New
York City, NY, USA -- Mr. Edgar Perez, author of The Speed
Traders and Knightmare on Wall Street, addressed senior staffers of
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) during the Division
of Enforcement's Market Abuse Unit's annual conference in Washington
DC. The mission of the SEC is to protect investors, maintain fair,
orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation; the
SEC strives to promote a market environment that is worthy of the
public's trust.
Mr.
Perez was hosted by Mr. Daniel Hawke, Chief of the Division of
Enforcement's Market Abuse Unit. His unit investigates large-scale
market abuses and complex manipulations schemes by institutional
traders, market professionals and others. In particular, the unit
focuses on many of the high-frequency trading issues discussed in The
Speed Traders, Perez's volume that introduced electronic and
high-frequency trading to the general public.
The
Market Abuse Unit is part of the Division of Enforcement, which was
created in 1972 to consolidate enforcement activities that previously
had been handled by the various operating divisions at the
Commission's headquarters in Washington DC. The Commission's
enforcement staff conducts investigations into possible violations of
the federal securities laws, and litigates the Commission's civil
enforcement proceedings in the federal courts and in administrative
proceedings.
Edgar
Perez, author of The
Speed Traders and Knightmare
on Wall Street, is a recognized keynote speaker and
director of programs targeted at board members, chief executive
officers and senior executives looking for new ways to gain and
maintain a competitive business advantage. He can be reached through
Twitter
and Weibo.
SPEAKER'S
KEYNOTE TOPICS
• The
Importance of the Cybersecurity Framework for Directors and CEOs
An
email embedded with malware. Security systems hacked by thieves.
Credit card numbers stolen from store purchases. There's certainly no
shortage of examples when it comes to data security breaches and the
havoc they wreak on business. No wonder then that nearly a third of
CEOs in KPMG's latest global survey identified cyber security as the
issue having the biggest impact on their companies today. Every
organization should apply a Cybersecurity Framework for analyzing
cyber security, and ideally it should be integrated into an
organization's existing enterprise risk framework. The key is making
it part of the mainstream of risk management within an organization.
The most innovative companies today have recognized that cyber
security is a customer experience and revenue opportunity, not just a
risk that needs to be managed. Mr. Perez will explain why this must
done across the entire organization and why the CEO and Board of
Directors have the most important role to play.
• The
Impact of Brexit in the U.K and the World
Companies
inside and outside Britain's borders have warned that the Brexit
decision is affecting their businesses, highlighting how the June
vote for the UK to leave the European Union is having wide
repercussions. The vote roiled equity markets worldwide and led to a
devaluation of sterling amid concerns over a prolonged slowdown in
consumer demand. The U.K.'s decision to leave the European Union
inflicted an immediate blow on the economy as business activity
shrank at its fastest pace since the last recession seven years ago.
The International Monetary Fund said that it had become less
optimistic on global growth, and warned the damage could worsen if
confidence falters among investors and companies, as fears abound
over businesses and customers reining in spending during a period of
uncertainty for the UK as it negotiates the terms of its exit. Mr.
Perez will identify the world economies that will feel the lion's
share of the short and long-term pain to come.
• Blockchain
and its impact on Finance
Blockchain
technology (the software behind the digital currency, Bitcoin) offers
an opportunity to overhaul existing business models, including
banking infrastructure, approach to settlements and customer
interactions. Now it is only a matter of time before the broader
financial services and banking industries shift to blockchain and
network-based approaches. The application possibilities are endless,
improving the way we hold and transfer secure goods from money to
deeds to music to intellectual property. In fact, blockchain, as a
pure platform technology, may be able to cut out the middlemen (or
middle companies) everywhere, even disrupting other disruptors like
Airbnb or Uber. Mr. Perez will explain why the question is not
whether network business models supported by blockchain technology
will disrupt organizations, but when.
• The
Biggest Risks for Financial Markets
Constant
regulatory changes and technological evolution have transformed the
financial landscape so profoundly since the advent of the first
electronic networks in the early 1970s. Regulators around the world
are now in a race to respond to the evolution of technology in
financial markets and prevent its operational challenges from
becoming the biggest risk for financial markets. However, when
considering technology and the cyber landscape, errors are bound to
happen. Financial services firms are expected to have deployed the
most sophisticated defense systems against cyberattacks. Trading
firms are expected to have controls in place and invest in the
technology to keep up to date. Most companies would realize the need
of these investments and honestly attempt to implement them, but
their IT departments would soon hit a wall, because of direct
involvement from senior management and boards of directors.
