Perspectives & Key Themes from Market Participants

Recently, SIFMA hosted our Operations Conference & Exhibition, the 50^th anniversary of the event. With three days of presentations and events, we gained insights into top-of-mind topics for market participants. Inside this note, we recap just some of what was seen and heard, including:

• The Industry Outlook: Top ops & tech themes 26.6% T+1, 22.1% efficiencies/automation. Equity deals remain subdued, only companies with strong fundamentals can IPO. Fixed income markets continue to function well, with liquidity top of mind.
• The Transition to T+1 Settlement: Key theme was readiness. 81.5% of dealers believe they will be ready; 54.4% for vendors, 38.9% for clients. Areas of focus continue to be on affirmation of trade date, the smaller testing window, and the shortened time to address fails. 361 days to go until the May 28, 2024 deadline – get ready!
• The Regulatory Landscape: Aggressive reg agenda does not leave time to thoroughly analyze the impacts. FINRA looking for data-driven results to show effectiveness of remote supervision with its proposed pilot. Treasury market is the base of the financial system – reforms should be done analytically and cautiously, not a big bang.
• More on Key Themes: Utilize new technologies to gain efficiencies, blending this with experienced operations professionals to implement the changes. AI is one example of a new technology with potential, but also with concerns; use cases = reconciliations, corporate actions. Not just data but insights from the data becomes the new oil. Blended families on teams – technologists, data scientists, analysts, and operations practitioners.
• Market Touchpoints: This report also includes our pre-conference survey and audience polling results.

 

Author

Katie Kolchin, CFA
Managing Director, Head of Research

Related Resources

• SIFMA Insights

  Pre-Conference Survey Results

• Industry Resources

  T+1 Securities Settlement Industry Implementation Playbook