Alison Singer, president of the Autism Science Foundation are co-founders of Wall Street Rides FAR Cycling Event for Autism Research.

“I have seen the affects that autism can have on families,” Harkins told Traders Magazine. “Families affected by autism tend to shift the entire focus of their lives to providing a better quality of life for their loved one.”

This event, he added, is an extension of that inspiration.

“It’s our community’s responsibility to support those who need it,” Harkins said. “The vision for this event was to bring together my network of contacts (most of whom have shown amazing generosity) at a unique family friendly networking event all to benefit the Autism Science Foundation. There’s no event like it really. We have family friendly shorter routers for the casual and beginner biker, and we have more advanced longer distance routes for the more avid cyclist. It doesn’t matter what your level is. It’s about coming out to have some fun, building a sense of community, growing awareness all to benefit a wonderful organization, the Autism Science Foundation.”

To donate or register go to, please go to www.wallstreetridesfar.org

And there I still time to ride, volunteer or cheer on the participants.

Harkins added that ASF is committed to the science of autism.

“The foundation’s mission is to provide grants to the country’s top scientists as they dedicate their research looking for the causes of autism, but also for better treatment methods to enhance the quality of life for those on the spectrum,” Harkins said.

Broker-Dealer Bible “Traders Magazine” Acquired by Markets Media

Posted on July 6, 2016August 10, 2016 by admin

If you are an institutional broker-dealer that is focused on sell-side “comings and goings” (or goings and comings), for years Traders Magazine has likely been your source of sell-side news and related topics of interest. John D’Antona, TM’s long-standing senior editor and contributing writer has become a mainstay in your diet of news bytes that traders use to keep an eye on and ears open when it comes to job opportunities and prospective greener pastures, as well as regulatory topics, fintech innovation as well as select scraps of intel from buyside trading desks.

Traders Magazine has been your bible (ok, some might call it a rag, or a nice distraction) and per announcement below, its now under new ownership and will reside under the umbrella of Markets Media LLC, the digital and print publisher and producer of financial industry conferences in leading financial centre cities across the globe. Below news coverage courtesy of media industry publisher “Media Post”

(Media Post) Jul 5 2016 Markets Media has acquired Traders Magazine from SourceMedia. The combined entity will have a total unique audience of 135,000, made up of 120,000 digital readers and 15,000 print readers.

According to a statement, Markets Media “is committed to investing in the Traders brand by providing the resources necessary for digital expansion, both immediately and for the long term.”

Founded in 2007, Markets Media is a digital publisher focusing on institutional trading and investing in North American and European markets.

Mohan Virdee, founder and CEO of Markets Media, told Publishers Daily that the acquisition of Traders was “a very nice fit to our existing business in terms of the depth of the trading community across North America. We’ve established a good brand among that community.”

Virdee said the timing of Traders joining Markets Media couldn’t have been better – Markets Media is in the midst of upgrading their platform this summer.

“We have already started to upgrade all of our systems. We will do that with Traders, as well as we go through the transition,” he said.

The upgrades will affect the design and functionality of the brands’ digital space, as well as introduce a “more aggressive social media campaign,” Virdee said.

Additionally, Markets Media will upgrade their mobile presence and create “innovative advertising solutions for our core customers and existing Traders customers,” he added.

For now, the company says Markets Media will operate MarketsMedia.com and TradersMagazine.com as separate sites, producing original content independently.

Traders is a digital information and news service that has served professionals in North American institutional markets for 30 years. The company is also known for its sponsorship of social, charity and networking events.

SourceMedia owns brands like American Banker, The Bond Buyer, Mergers & Acquisitions, Financial Planning, On Wall Street and Accounting Today.