Posts tagged financial institution
Catch Amazon Web Service’s case study of Market Simplified
Mar 30th
Some extracts are below; the full text can be read here
The MarketSimplified SaaS model enables financial institutions to use cutting-edge applications over the internet and mobile devices. Brokerage clients using MarketSimplified solutions access account details, real-time quotes, market data, news and technical analysis tools using smart phones and other mobile devices. 
The ability to offer all these capabilities in a SaaS delivery model is not a trivial task and requires a reliable computing infrastructure. In addition, disseminating real-time market data to thousands of smart phones and mobile devices with quick response times requires scalable compute power and workflow coordination. Not only does this need experienced personnel to configure, deploy, and manage the infrastructure, but also demands a sizable monetary investment. The capital expenditure model slows down projects from being lifted off the ground and the overwhelming cost factor makes most projects not even see the light of day.
Marc Prosser, Chief Marketing Officer of FXCM stated, “Launching a mobile trading application was a major decision as we did not have clear visibility into More >
New Segment of “Mobile Traders” in the Making
Mar 23rd
“Day traders” were born during the frenetic Internet boom of the late 1990s when brokerages brought the stock market into every Internet-equipped home and office through online trading services. Today another entirely new segment is emerging silently, that of gen-y “Mobile Traders” – they’re young, they’re empowered, they enjoy actively managing their investments and mobile phones are their most popular choice of access. According to the Economist, there are over 4 Billion mobile phone users worldwide.
Just as, at the helm of the Internet boom, brokerages like Etrade, OptionsXpress built their billion dollar business by offering only online trading, by 2011 we could witness the emergence of brokerages that record the same volume of trades as the above online brokerages purely through mobile trading.
Interestingly, a survey from Scottrade found that “the idea of investing being fun is increasingly gaining traction within the generation – 35 percent of Gen Y invests because they find it enjoyable, up from 27 percent last year”. It further found that Gen Y investors (born 1983-1991, ages 18-26) are increasingly involved in the market and are changing perceptions of investing and that young investors are the most likely to manage their own investments and to describe investing as “fun and interesting“.
Another survey from Accelerant Research quoted “Gen Y demographic hooked on mobile bill pay and banking, proving that Baby Boomers have truly slipped into the unhip generation they thought they’d never be”.
The above surveys point to the rise of this new segment of “mobile traders” – mostly comprised of Gen Y – many of whom have discovered the stock markets from their mobile phones. This has become especially possible with the availability of a particularly user friendly mobile trading application such as what MarketSimplified offers.
In fact user friendly mobile trading platforms can increase trades originating from mobile devices. The following quote published in Barrons 2010 brokerage review reflects this phenomenon ...”…the mobile application, OX Mobile, is well designed, with streaming real-time data, charts, and watch lists, and stock, options, and futures trading. CEO David Fisher says, “We found that customers are doing significantly more trading through these phone-based apps than we thought possible.”
Clearly, for brokerages, More >