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[ T U R N O F T H E Y E A R | W H AT T O E X P E C T F R O M 2 0 1 8 ] Vicky Sanders, co- founder, RSRCHXchange Andy Mahoney, head of sales, FlexTrade Strategies for outperforming in the new environment will emerge Next year we move on from panicking, planning and preparing for MiFID II research unbundling to working through the practicalities and consequences - both in- tended and unintended. As unbundling and best exe- cution impact everyday decisions, new behaviours will emerge. The focus for management teams will shift from meeting regulatory requirements to developing strategies for outperforming in the new environment. With more buy- and sell-side firms looking into digital strategies, technology will play a bigger role in creating efficiency and competitive advantages for front office functions across the investment industry. That doesn’t mean robots on the trading floor, but using technology to upskill individuals. and businesses. Data, data, everywhere Once the dust has settled on MiFID II, clients will start looking to digest and interpret all the extra data MiFID II transparency has brought with it. We are already looking to hook up to a num- ber of APA providers, in order to take a real-time stream of trade reports direct- ly into the EMS. Practically every client we speak to on the buy-side already has a desk quant, which are all hungry for the new data MiFID II is going to bring. Those who have the tools available to analyse, and draw conclusions from this data will be the big winners in 2018. Cliff Moyce, managing partner, DataArt “Concerns will subside as people realise AI does not do work people do.” AI ‘job threat’ discussion will be a thing of the past The AI boom will go exponential and the skills gap will turn into a war for talent, as warnings about job threats from AI evaporate and AI skills becomes the biggest hiring driver in the industry. Staff concerns will subside as people realise AI does not do work people do; it does work people cannot do. AI techniques like pattern recognition, machine learning and fuzzy logic will help firms derive deep learning from structured and unstructured data to drive strategic planning; use Big Data tools to support risk management and operational planning; and predict financial turbulence and assess risk of financial contagion. Issue 54 TheTradeNews.com 77