Trading Tech Talk

CTO Interview: Today's guest is Joseph Wesley, Founder & CEO of Vesel Interactive.

He discusses:

• An overview of his background in the derivatives market?
• What is Vesel?
• Who is Vesel's end user?
• How many firms are using the Vesel system right now?
• How does Vesel generate your derivatives volume reports?
• Why do firms share their data with Vesel?
• What safeguards are there against firms under/over-reporting their volume or marketshare?
• An overview of VolAxe?
• How easy is it for clients to build their own hook into the system using the API?
• How does this offering compare with what the guys at EQ derivatives are offering?
• Teases of upcoming Vesel developments

Listener Mail: Listener questions and comments

• Question from Avalone - What is the take on coinbase. Seems to be making a lot of headlines. Exchange went live this morning. Any takers out there for these bitcoin things?
• Question from VTech - Are there specific GUI challenges for options front ends vs. equities? I know that options have more series than equites. Does that translate into any unique needs for those products vs. standard cash equities? I am studying UX at school with the hopes of breaking into the financial realm after graduation, perhaps on the derivatives software side.
• Question from Mark Brant - @Options Please explain how options block trades are executed and how to transition to block trading from retail work. Thanks!

Hot Topics in Tech: SEC plans to fix data release flaw in Q1 2015. SEC pokes hole in argument it is too slow to get grip on markets. Nobel laureate Stiglitz blocked from SEC panel after faulting high-speed traders. Finally progress on obvious error rules: BATS obvious error filing. Big fund managers form new dark pool equity trading venue. Cyber Security: JP Morgan and Target attack. CME Group fines three firms for automated trading violations. Dark Pools Detente: ICE has unlikely ally on trading proposal.

The Inbox: Listener Questions and Comments

• Question from Andy Charles - You guys were pretty dismissive of Robin Hood on the last show. Do you feel that is because you are not really the target market - you are not 23 with $200 to your name? Are you giving it a fair shake?
• Question from Tim C - NYSE invests $75M in Coinbase. Nadex lists Bitcoin binaries. Tera Exchange lists Bitcoin derivatives. Is it time to accept that Bitcoin is here to stay?

Trading Tech Talk 21: The Best and Worst of 2014

The Best/Worst of 2014:

• Best - Increased willingness to discuss cyber security in the financial markets.
• Worst - Post-Flash Boys backlash.
• Worst - Growing stranglehold of regulation, regardless of cost, impact or unintended consequences.
• Worst - Continued reduction in tech budgets in 2014.
• Worst (Best?) - FINRA tightening the leash on algo regulation.
• Best - Detente on patent disputes in the financial markets.
• Worst (Best?) - Death of Darkpools?
• Worst - Continued explosion of options exchanges.
• Worst - Technology outpacing regulators.
• What can we look forward to in 2015?

Trading Tech Talk 20: Real-Time Risk and Margin in the Cloud

CTO Interview: Today's guest is Robert Newhouse, CEO, Victor Technologies. He gives an overview of his background in the derivatives markets, and what he does at Victor Technologies. Enhanced analytics, Difference vs. Hanwick, GPU acceleration, and DJALI application.

Hot Topics in Tech: Cyber risk is a top concern, 84% tell DTCC. Financial technology sector complains of lack of bank services.

The Inbox: Listener questions and comments

• Question from Analagus: bit of a thought question for the TTT hosts. Who has an easier road to profit - an algo inclined trader who does not know how to program vs. a programmer who wants to trade?
• Question from George B., Los Angeles: My question is for Trading Tech Talk. I skipped FIA Chicago this year because I could not fit it into my schedule. But it's always a good show to get a read on the trends in tech for the coming year. The exhibit hall is one of the biggest I have ever seen. I know Mark probably attended since he's local, and perhaps the other hosts as well. Just curious if you could give a rundown for those of us who missed it as to the major tech themes coming out of the event.
• Question from Objectivist C: For all tech-related spends at firms has always been build v. buy. Seems like the answer typically fell on the build side if you wanted a competitive edge and to utilize proprietary systems or strategies. But with budgets being stretched much farther these days and upgrade cycles being extended do you foresee this trend shifting toward buy in the future? Particularly as popular trends like cloud adoption democratize access to powerful systems?

