Like most other sectors within the larger business world, the financial industry continues to be greatly influenced by technology innovations. This fact is especially true when it comes to securities trading, as companies look to gain a competitive advantage by executing trades as quickly as possible.
Two major systems exist for the processing of financial trades – Order Management Systems (OMS) and a relative upstart, Execution Management Systems (EMS). What follows is a high level of overview of both systems along with an example product from each. Let’s take a closer look at Linedata’s Longview OMS and Fidessa’s Workstation EMS.
A Closer Look at Order Management Systems
An OMS is an essential part of a financial trader’s technology toolbox. A typical system includes either a single application performing multiple functions, or separate modules within one parent app. Most OMS applications include functionality to handle order generation and execution, compliance, as well as settlement support. They also integrate with other systems for reporting and analytical purposes.
Linedata’s Longview application is aimed at wealth managers responsible for large and diverse portfolios. It features an integrated platform allowing managers access to a wide range of functionality from a common dashboard interface. The tool also leverages configurable system alerts to inform traders about a variety of noteworthy events, including overdrafts, investment drift, and concentrated cash positions.
Compliance requirements are also part of the package, including robust audit trail functionality and Regulation 9 support. The system is also highly scalable, so managers handling large and diverse portfolios needn’t worry about their trading software not processing trades in a timely fashion. The highly flexible application easily integrates with web services while allowing for dashboard customization based on user needs.
The Emergence of Execution Management Systems
The EMS is a 21st Century innovation in financial technology offering an agile approach to trade processing. As with Agile software development, the focus is on providing state of the art functionality as quickly as possible; in many cases reacting to the changing financial markets. Fidessa Workstation is one example of a popular EMS application.
Speed of trade processing is a great competitive differentiator between EMS applications as well as their OMS cousins. As such, Workstation integrates with the Fidessa’s own trading networks, giving portfolio managers easy access to markets all over the world. It is a great example of how technology innovations continue to make a positive impact on the financial trading industry.
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