Compliance actions against those who missed their importance will go
a long way toward restoring investor confidence and limiting the
impact of the biggest risk for financial markets.
• Finance
in the New Global Economy
Until
quite recently, globalization was seen as a one-way street.
Multinationals, which led the charge four decades or so ago into
growing global markets, were its ambassadors, and American and
European workers, whose wages and upward mobility were flattened,
were feeling left out. The core idea was that globalization,
technological innovation and unfettered free trade would erase
historical and geographic boundaries, making the world ever more
economically interconnected and alike. Developed economies would come
under more and more competitive pressure from eager upstart nations.
Now we are entering a new age of volatility. Financiers will become
less important, manufacturers more so. Blue collar jobs will go high
tech. Robots will replace Chinese workers. Mr. Perez will discuss why
finance stands now in front of its biggest transformation triggered
not by any of the financial conglomerates that dominate the world
today but by obscure startups that could be working already in
garages in Silicon Valley, Shanghai, Kiev or Delhi.
• China:
To Rebalance or Not to Rebalance
China's
12th Five-Year Guideline in 2011 included efforts to rebalance its
economy, shifting emphasis from investment towards consumption and
development from urban and coastal areas toward rural and inland
areas. Flash forward to 2016 and the country is exhibiting massive
overcapacity in sectors linked to real estate, steel, cement, coal
and construction equipment, zombie businesses continue to undermine
the sustainability of China's growth and exports are declining. At
260% of gross domestic product, the country's overall debt is
approaching danger levels. The world's second-largest economy is now
posting its weakest annual growth in 25 years, 6.9% for 2015. To top
it all, $676 billion left China in 2015; with so much overcapacity in
China, lack of confidence in the future as monetary policy can change
tomorrow, why should people keep money inside China? Why should we
bet on China? Mr. Perez will bring the answers you are looking for.
• Social
Engineering: The "Weakest Human Link" in Cybersecurity
Social
engineering involves tricking your employees into breaching security
protocols or giving away information, most often over the telephone
or via email. Social engineering exploits human weaknesses rather
than technology, preying upon people's propensity towards trust in
particular. Often, these exploits are used to gather information to
support a more targeted cyberattack, with the initial forays based on
the premise of 'little and often' so as not to cause concern.
Employees at all levels, including senior executives, are vulnerable.
Mr. Perez will explain why by improving employee awareness and
introducing simple technical measures, organizations can protect
themselves against social engineering techniques and the risk of a
cyberattack and its potential impact on business, customers and data.
• Establishing
or Improving a Cybersecurity Program
The
NIST Cybersecurity Framework, which was drafted by the Commerce
Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST),
comprises leading practices from various standards bodies that have
proved to be successful when implemented, and it also may deliver
regulatory and legal advantages that extend well beyond improved
cybersecurity for organizations that adopt it early. Its adoption may
prove advantageous for businesses across virtually all industries.
Mr. Perez will explain why a proper Cybersecurity Program will build
on the analysis of the possible areas of concern, an understanding of
the company's most critical assets, and a thorough review of
Information Technology's policies and procedures when faced with
cybercrime.
• The
Present and Future of High-Frequency Trading
On
May 6, 2010, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted nearly 1,000
points, then its biggest intraday point drop ever. The "Flash
Crash" revealed the influence of high-frequency trading to
mainstream audiences around the world. In fact, over the past 15
years, the global financial market has fragmented: where there were
once three main U.S. exchanges, there are now more than 40 exchanges
and alternative trading systems. High-frequency trading companies
have largely replaced traditional broker-dealers, using algorithms
instead of human traders to make decisions in milliseconds, mostly in
response to orders made by other algorithms. Mr. Perez will discuss
the benefits brought by technology, making trading faster and more
efficient, as well as the potential costs brought upon institutional
and retail investors.
ABOUT
EDGAR PEREZ
Mr.
Edgar Perez is a published author, business consultant for
billion-dollar private equity and hedge funds and Council Member at
the Gerson Lehrman Group, Guidepoint Global Advisors and Research
International, with subject matter expertise in cyber security,
investing, trading, financial regulation (Dodd-Frank Act) and market
structure.
