Welcome to the March edition of The Monitor.
I’m just getting back from FIA Boca where I had some incredible conversations with friends across the global futures and derivatives ecosystem. We talked strategy and potential partnerships, and how new products, market structure, and even geopolitical developments are putting new demands on teams and the technology they rely on for oversight.
Some questions that were top of mind: How should surveillance evolve when trading activity concentrates around specific events or global developments? How can firms maintain consistent oversight across overnight and international markets? And what does defensible supervision look like as markets become more continuous and interconnected?
In this month’s Monitor, we share what we’re watching most closely and what it may mean for your team. We cover the continued growth of event-driven markets and considerations for the CFTC’s recent guidance, highlight key items for your regulatory radar, and share how firms are thinking about oversight and analytics across global trading activity. We also highlight several product enhancements our team released this quarter, and I encourage you to read our Director of Product’s latest update which outlines key technology developments designed to help teams plan for these changes. We hope this issue helps you navigate what’s next.
— Lisa Balter Saacks, President, Trillium Surveyor
Leadership Spotlight: International Women’s Day
This month, we’re recognizing International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month by celebrating two leaders at Trillium Surveyor: Lisa Balter Saacks, President, and Melissa Watras, Director of Product.
Leadership shows up not only in how we build technology, but in how we support others across the industry. Alongside leading our strategy and shaping innovation across surveillance and best execution analytics, Lisa and Melissa have helped create spaces where women in finance can connect and support one another. One example is our growing Sip & Connect gatherings, which bring women across the industry together both professionally and personally.
We’re grateful for the leadership and perspective they bring to the Surveyor team and the broader financial community as we continue to evolve in support of our clients and the markets they serve.
We also want to thank the NYSE for including our Senior Manager of Marketing on their International Women’s Day panel discussing tokenization and the future of markets.
And to the many women across trading, compliance, technology, and market infrastructure shaping our industry, we celebrate you this month and every month.
Surveyor Product Perspective
Strengthening Oversight Where Markets Are Evolving
Recently, our product work focused on strengthening surveillance coverage where market activity and oversight complexity are increasing.
Two areas we prioritized:
- Expanded Event Contract Monitoring
As participation grows across event-driven markets, we enhanced monitoring capabilities for event contracts to help firms supervise these products with greater consistency and control.
- Enhanced Best Execution Visualization & Detection
We improved best execution visualizations and related alert detection, helping teams more efficiently identify execution outliers and support clearer supervisory documentation around routing and execution quality.
These improvements reflect what we’re hearing across the market: firms need analytics built for modern trading environments. Our enhancements provide clearer execution visuals and stronger monitoring across event contracts which continue to be shaped through collaboration with early market participants.
Read Melissa Watras, our Director of Product’s full product update here. Interested in seeing these capabilities in action? Let’s schedule time to connect.
Regulatory Radar
- CFTC explores regulatory framework for prediction markets
The CFTC is preparing potential rules for prediction markets as event-driven trading platforms gain participation. Oversight frameworks are likely to focus on market integrity, transparency, and supervisory controls as these markets expand. (Source: CFTC)
- Nasdaq proposes binary options linked to the Nasdaq-100
Nasdaq has filed a proposed rule change with the SEC to list binary options tied to the Nasdaq-100 and Nasdaq-100 Micro Index. The contracts would allow outcome-based trading tied to the direction of the index. (Source: SEC Filing)
- Crypto classification framework moves forward
The SEC has submitted guidance proposing a “token taxonomy” to help determine whether digital assets should be regulated as securities under the SEC or commodities under the CFTC. Clearer classification could shape how crypto firms register, disclose information, and operate. (Source: SEC)
- FINRA highlights surveillance effectiveness in firm risk assessments
FINRA outlined how it evaluates member firms when determining exam scope and regulatory focus. Factors include trading complexity, surveillance effectiveness, regulatory data quality, and the firm’s ability to demonstrate supervisory review. Firms are increasingly evaluated on the strength and reliability of their monitoring programs, not just outcomes. (Source: FINRA)
Market Structure and Compliance Trends
CFTC Signals Potential Regulatory Path for Event Contracts
The CFTC recently issued a notice seeking public comment on how event contracts and prediction markets should be treated under U.S. law. A central question regulators are evaluating is whether these markets should be classified as financial derivatives or products more akin to gambling instruments.
The CFTC’s current view is that many event contracts could qualify as swaps, binary options, or futures. If so, they would fall under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), bringing them closer to the regulatory framework applied to traditional derivatives markets.