Trading Tech Talk 19: Can Crazy Math Save the Exchanges?

Hot Topics in Tech: Fresh SEC crackdown on "flash crashes." Final approval of Reg SCI. "CFTC is so underfunded that it cannot evolve to handle Bitcoin and modern electronic markets," says Chairman Massad. Formal verification for trading algorithms to improve exchange reliability?Are we in a fintech bubble?

The Inbox: Listener questions and comments

• Question from Neal Dorman - Saw a stat yesterday that an alarming number of millenials do not see the need for a bank. What does that mean for Fintech startups as well as support for this sector going forward? Is this the new buggy whip?
• Question from Avo - Can you discuss the complex order books at the options exchanges and how they function?In particular how they do not talk to each other or route orders away to other books? Are there any changes or developments in the works to fix this? Thanks for the show.
• Question from Dataman - Hola Tech team! I work ing cloud infrastructure for a big hosting company many of your listener are probably familiar with. I enjoy the show but I have to wonder if there just too many obstacles for mainstream tech like the buzz-heavy cloud to ever be fully embraced by financial services companies. Finance firms are not retail merchants or widget makers. They have severe restriction on their technology and their compliance. May I am a cynic, but I do not know if I ever see those obstacles being overcome. At least not translating into a "cloud" that is similar to what is available in other industries.

Trading Tech Talk 18: Spoofing Dark Pools

Hot Topics in Tech: Barclay's dark pool trading rises 23% as bank recovers from lawsuit. Dark pools pitched as havens are anything but, T. Rowe says. NYSE pulls reg back from FINRA, leans on tech. Spoofing - everything old is new again - High-speed trader accused of commodity market "spoofing". High-frequency firm said to be finalist to run Nasdaq Price Feed. Expand automated trading safeguards to include brokerages, SEC members say. CME cuts tech jobs. Sungard cautions on "fintech" valuations

The Inbox: Listener questions and comments

Question from Sal Warren: Love the tech program. Great addition to the network. I'd like to know what impact the growing incubator and startup scenes in NYC and Chicago will have on fintech going forward. Do you expect to see the next big innovations on the scene coming from entrepreneurs rather than established players like exchanges or vendors? Last up - does trade alert offer API access if i want to include their data in my models?

Trading Tech Talk 17: What Exactly is Best Ex?

Hot Topics in Tech: OCC and the U.S. Options Exchanges announce new risk control standards to strengthen industry projections. FINRA approved a series of new rule changes focused on high-frequency trading and algorithmic trading. BABA IPO goes fairly smoothly. Chicago Stock Exchange turns to tech to save itself. Robin Hood app. Yet another attempt at zero commission stock trading. Just what the hell is "Best Ex"? Tabb Group jumps into best ex fray with clarity.

The Inbox: Listener questions and comments.

• Question from Astro429: what do you think is the biggest obstacle to microwave adoption in the U.S. financial community?
• Question from Silas J.- this question is for the trading tech talk radio program. Hi Mark, Henry et al - great show. I'm hearing a lot of talk about enhanced data feeds coming from vendors and exchanges. You touched on this way back in episode 3. I would like to know if the landscape has changed and if you’re seeing more players enter this space? Is this the future? Am I going to be able to run sophisticated algos on my phone soon because all the computational work is being done in the cloud and pushed to me? Personally I think that would be pretty cool. Also can you guys do a show on getting started as a quant or developer in the fintech space? Thanks.

Trading Tech Talk 16: Upgrade Dilemmas and Open Source Surprises

Hot Topics in Tech: ICE conquest continues with SuperDerivatives acquisition. Wall Street firms push back against Bloomberg's dominance in instant messaging. Dark pool volume not impacted by bad press, regulatory fines & pending litigation. ParFX trials high-speed market makers on their trading platform. Doubts raised over global forex platform. Korea reveals derivatives safety measures. No rush to upgrade OMSs among sell-side firms. TABB Group jumps into best ex fray with clarity.

