I Don't Care How... Just Answer Me!
Monday, April 23, 2012 By
Jonathan Morton, VP Product Marketing
Raise your hand if you’re guilty of either saying or hearing one of these things recently:
- "Don’t give me a long explanation, don’t tell me you’ll get back to me, just get me the information I need!"
- "I don’t care how… just answer me!"
- "Get compliance and the analyst on the line STAT!"
OK, you can put your hand down now. We’ve heard the same things from some of our very own customers, including top global banks. We know that trading floors are fast paced environments – often times frenetic. Traders need information instantly, and they need it to be accurate – even more so these days, with thinner margins, more competition, and a tougher regulatory environment. That’s why instant collaboration across the trade lifecycle is ever more important, and it’s the reason financial firms are implementing solutions to facilitate that collaboration.
When a Sales trader has a counter party on the line, and he needs a piece of research data to back up his position, he can’t afford to call his client back later after he’s spoken to his research analyst – it might be too late, because that time lost could translate to a lost deal. Similarly, when a trader is in the middle of completing a trade, and he needs to confirm an element of the overall strategy with his portfolio manager, he can’t call back later, or the opportunity may be lost. Traders need instant access to portfolio managers and research analysts so they can be more effective, get answers quickly, close deals, and keep clients happy.
Compliance plays an increasingly important role, as they move from reviewing trades after-the-fact to involved business managers that need a real-time view of trades, and who have authority to intervene when deemed necessary. Simply put, they need to be:
- part of the conversation as complex trades are being created
- part of the morning call to hear the day’s strategy
- instantly accessible when the portfolio manager or trader have a question that invariably can’t wait
So what’s the common denominator here? A unified trading communications platform.
Connecting the traders, the portfolio managers, the research analysts, and compliance to a common communications platform allows them to collaborate with each other much more effectively and efficiently. And that translates to real business benefits. Providing them with purpose-built devices for hoots (internal conference calls normally limited to traders) and intercom (instant, hands-free voice communication) means they’re always in the loop, and instantly reachable. Whether it’s a hardware device, a PC application, or an app for the iPad, these trading collaboration tools give traders the answers they need, when they need them, so they can close deals, retain clients, and generate more revenue for their firms.
We’ve been listening to our customers and working closely with them to develop an innovative suite of solutions that enables faster collaboration between the front, middle and back office and do one thing: make a buck or two or a million. The proof isn’t just in the pudding, it’s in the ROI too. To see for yourself, stop by our booth #161 at TradeTech in London for a live demo.