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From a trade surveillance perspective, fixed income has historically been overlooked compared to other asset classes. Thanks to their diverse, fragmented nature, building solutions for these markets involves a higher degree of difficulty, while their lower volumes mean they are often deprioritized in favor of equities.
Is this lack of attention now translating into a higher rate of enforcement actions? In 2024, FINRA has been notably active in its oversight of fixed income markets, levying several fines for unfair prices in corporate and municipal bond transactions. In many instances, these cases involve prices that are egregiously away from the market.
The message is clear: fixed income markets have gone under-surveilled for too long. Regulators are now increasing their scrutiny of this asset class. In effect, they’re asking market participants to modernize their approach or risk the consequences.
For this reason, Surveyor is actively working to expand its fixed income coverage. With hyper-accurate filters that detect the most high-priority forms of manipulative trading behavior (including cross-product manipulation), our trade surveillance platform is equipped to help industry firms monitor activity in the fixed income markets with a level of sophistication that will satisfy regulators. With an array of modern capabilities at their fingertips, these market participants can pursue their fixed income strategies without fear of monetary or reputational loss.
With regulators scrutinizing trading behavior like never before, satisfying their requirements while maintaining efficiency is a very real challenge. But with the right tools for the job, it can be that much easier.
– Lisa Balter Saacks, President, Trillium Surveyor
Product Spotlight
Introducing Parameters by Surveyor
In today’s markets, effective trade surveillance requires a granular approach. Market participants must have the ability to control the state of any event, respond to new developments, and enhance their approach on an ongoing basis.
Surveyor Parameters is the answer. This new self-service module will enable users to access and manage a full library of parameter settings, giving them a unique level of control and insight into their trade surveillance.
Parameters will be rolled out in three phases. Phase 1 is now live!
- Phase 1: View your library of parameters and review and export settings and historical change logs for every parameter since onboarding
- Phase 2: Change your parameter settings as needed in response to evolving client trading behavior and shifting regulatory requirements
- Phase 3: Back-test new parameter settings and build a customized parameter library using your historical trading data in a sandbox environment
We welcome your feedback on functionality, enhancements, and modifications to improve the experience. Reach out to support@trilliumsurveyor.com to start a conversation.
Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going
Women in Digital Assets Forum 2024
Our team had a great experience at the Women in Digital Assets Forum 2024, hosted by TabbFORUM. We learned about some of the key issues and innovations affecting the crypto landscape, including how female executives are in many cases leading the charge toward solutions. We also managed to work in some productive conversations on trade surveillance!
XLoD Global – New York
We also enjoyed our time at XLoD Global New York, one of the world’s leading events for financial industry leaders in charge of non-financial risk and compliance. Many of the panels and fireside interviews in the program discussed trade surveillance, validating our position that this is an increasingly vital area of focus for market participants.
Looking Ahead
Next month, we’re excited to attend the Canadian STA Annual Conference 2024 – August 15-18 in Quebec City! Our Director of Business Development Rob Cope will be onsite to learn about the latest trends affecting the Canadian equities market and how effective trade surveillance can help.
Crowdsource Corner: European Expansion
We want to hear from you! As market participants increasingly look to grow and diversify, Europe is a natural target for expansion. However, entering new markets – particularly those in an entirely different jurisdiction – presents a host of compliance implications, including new trade surveillance responsibilities. While Surveyor serves several firms operating in Europe today, we are actively enhancing our platform to more comprehensively support global trading.
We’d like your help as we define our roadmap. If you’re operating in Europe today, what are the biggest challenges you face from a compliance and trade surveillance standpoint? If you don’t, what’s one new region or new market you’d like to move into in the relatively near term? Let us know via email.