The Inbox: Listener questions and comments

• Question from Jerry - I was surprised to learn recently that Goldman Sachs is using open source software for many of their trading systems? Do you guys find that as surprising as I do particularly in the wake of Flash Boys?
• Question from Simtech - Most tech startups talk about getting to a minimum viable product. Can startups and firms in the financial technology space even do that, given all of the regulatory and compliance hurdles in place? They essentially have to launch with a finished products that is ready to go. Does that place an unfair burden on startups in the financial space?

Trading Tech Talk 15: Virtual Machines Vs. Bare Metal

Hot Topics in Tech: MMI gets Chilton as an adviser to an industry group for high-speed traders less than six months after stepping down as a US regulator. Glitch Season Returns - Nasdaq breakdown causes "stuck" orders. CME futures trade resumes after technical glitch - trade begins about four hours late. Big Data - Improving research an going visual.

Data visualization demand spikes. TD Ameritrade dispute turns spotlight on US patent legislation. Citi pays $5m to settle SEC data charges. Greifeld warns on "perverted" dark pools - Legitmare point or exchange executive slamming the competition

The Inbox: Listener questions and comments

• Question from Joe Mein: I'm writing with a question for options tech talk. Can the hosts relate their experiences with AWS - particularly EC2 - when it comes to using their virtual CPUS to backtest models for options trading. Is this an efficient way to extend our capability without making a large hardware investment or is there too much latency to be of much use. I've heard mixed things about Amazon's virtual CPUS from some peers and hope this program can help settle the debate. Also if not AWS, are there alternatives you can recommend?
• Question from Bosun: This one is for the tech heads on TTT. Great program. I'm an active retail trader and fan of the Option Block and Volatility Views. But Trading Tech Talk is growing on my radar as I'm starting to learn more about what's going on under the hood in the markets. That stuff is pretty scary but mark and the panel do a good job of setting us straight. It also makes me wonder what I can do to profit with this tech. I keep coming across services that claim to provide actionable trading data from social media. I know this is the hot trend right now so we're bound to see more of these in the coming months. I'd like to know if you guys buy into this trend or think it's just a fad. Any service recs would also be a plus.

Trading Tech Talk 14: End of the Race to Zero

CTO Interview Segment: Today';s guest is Dan Sacks, CEO of Actant.

He discusses:

• An overview of his background in the derivatives space.
• A background of Actant.
• Actant's key products and consumers
• Free troubleshooting for your clients
• How important is speed?
• What is the use case for Actant's Extstream product?
• What does Extstream offer that the legion of other risk/analytics platforms do not?
• How he feels about changing fee schedules?
• What was the genesis behind the recent deal with Liquidpoint?
• What he thinks of the recent controversy over the Globex outage?
• Have we reached the point where adding new venues is simply risk prohibitive at this point?

Hot Topics in Tech: ICE buys patents from Trade Technologies. What is sufficiently accurate to collect timestamps on multi-party electronic trading data? Is it seconds, milliseconds, microseconds, or nanoseconds? 'Flash Boys' and the Speed of Lies - By Brad Katsuyama

The Inbox: Listener questions and comments

• Comment from Kaiserdog76: Mark- Kudos again for covering Barclay's and the HFT shakedown that has been going on. It is the biggest thing no one seems to be talking about. Please keep it coming!
• Question from Anon. (withhold name): Loving the trading tech talk program. The episodes with Hull and Liquidpoint were great. I look forward to each new episode. I work for a vendor (which shall go unnamed) and i see a lot of these debates playing out every day. Quite frankly a lot of the firms that I deal with are fed up with shelling out every six months for new tech. They are overburdened by regulatory expenses that are siphoning off any remaining discretionary budgets and they are being forced to make do with the tech they already have. My question for the panel - do you think this will be the ultimate deciding factor in the financial technology space? Firms essentially saying "no mas" to increasing tech arms races, abandoning the already dated "race to zero" and instead focusing on new strats and products that take full advantage of their existing tech without a large additional capital outlay? Between you and me I'm already polishing my resume. So I guess that goes to show where I think things are heading. Love the show. I'll keep listening no matter how this thing shakes out. If you use this on the show please don't read my name.

