American Financial Technology Awards 2018 | Infopro Digital Risk (IP) Limited | New York, USA

The American Financial Technology Awards (AFTAs) consist of two sections: End-User categories and Vendor categories. Only end-user firms banks, brokers, asset manager and hedge funds may enter the end-user categories. Only third-party technology providers may enter the vendor categories.

Hosted by Waters magazine and WatersTechnology.com, the AFTAs recognize excellence in the deployment and management of financial technology within the asset management and investment banking communities.

Best Global Deployment
• This award focuses on global technology deployments for the wholesale trading environment. The judges are looking for successful rollouts that standardize the firm's trading platform and improve interactions with local markets in at least two regions.

Best Risk Management Initiative
• The winner of this category will be the buy-side or sell-side firm that best illustrates its ability to manage its risk exposure on a pre-and post-trade basis, incorporating a mix of reliable and transparent risk measures, underpinned by a high-performance computing architecture.

Best Analytics Initiative
• This category rewards innovative uses of analytics tools to improve efficiency and operations. The judges are looking for submissions that, for example, highlight the use of analytics tools to improve processes such as collateral management, compliance and surveillance, and transaction-cost analysis, where the implementation of the technology has delivered real and measurable benefits to the business.

Best Reporting Initiative
• As local, national and international regulations mount, firms need to upgrade their reporting infrastructure, not only to comply with rules already in place, but also to address those in the pipeline. This award will reflect the platform's reporting capabilities as well as its flexibility and scalability to meet new reporting environments.

Best Cross-Asset Trading Initiative
• Open to individual business units, entries in this category should focus on projects that have been live for at least six months. The judges are looking for creative responses to delivering cross-asset trading capabilities to institutional clients. The application of technical expertise and end-users' derived benefits should feature prominently in firms' entries.

Best Data Management Initiative
• The winner of this award will demonstrate an innovative data management strategy that improves data quality and reduces costs across the enterprise through the standardization and consolidation of data management systems/tools.

Best Cloud Initiative
• Cloud computing has reduced overall computing costs, but it has also added an extra layer of complexity to infrastructure management. This award is open to buy-side and sell-side firms, as well as exchanges, that can demonstrate the greatest return on investment through deploying an internal cloud or integrating one or more third-party cloud environments.

Best Infrastructure Initiative
• This award focuses on global infrastructure deployments on the buy side or the sell side. The judges are looking for innovative strategies that deliver basic infrastructure support across the enterprise, reduce costs, and improve the delivery time of necessary resources to local clients.

Most Cutting-Edge IT Initiative
• This award goes to a firm that has undertaken an IT project or leveraged technology in a new or unique way that sets it apart from its competitors. Past winners have been recognized for the rollout of advanced algorithmic trading strategies and tools, and novel FPGA deployments.

Best IT Integration Initiative
• Mergers and acquisitions of entire firms or business units often owe their success or failure to how well disparate IT systems and infrastructures are merged. The winner of this award will have successfully combined the technology of two or more firms such that the end result is stronger than the sum of its parts.

Best Mobile Strategy Initiative
• This category will go to the firm that is best able to enhance or improve its workflow, and increase the flexibility and agility of its workforce through the use of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

End-User Categories:

Best Compliance Initiative:
• Regulatory reforms affect all participants of any size in the modern financial markets. This award will reflect the best use of technology to enhance an institution's compliance with local and international regulations, in addition to client mandates.

Best Technology Executive, Buy Side:
• This award will go to a US-based senior technology executive on the buy side. Past winners have spearheaded global infrastructure integrations, led projects that successfully managed operational risk, instituted IT programs and deployments to significantly reduce costs, and leveraged new technology in a unique way. Buy-side CIOs who have appeared on the cover of Waters magazine over the past 12 months will automatically be considered for this award.

Best Technology Executive, Sell Side:
• This award will go to a US-based senior technology executive on the sell side. Past winners have spearheaded global infrastructure integrations, led projects that successfully managed operational risk, instituted IT programs and deployments to significantly reduce costs, and leveraged new technology in a unique way. Sell-side CIOs who have appeared on the cover of Waters magazine over the past 12 months will automatically be considered for this award.

Best IT Team - Buy Side:
• This award honors the technology team from a buy-side firm that successfully delivers the goods to its firm and clients. The winner will be the team that demonstrates a solid, end-to-end strategy to handle everything from risk management to compliance and data administration, while still providing innovative and cutting-edge trading solutions.

Best IT Team - Sell Side:
• This award honors the IT team from a sell-side firm that successfully delivers the goods to its firm and clients. The winner will be the team that demonstrates a solid, end-to-end strategy to handle everything from risk management to compliance and data administration, while still providing innovative and cutting-edge trading solutions.

Technology Vendor Categories:

Best Third-Party Technology Vendor IT Team:
• The best technology team award will go to the group that illustrates collaboration, team work, innovative software development methods, and efficient delivery techniques, and works closely with its capital markets clients to provide maximum value through the software and services it provides.

Best Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology Initiative - New for 2017:
• This category will be awarded to the most innovative use of AI technology in a product or service in a live environment within a sell-side or buy-side firm. Entrants must provide details of the deployment including the name of the end-user firm.
Please note that all information in all entries is strictly confidential.

