Aligning technology and people can be a difficult task. Historically as technology is introduced in an industry it is done so at the expense of collaboration, as it attempts to streamline or make efficient the process it is intended to improve.
We’ve seen the same trend in trading. Back when I was on the NYSE floor as a Specialist I collaborated with people every minute of every day to facilitate trades. As the market moved towards electronic trading and algorithms started to decide when and where to execute, the market color provided by brokers was lost.
While technology revolutionized trading, it also dehumanized the relationship between the buy side and sell side. Technology itself, is only a platform for facilitation and its real value is derived from the user’s proficiency in applying its outputs. At Clearpool, as invested as we are in technology we believe deeply in the human element.
Today, brokers are under extreme pressure to not only obtain best execution but also be transparent about how they intend to do so. To meet the demand for transparency brokers will be required now more than ever to leverage technology and collaborate with their buy side clients in building and testing strategies to achieve best ex.
I recently had the opportunity to discuss this issue with Valerie Bogard of the Tabb Group at their annual conference Equities 2017: Forward or Backward – Where Are We Headed?