Trading Tech Talk 13: Algo Hardware and High Speed Networks

CTO Interview: Today's guest is James Spooner, VP of Trading Platforms at Maxeler Technologies. In this segment, he discusses:

• An overview of his background in the financial market, as well an overview of what he does at Maxeler Technologies.
• If he has seen an increased demand for your products in the wake of Dodd/Frank?
• How Maxeler Technologies will custom design hardware to meet the specifications of a customer's algorithm
• His take on the recent criticisms regarding potential abuses of those networks raised by Michael Lewis and other authors?
• What he thinks of the introduction of artificial delays in HFT networks in an attempt to stifle abuses?
• If he thinks we are seeing growing concerns over a lack of synchronization in the financial markets, is this a concern for Maxeler as well?
• What new products or developments can we expect from Maxeler in the coming months?

Hot Topics in Tech: Clients are fleeing Barclays "dark pool" in the wake of a US lawsuit alleging the bank misled them about high frequency activity in its private trading venue. Is there too much noise in social media and financial analytics? T+2 may lead to more failed trades.

The Inbox: Listener questions and comments

• Question from Athlas: Seems like the front of the focus on HFT gaming in on the equity markets. I know you have discussed the penetration, or lack thereof, of this type of gaming into derivatives on earlier podcasts. My question is, why do you think this sort of gaming has not penetrated significantly into options and futures? Does the complexity of these instruments vs single price instruments, like stocks, make them less susceptible to latency issues and flickering quotes? Or is there something else at work here?
• Question from Rance Barber: I am a long-time listener to all of the Options Insider Radio shows and often hear Mark quote trading volume statistics. Have you identified any aggregate, reliable source for stock market trading volume data? I am looking for the data by month (2003-present) and it needs to include both traditional public exchanges as well as dark pool trading volume information. Any advice you can provide as to where I could find this data would be much appreciated. Thanks, Rance.
• Question from Guled - Hi! Which options software has the capability to automate the unusual options volume? E.g. with filters such as, on bid/ask, above/below open interest. Have found two professional grade LiveVol and Trade Alert, but do not know if they automate the process? Would be grateful for any help, many thanks in advance Thanks, Guled.

Trading Tech Talk 12: The Markets Are Out of Sync

Hot Topics in Tech: Regulators challenged by clock synchronization. Flash Boys continues to spur debate and some change, though the government will ultimately have to address the stock market's structure. Thomas Peterffy, one of the founding fathers of high-frequency trading, has offered the SEC a plan to keep HFTs from taking advantage of investors. Warren Buffett, business partner Charlie Munger, and Bill Gates slammed HFT on CNBC. They are no fans of high-frequency trading. Both brokers and investors are testing new ways to cope with the sheer volume of data the stock market produces. Goldman Sachs fined in dark pool debacle. It's not just the U.S. - Bombay Stock Exchange halted by network glitch.