That distinction matters for firms operating or supporting these markets. Under the CEA, designated contract markets are expected to prohibit abusive trading practices, list contracts that are not readily susceptible to manipulation, maintain effective market surveillance and implement position limits or accountability for speculative trading.
If event contracts move further into regulated derivatives frameworks, oversight expectations will likely resemble those already applied in traditional futures markets.
The rules are still being shaped and prediction markets may look very different in the next 12–18 months. For firms evaluating participation, early planning around surveillance, monitoring, and risk controls is crucial.
Event Contracts Move Toward the Mainstream
Event-driven markets continue to evolve quickly. Along with seeing continued growth from prediction platforms, exchanges are beginning to explore similar structures. Nasdaq recently filed a proposal with the SEC to list binary options tied to the Nasdaq-100 index, a signal that event-style trading may increasingly appear within traditional exchange environments.
Using event contract data we ingest from early market participants, we’ve been observing just how quickly order flow can accelerate particularly during geopolitical developments or major global events.
One area of focus across firms is identifying potential informational advantages as markets approach resolution. In response to these dynamics, we recently introduced a new insider dealing detection alert designed to help teams identify suspicious trading patterns tied to event outcomes earlier in the review process.
As event-driven markets continue to mature, firms are increasingly preparing for oversight expectations to take shape early rather than after these products scale.
Surveillance Strength Is Becoming a Risk Factor
Another development we are watching closely is how regulators are evaluating firms’ supervisory programs.
FINRA recently published guidance outlining how it performs member firm risk assessments which influence exam scope, frequency, and regulatory focus. Among the factors considered are the complexity of trading activity, the effectiveness of automated monitoring, the quality of regulatory data, and a firm’s ability to demonstrate supervisory review.
In practice, this reinforces something many teams are already experiencing: surveillance expectations are becoming continuous rather than exam-driven.
Firms are increasingly being evaluated on the strength of their monitoring systems, the completeness of their trade and order data, and the clarity of their alert review workflows.
Across conversations with trading and compliance leaders, the focus is shifting toward building monitoring frameworks that can scale with modern trading activity while supporting clear supervisory documentation when questions arise.
Poll: FINRA Risk Assessments
FINRA recently shared how it evaluates member firms when determining exam scope and regulatory focus. The assessment looks at factors such as trading complexity, the effectiveness of surveillance programs, data quality, and a firm’s ability to demonstrate supervisory review.
Many firms are taking a closer look at how their monitoring programs support defensible oversight.
Where is your team most focused on strengthening surveillance today?
- Cross-product monitoring
- Alert review documentation
- Trade & order data quality
- Coverage for new products
Participate in the community poll here.
Our Social Calendar
NYSE International Women’s Day Breakfast
We were honored to participate in the NYSE International Women’s Day Breakfast, where our Senior Manager of Marketing joined a panel discussion on tokenization and the evolving structure of financial markets. We discussed what tokenization means in practice and how the technology is being applied to modernize parts of existing financial infrastructure. A key takeaway was that this evolution will likely be gradual, blending digital innovation with the parts of traditional finance that already work well, including compliance frameworks and investor protections.
FIA Boca- Let’s Continue the Conversation
Our President, Lisa Balter Saacks recently attended FIA Boca, where leaders across the global futures and derivatives ecosystem gathered to discuss market structure, trading innovation, and evolving oversight expectations.
If you didn’t get a chance to connect with Lisa in person, we’d still welcome the opportunity to continue the conversation. Reach out to schedule a 1:1 discussion with Lisa.
TradeTech Ops
Surveyor also attended TradeTech Ops in Orlando, where buy-side and sell-side operations leaders discussed how firms are modernizing trading infrastructure, improving data management, navigating evolving regulations, and using automation and AI to streamline post-trade workflows. If you attended as well, we’d love to hear what conversations stood out to you.
SIFMA C&L Annual Seminar – Visit us at Booth 118
We’re proud to sponsor SIFMA’s Compliance & Legal Seminar. Stop by Booth 118 for shade protection, the compliance socks everyone will be rocking, and conversation on prediction markets, 23/5 trading, and how firms are evolving surveillance and analytics to meet these evolving market demands. Read our Surveyor Market Brief here: https://trilliumsurveyor.com/3-market-themes-ahead-of-sifma-cl/.
Let’s Connect!
Let’s discuss how your team can stay ready as markets evolve and oversight expectations grow. Set up a brief time to chat here.
