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3 Market Themes Ahead of SIFMA C&L

3 Themes We’re Watching Ahead of SIFMA C&L

Financial markets are entering a period of rapid change. New financial products, extended trading environments and advances in market infrastructure are reshaping how firms think about oversight, governance, and risk.

Ahead of upcoming industry conferences this spring, our team pulled together a few themes that continue to come up in our conversations with clients, partners, and market participants.

Prediction Markets and Regulatory Direction

Regulators are beginning to examine how event-based markets fit within existing derivatives frameworks.

Event contracts and prediction markets are receiving increased regulatory attention as participation grows and new platforms emerge.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently issued a notice seeking public comment on how these markets should be treated under U.S. law. A central question is whether event contracts should be classified as financial derivatives or gambling-like products.

Current regulatory thinking suggests many event contracts could qualify as swaps, binary options, or futures, which would place them under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA).

If that direction holds, markets offering these products may be expected to meet requirements similar to traditional derivatives venues, including:

  • Prohibiting abusive trading practices
  • Listing contracts that are not readily susceptible to manipulation
  • Maintaining effective market surveillance
  • Implementing position limits or speculative accountability

Key Consideration

If prediction markets continue moving toward regulated derivatives frameworks, oversight expectations may increasingly resemble those already applied in traditional futures markets.

Relevant reads

24/7 Trading and Global Market Infrastructure

Market operators are increasingly exploring how infrastructure could support longer or continuous trading environments.

Momentum is building across the industry around extended trading hours and the broader possibility of more continuous global markets.

Advances in technology, increasing global participation, and the emergence of tokenized securities are all contributing to conversations about how trading infrastructure may evolve beyond traditional market sessions. As these discussions progress, compliance, surveillance, and market operations teams are beginning to evaluate how oversight and monitoring frameworks adapt when trading activity extends beyond traditional market hours.

Several market infrastructure providers have recently begun exploring these models. Nasdaq has examined frameworks for tokenized equities and extended trading environments. Intercontinental Exchange, parent of the New York Stock Exchange, is developing infrastructure tied to tokenized securities and more continuous market models. Meanwhile DTCC has explored initiatives around extended clearing cycles and tokenized asset infrastructure.

While these initiatives are still evolving, they reflect a broader industry conversation around how global participation and digital market infrastructure could contribute to markets that operate across longer or continuous trading windows.

Key Consideration

As trading activity expands across time zones and venues, firms may need to reassess how surveillance, monitoring, and operational processes scale to support more continuous market activity.

Relevant reads

Artificial Intelligence and Data Governance

Financial institutions are exploring how AI can support compliance and risk programs while maintaining strong governance and data integrity.

Artificial intelligence is moving from experimentation into operational use across financial institutions. Compliance teams are exploring how AI can support analytics, monitoring, and operational efficiency.

Industry conversations are increasingly focused on how firms adopt these technologies responsibly within regulated environments. A consistent takeaway is that the effectiveness of AI tools ultimately depends on the strength of the underlying data environment.

Fragmented datasets, inconsistent normalization, and incomplete trade data can limit the value of AI-driven systems and introduce new governance challenges.

Key Consideration

As firms explore AI across compliance and risk programs, many leaders are focusing first on strengthening data quality, validation processes, and governance frameworks.

Relevant reads

• Remarks from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on how AI is reshaping investment management and regulatory oversight (2026)
https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/daly-020326-artificial-intelligence-future-investment-management 

Common Questions

  • How should oversight frameworks evolve as new financial products emerge?
  • What operational changes are required as markets move toward longer or continuous trading environments?
  • How can firms adopt AI responsibly while maintaining strong governance and data integrity?

These discussions reflect a broader priority across financial institutions: building oversight frameworks that can support innovation while maintaining market integrity. If these topics are part of your team’s current discussions, we would welcome the opportunity to connect and share perspectives. Contact our team here: https://trilliumsurveyor.com/contact-us/.

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