The FPL India Conference, held on the 5th March in Mumbai, produced a host of event participant perspectives and offered a diverse cross section of important takeaways:
One of the key threads of the day was that the responsibility for driving much of the new technology and architecture entering the Indian market rests with the brokers.
The exchange will always lean on the side of caution over trading, and that is reflected in exchange attitudes towards software vendors entering the market and the checks and balances that are placed on brokers. This warning to brokers extends into the API debate around proprietary versus open systems; the broker is fundamentally responsible for what comes in and out of their operations, and while glitches happen everywhere, there is culpability. Questions are also being raised over the responsibility of the vendors, and comparisons between local and global vendors are coming to the fore, especially as the market increasingly opens up and becomes more attractive for foreign vendors.
On the automation of trading of asset classes outside equities, Fixed Income is still at a very immature stage, and there are multiple opportunities for vendors and sell-side firms to offer new services. There is also need for local firms to assist asset managers, so that they aren’t required to build out their own systems.
Looking ahead, the two main areas for future expansion are Cloud and Mobile opportunities; it is an area the rest of the world is examining and developing rapidly, and so India needs to catch up.
In summary, the Indian market is rapidly developing, and is becoming a global player, but several areas still need more options for traders, and the regulator is watching closely.
FPL 2013 Mumbai Conference