The Inbox: Listener Questions & Comments

• Question from Hawkeye -Just wanted to share an observation. You guys have been saying that the HFT latency issues have not hit the options market, but I have been seeing otherwise. A couple weeks ago, I was trying to add some back month Oct slightly OTM VXX puts (-30 delta - they were not THAT far OTM) to add some contango protection to a spread position. The bid asked spread was about .40 cents wide so I split it with my limit order thinking I would have a reasonable chance of getting filled as the market moved around. (I use Tradestation, a direct access broker.). It showed that Tradestation auto-routed my order to the NASDAQ. It sat for a while without being filled, I happened to look at the market depth screen and sure enough, a bunch of other bids from other exchanges were showing with timestamps slightly ahead of my order. I cancelled and all the other bids backed down to where they were before I placed my order. I entered it again, same thing. I cancelled again, they moved back. Then I reentered the same bid, this time I specified it route to BOX, which was the one that went first in the queue the other times. Sure enough, I was first in the queue this time. This is where the retail guy gets screwed. The market makers do not seem to want to make a real market, but they are more than willing to block me from getting filled if someone else were to come in with a bid at my price. The other way we seem to get screwed over when I correctly pick a position and the underlying goes significantly my way, but the market makers decide that they only want to move one side of the spread. I end up looking to get out but the market is bid something stupid like bid 0.75, at 1.50 whereas when I got in when it was bid 0.52 at 0.58. I only trade penny pilot symbols with good option volume. I never buy in front of an implied volatility crush. Yet, this sort of action seems to happen way more often than it should. I just want the damn market makers to make an honest market. They want to be market makers but don't want to make markets. Thoughts? Love the shows. Hawkeye
• Question from Elsa74 - Hello tech stars. Like the new direction for the network with this program. It's about time someone tackled trading tech on a show and Options Insider Radio Network is a great place to do it. Great guests so far, particularly Blair Hull. That guy has a lot of insight into the markets. I am looking forward to the next guests on the program. Now for my question. It might sound strange but I would like to know if the hosts think trading tech may have gotten too good. The options market is a good example. The recent mergers of brokers like Options House and Trade Monster was driven in many ways by the fact that they need to spend millions to keep their platforms cutting edge and they simply cannot afford it. They need economies of scale to be viable and continue to offer that level of functionality to the consumer. Do you think options customers are hurting ourselves by demanding too much from our brokers and therefore driving them out of the business - depriving ourselves of choice at the end of the day? I personally would much rather have a dozen brokers to choose from with different platforms rather than two or three monoliths controlling the entire business. Thanks again for this insightful program. Any chance we’re going to see a weekly TTT going forward?
• Question from Indigo: You have said on the program several times that dark pools do not exist in the options market. Why is that? Is there some technical limitation preventing dark pools from launching in the options market vs. the equities market?

Trading Tech Talk 11: The Stealth Options Exchange

CTO Interview Segment: Today's guest is Joe Corona, Director of Strategic Planning and Product Strategy at LiquidPoint, LLC.

He discusses:

• An overview of his background in the derivatives markets
• An overview of LiquidPoint, which is part of ConvergEx Group
• Who is the typical end user?
• Is it true that LiquidPoint would be the equivalent of the #7 options exchange if you aggregated all of the flow?
• What are the main LiquidPoint algo types and what area of the derivatives market are they aimed at?
• How does LiquidPoint's algo address the many issues associated with executing multi-leg spreads across exchanges?
• Will their spread algo go the extra step and take delta risk on behalf of the client to execute an order?
• Does he feel that we have reached the point of diminishing returns and increasing risk whenever a new venue is added to the marketplace?
• His response to the post-Flashboys hysteria - particularly on the subject of dark pools?
• What was the impetus behind the recent software merger with Actant? What was the impetus behind your merger with LiveVol?

The Inbox: Listener questions and comments

• Question from Neal Finn - You discussed the tech problems with Mini options on a recent episode. NASDAQ released a notice two weeks ago saying they will no longer add new series to the existing Minis. Do you expect other exchanges to follow suit? Is this the end of Mini options?
• Question from StandingO - The options insider complies a significant amount of unusual activity on a daily basis. I find some of the more obviously illegal trades disturbing, such as the recent well-timed trades in DG ahead of the Carl Icahn announcement. What sort of technology does the SEC and CFTC use to track these trades and trace them back to their source? Or am I living in a dreamworld and do these guys typically get away with it?

Trading Tech Talk 10: The Anti-Pit Proposal

Hot Topics in Tech: Vesel Interactive - taking a look inside the black box. Industry group believes CME Group should suspend open-outcry trading if Globex crashes and reopen for after-hours session. Can we trust the SECs MIDAS touch? SEC supports plan to move more stock trading onto exchanges, away from private trading venues operated by banks and other firms.

The Lightning Round: Minis: the beginning of the end? Dark pools: the same? Flash Boys: Food for thought or hyperbolic source of disinformation?