He
is author of Knightmare on Wall Street, The Rise and Fall of Knight
Capital and the Biggest Risk for Financial Markets (2013), and The
Speed Traders, An Insider's Look at the New High-Frequency Trading
Phenomenon That is Transforming the Investing World, published in
English by McGraw-Hill Inc. (2011), Published in Mandarin by China
Financial Publishing House (2012), and Investasi Super Kilat,
published in Bahasa Indonesia by Kompas Gramedia (2012).
Mr.
Perez is course director of Cybersecurity Boardroom Workshop, How
Boards of Directors and CXOs Can Build the Proper Foundation to
Address Today's Information Security Challenges, and The Speed
Traders Workshop, How High Frequency Traders Leverage Profitable
Strategies to Find Alpha in Equities, Options, Futures and FX; he has
presented his workshops in Singapore, Hong Kong, Sao Paulo, Seoul,
Kuala Lumpur, Warsaw, Kiev, New York, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai.
He contributes to The New York Times and China's International
Finance News and Sina Finance.
Mr.
Perez has presented to the Council on Foreign Relations, Vadym Hetman
Kyiv National Economic University (Kiev), Quant Investment & HFT
Summit APAC (Shanghai), U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
(Washington DC), CFA Singapore, Hong Kong Securities Institute,
Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University,
University of International Business and Economics (Beijing), Hult
International Business School (Shanghai) and Pace University (New
York), among other public and private institutions. In addition, Mr.
Perez has spoken at a number of global conferences, including Cyber
Security World Conference (New York), Inside Market Data (Chicago),
Emerging Markets Investments Summit (Warsaw), CME Group's Global
Financial Leadership Conference (Naples Beach, FL), Harvard Business
School's Venture Capital & Private Equity Conference (Boston),
High-Frequency Trading Leaders Forum (New York, Chicago), MIT Sloan
Investment Management Conference (Cambridge), Institutional
Investor's Global Growth Markets Forum (London), Technical Analysis
Society (Singapore), TradeTech Asia (Singapore), FIXGlobal Face2Face
(Seoul) and Private Equity Convention Russia, CIS & Eurasia
(London).
Mr.
Perez has been interviewed on CNN's Quest Means Business, CNBC's
Squawk on the Street, Worldwide Exchange, Cash Flow and Squawk Box,
FOX BUSINESS's Countdown to the Closing Bell and After the Bell,
Bloomberg TV's Market Makers, CNN en Español's Dinero, Petersburg -
Channel 5, Sina Finance, BNN's Business Day, CCTV China, Bankier.pl,
TheStreet.com, Leaderonomics, GPW Media, Channel NewsAsia's Business
Tonight and Cents & Sensibilities. In addition, Mr. Perez has
been featured on Sohu, News.Sina.com, Yicai, eastmoney, Caijing,
ETF88.com, 360doc, AH Radio, CNFOL.com, CITICS Futures, Tongxin
Securities, ZhiCheng.com, CBNweek.com, Caixin, Futures Daily, Xinhua,
CBN Newswire, Chinese Financial News, ifeng.com, International
Finance News, Finance.QQ.com, hexun.com, Finance.Sina.com, The Korea
Times, The Korea Herald, The Star, The Malaysian Insider, BMF 89.9,
iMoney Hong Kong, CNBC, Bloomberg Hedge Fund Brief, The Wall Street
Journal, The New York Times, Dallas Morning News, Valor Econômico,
FIXGlobal Trading, TODAY Online, Oriental Daily News and Business
Times.
Mr.
Perez was a vice president at Citigroup, a senior consultant at IBM,
and a strategy consultant at McKinsey & Co. in New York City.
Previously, he managed Operations and Technology for Peruval Finance.
Mr. Perez has an undergraduate degree in Systems Engineering from
Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, Lima, Peru (1994), a Master of
Administration from Universidad ESAN, Lima, Peru (1997) and a Master
of Business Administration from Columbia Business School, New York,
with a dual major in Finance and Management (2002). He belongs to the
Beta Gamma Sigma honor society. Mr. Perez is an accomplished salsa
and hustle dancer and resides in the New York City area.
Media
Contact:
Julia
Petrova
Media
Relations Coordinator
The
Speed Traders
+1-414-FORUMS0
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