Best New Technology Introduced over the Last 12 months - New for 2017:
• This category will be awarded to the most innovative technology/service/solution launched over the course of the last 12 months (October 2016 to October 2017). All entries across the front, middle and back offices will be considered. The judges will be looking for a technology/service/solution that closely addresses a current industry need.

Best Third-Party Technology Vendor CIO or CEO:
• This category will be awarded to the best CIO or CEO who has been particularly innovative or instrumental in heading up their firm's technology and services developed specifically for capital markets clients.

Most Innovative Third-Party Technology Vendor:
• This award will go to a technology provider (firm) that illustrates the extent to which it has embraced innovative development techniques/operating models to deliver valuable products and services to its capital markets clients.

Best Front-Office Initiative:
• This award will go to the vendor that has introduced innovation across the functions traditionally associated with the front office (OMS/EMS/portfolio management/algorithmic trading and decision support) over the last 12 months (October 2016-October 2017).

Best Middle-Office Initiative:
• This award will go to the vendor that has introduced innovation across the functions traditionally associated with the middle office (risk management/performance measurement and attribution/reporting and compliance) over the last 12 months (October 2016-October 2017).

Best Back-Office Initiative:
• This award will go to the vendor that has introduced innovation across the functions traditionally associated with the back office (reconciliation and clearing and settlement) over the last 12 months (October 2016-October 2017).

Best Collaboration Initiative:
• This category will be awarded to a technology vendor that has worked in close collaboration with a capital markets firm on a specific project over the course of the last 12 months (October 2016-October 2017).

Best Partnership or Alliance:
• This category will be awarded jointly to two technology providers that have collaborated to offer their capital markets clients a joint offering.

Best Use of the Agile Methodology:
• This category will be awarded to the third-party technology vendor that best illustrates its adoption and use of the Agile development methodology to deliver regular software updates to a capital markets firm.

Best Trading Infrastructure Provider:
• This category will be awarded to the firm that provides the most innovative trading-related infrastructure to the capital markets. All trading-related platforms and technologies will be considered for this award.

Best Communication Infrastructure Provider:
• This category will be awarded to the firm that provides the most innovative communication infrastructure to the capital markets. All communication, monitoring and communication storage/archiving technologies will be considered for this award.

2017 Winners

END-USER CATEGORIES:

BEST ANALYTICS INITIATIVE:
• Credit Suisse

BEST CLOUD INITIATIVE:
• Northern Trust

BEST COMPLIANCE INITIATIVE:
• Bank of America Merrill Lynch

BEST CROSS-ASSET TRADING INITIATIVE:
• State Street Corporation

BEST DATA MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE:
• Deutsche Bank

BEST INFRASTRUCTURE INITIATIVE:
• J.P. Morgan Asset & Wealth Management

BEST IT INTEGRATION INITIATIVE:
• Cowen

BEST IT TEAM:
• Charles Schwab Investment Management

BEST MOBILE STRATEGY INITIATIVE:
• Janus Henderson

BEST REPORTING INITIATIVE:
• State Street Corporation

BEST RISK MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE:
• TD Securities

BEST TECHNOLOGY EXECUTIVE:
• Buy Side Mike Urciuoli (J.P. Morgan)

BEST TECHNOLOGY EXECUTIVE:
• Sell Side Jodi Richard (US Bank)

MOST CUTTING-EDGE IT INITIATIVE:
• J.P. Morgan Asset & Wealth Management

VENDOR CATEGORIES:

BEST AI TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE:
• FIS

BEST BACK-OFFICE INITIATIVE:
• SmartStream Technologies

BEST COLLABORATION INITIATIVE:
• SS&C Advent

BEST COMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE PROVIDER:
• IPC Systems

BEST FRONT-OFFICE INITIATIVE:
• State Street Global Exchange

BEST MIDDLE-OFFICE INITIATIVE:
• RIMES Technologies

BEST NEW TECHNOLOGY INTRODUCED OVER THE LAST 12 MONTHS - FRONT OFFICE:
• IHS Markit

BEST NEW TECHNOLOGY INTRODUCED OVER THE LAST 12 MONTHS - INFRASTRUCTURE:
• Metamako

BEST NEW TECHNOLOGY INTRODUCED OVER THE LAST 12 MONTHS - MIDDLE AND BACK OFFICE:
• AdvantageData

BEST NEW TECHNOLOGY INTRODUCED OVER THE LAST 12 MONTHS - RISK COMPLIANCE AND REPORTING:
• AQMetrics

BEST PARTNERSHIP OR ALLIANCE:
• Thomson Reuters and Symphony

BEST THIRD-PARTY TECHNOLOGY VENDOR CIO OR CEO:
• Neil Barua (IPC Systems)

BEST THIRD-PARTY TECHNOLOGY VENDOR IT TEAM:
• Axioma

BEST TRADING INFRASTRUCTURE PROVIDER:
• Cobalt

BEST USE OF THE AGILE METHODOLOGY:
• Confluence

MOST INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY VENDOR - FRONT OFFICE:
• Overbond

MOST INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY VENDOR - INFRASTRUCTURE:
• UnaVista

MOST INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY VENDOR - MIDDLE OFFICE:
• S3 Partners

MOST INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY VENDOR - RISK, COMPLIANCE AND REPORTING:
• Imagine Software