The Inbox: Listener questions, comments, and feedback

• Question from Innovert - Lots of talk about the Options House/Trade Monster merger today. Many reasons being tossed around. Do you think Tech was a big driver? In particular the cost of developing and maintaining a cutting-edge options platform? Is the simply beyond the reach of smaller firms these days? Have we as options traders come to expect too many bells and whistles?
• Question from Derrin Jacoby - I have heard some talk about HTML5 on recent episodes. Can the hosts explain a little more about the benefits of this technology vs. earlier iterations of html? We did not see much in the way of Fin Tech web functionality with old versions of HTML. Everything sophisticated seemed locked to the proprietary client spectrum. Do you feel HTML5 has enough muscle to finally change that? Are we entering the brave new world of thin client functionality in the Fin Tech marketplace?
• Question from Big Data - Flash Boys focuses a lot of detriments of colocation at exchanges. The book interprets that this offers unfair advantage to firms willing to pay for access. Whether you agree with this conclusion or not, do you feel we are entering a period of increased regulation and potential backlash against colocation? I would imagine this is a substantial revenue source that the exchanges will not part with without a fight. And what about the large data center like Equinix? They seem to be ground zero for this debate? Do you think we will see increasing regulatory crackdown on this private data center side of the business?

Trading Tech Talk 9: Diving into the Dark Pools

Hot Topics in Tech: Exchange leaders take on dark pools. CBOE's Ed Tilly says less dark trades would benefit the market. Meanwhile, CME's Terry Duffy think regulators should look in dark pools. NYSE will pare down the number of customer orders. O'Malia says high-speed trading outpaces CFTC oversight. Goldman under investigation for high-speed trading. UBS launches new trading algo platform. Hedge funds pump liquidity into options markets.

The Inbox: Listener Questions and Comments

Question from Charles Beldon, Wichita, KA - I enjoyed your earlier program about cyber security at the exchanges. DO you feel this is a recent phenomenon resulting from the changing geopolitical climate? Or has this been the case for the past decade, and exchanges and brokerage firms are just owing up to it now?

Comment from Mr. Tor -Any chance of an exchange CTO roundtable on the show? Would be great to get the lay of the land, so to speak, from an exchange respective. Maybe brokers and prop firms as well? Thanks.

Trading Tech Talk 8: the Modern Markets Initiative

CTO Interview: Today we have Peter Nabicht, Former CTO at Allston.

He discusses:

An overview of the Modern Markets Initiative

• Research at MMI
• Some of the key takeaways/problems he found in Flash Boys
• The key tenet of the book that the markets are rigged against the little guy, and that HFT is the culprit
• His view on a minimum order lifespan and/or a charge for canceling orders, which Blair Hull advocated
• His view on dark pools, the other focus of Flash Boys

The Inbox: More Flash Boys, mini options

Question from Brendan Karl, Binghamton, NY - Great rundown of Flash Boys in your last episode guys. I'm sure you could probably fill many episodes with your problems with that book. But I'm curious what, if anything, you guys actually agreed with from the book? Thanks for putting this show on the air. Whether you agree with Flash Boys or not the book certainly shows that there needs to be more discussion on this topic. You guys are fighting the good fight.

Question from The Dark Horse - I've been hearing a lot about the failure (or potential failure) of the mini options lately. A lot of people seem to be pointing the finger at the symbology being such an implementation headache that the brokers and traders didn't want to touch them. What's your take?

Trading Tech Talk: The Great Flash Boys Debate

Hot Topics in Tech: It’s all HFT, all the time: The recent 60 Minutes interview with Michael Lewis along with his new book Flash Boys has reignited the conversation. My biggest problem with this book is that the material is so dated. It sounds like an OIC panel from 2006. Is HFT hurting the little guy? Is HFT impacting liquidity providers? Has the definition of front running changed? Charles Schwab calls HFT a "growing cancer."

The Inbox: Listener Questions

• Question from Charles Vitner - How is the process described in the new book Flash Boys by Michael Lewis not front running? If you do it five minutes or five milliseconds before the order is that not the same thing?
• Question from Anthony Neuberger - Can you please explain colocation and the benefits it offers? Why would a firm pay for this privilege?

