Continued increased interest in Investment Book of Record (IBOR) systems will continue to shape front-office trading operations and alpha generation in 2017, predicts Joshua Satten, head of the fintech practice at Sapient Global Markets, the Boston-based business technology and consulting provider.
“IBOR is bringing together front, middle and back office data,” he said. “As we trade electronically and more in real time, the back and middle office bubbles up more into the front office. We also keep seeing IBOR used for better alpha intelligence.”
IBOR, a single trusted source of investment data throughout an enterprise, “doesn’t actually help you make better decisions to make better trades,” said Satten. “IBOR is really about middle- and back-office data — analytics; was the trade confirmed; what’s the price and valuation.”
Whether firms call their trading data operations IBOR, “order management system optimization,” or something else, they ought to remove distinctions between administrative or custodial relationships and front-office systems, according to Satten.
“IBOR brings that all together. It is having a system that is real-time, and has your portfolio information, when you need it, as you need it,” he said. “You need to be aware of what’s in your book. … Some shops look for a new service provider or vendor, because they think it’s just a technology or system upgrade. They’re really trying to create a better book of record for themselves and a more accessible user interface around it.”
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