Trading Tech Talk 6: Interview with Blair Hull

CTO Interview: Our guest on this episode is Blair Hull, Founder of Hull Trading, Founder of Ketchum Trading, and 2014 Sullivan Award recipient.

He discusses:

• The 1987 crash
• If trading technology leveled the playing field
• The impact of multiple market centers on trading tech failures
• If HFT is a detrimental force in the financial markets

Hot Topics in Tech: Exchanges are extremely concerned over cyber security. NY Attorney General Erick Schneiderman is looking at the "unfair advantages" high frequency traders have over regular investors. Futures traders embrace algorithms. European asset manager are moving to in-house electronic execution expertise. NASDAQ OMX ramps up technology sales to Asian exchanges.

The Inbox: In which the listeners dictate the conversation.

Question from Hawkeye - I want to know if HFT firms are allowed to jump to the front of the queue? If so, how is that justified? Also, if so, why should they not get in back like everybody else? Please give me the justification for this practice. On a similar vein, I know that some platforms allow you to hide the number of actual shares/contracts you have bid/offered, and instead you can show a smaller number so that you do not tip your hand. Do those remaining orders have to get in the back of the queue? Or are they also given favorable treatment? Why should they be allowed to lie? Thanks

Looking Ahead: TT is releasing a web-based HTML 5 version of XTrader.

Trading Tech Talk 5: 2014 Trading Technology 40

CTO Interview: Our guest today is Jeffrey Kutler, Editor-in-Chief of Risk Professional, the publication of the Global Association of the Risk Professionals (GARP). Jeff is the author of Institutional Investors "2014 Trading Technology 40."

He discusses:

• The criteria went into compiling the "Trading Tech 40"
• Is the race to zero over or is this just a brief hiatus?
• Did the growing impact of HFT on the marketplace factor into the Trading Tech 40?
• How did the many high-profile financial technology failures of 2013 factor into the 2014 list?
• How did the creation of a host of new SEF firms impact the list?

Notable names on the list:

• #1: ICE
• #2: CME
• #8: BATS

The Inbox: In which the listeners dictate the conversation.

• Question from Adam Boies, Ontario -Question for TTT - I would like to ask the TTT panel their opinion on the proliferation of private exchanges and marketplaces. These essentially create liquidity and access to capital for privately-held firms without the need for an IPO. What sort of tech hurdles are posed by a private marketplace vs. a traditional exchange? Will this new trend render the traditional IPO irrelevant? I enjoy your fine program and look forward to each new episode.
• Question from Alessandro Nici - From Google Glasses to Fitbit, the technology world is obsessed with wearables. Most of the focus in on the consumer tech space, but I am more interested in the potential in the financial space. Do you expect wearables to become a factor in the financial space in the near future? For example - trading via Google Glasses or perhaps managing your firms IT infrastructure at a glance from your Smartwatch? Is this perhaps an area where the retail sector might lead the institutional sector in adoption and implementation of a new technology? I for one look forward to the day when I can buy a few contracts with a simple nod of my head or the blink of an eye.
• Comment from Mr. Charles - Looks like TTT hit the nail on the head. From the Mt. Gox fiasco to other recent disasters, looks like Bitcoin is on the way out.

Trading Tech Talk 4: Cheaters Among Us?

Hot Topics in Tech: SEC launching new tech to spot insider trading. The Atlantic says high-frequency trading is "cheating." Is a transaction tax really necessary?

The Inbox:

Question from Nik Thomas, Sarasota, FL -Thank you for launching this show. It's about time someone really dove into the tech that is underlying all of the products that we love to trade. I know you touched on it briefly on the first episode, but can you devote some time to the growing plague of HFT on the derivatives market - impact on liquidity, impact on technology, impact on orders, etc.? Thanks and looking forward to the next episode.

Question from Athos04 -Would love a show on order routing tech - How does my trade get from my computer (or brokers server) to exchange - what impacts the trip?

Lightning Round:

Is Bitcion a viable alternative currency or a dangerous money-laundering fad? Laser data transfer, is it the new microwave or fiber? Paying for access to surveys, should it be illegal?