Bernard S. Donefer

Biographical Information

Bernard Donefer's lengthy career in the financial services industry included work with banks, securities firms and exchanges in the US, Europe and Asia, where he held senior management positions including the presidency of two international financial software firms. He is Adjunct Associate Professor at the NYU Stern Graduate Business School. At Stern since 2005, Prof. Donefer teaches Financial Information Systems and Risk Management Systems in the MBA program. He is also Distinguished Lecturer and Associate Director of the Subotnick Financial Services Center at the Zicklin Business School at Baruch College. He holds an MBA in Finance from Stern.

Previously, at Fidelity Investments in Boston, as SVP and head of Capital Markets Systems, he implemented one of the industry's first straight through processing (STP) equity trading environments. He was responsible for their algorithmic trading, fixed-income, foreign exchange, market making and mid-office systems, client and marketplace connectivity and their proprietary real time VaR based credit and market risk management system.

Prior positions included EVP/CIO of Dai Ichi Kangyo Bank (now Mizuho) and President of both Bankers Trust Financial Services Information Systems and CAP Information Systems, international software and services businesses.

Prof. Donefer is principal of Conatum Consulting LLC, teaching "Risk Management for Non-Quants", "Capital Markets Bootcamp" and the "New Equity Markets" at public seminars and to corporate clients such as the SEC, FRB, DTCC, IIROC, Alliance Bernstein, Getco, ITG, the Harvard Management Co., et al. in the US, Canada and Europe. He has been an expert witness in financial software patent, financial services practices and fraud cases, testifying in federal court, SEC hearings and FINRA arbitrations.

He volunteered with Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) in development and training. He has acted as a volunteer advisor or board member to St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble, Poets in the Schools, Volunteers for the Arts and the Volunteer Urban Consulting Group.

A frequent industry commentator, Prof. Donefer chaired and moderated panels at algo, HFT and hedge fund conferences on the challenges, risks and opportunities of electronic trading in global markets. He has spoken at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington DC, the NY Bar Association, SIAA/FISD, TradeTech, et al. and quoted in the national and international press.

Academic Appointments

• Distinguished Lecturer, Baruch College, Zicklin Graduate School of Business, City University of New York and Associate Director, Subotnick Financial Services Center, Wasserman Trading Floor.
• Previously, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Fordham Graduate School of Business.

Research Interests

• Risk management
• Financial markets microstructure.
• Trading systems - high frequency, algorithmic, order management and routing.

Published Essays

• Algos Gone Wild, Journal Of Trading, Spring 2010
• No Such Thing as HFT, Tabb Forum, August 24, 2010
• High Speed Trading Is Progress Not Piracy, Bloomberg View, April 12, 2012

Courses Taught

• B20.3350 Financial Information Systems. FIS Syllabus
• B20.3351 Risk Management Systems. Risk Management Syllabus

Suggested Readings

I am often asked about further readings and useful websites for my courses. Here is a personal list of suggestions: Readings and Websites.

Recent Press Citations and Public Appearances

New York Times, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, MIT Technology Review, The Atlantic Magazine, BBC World Service, Australian Public Radio, Securities Industry News, Reuters, Guardian UK, Advanced Trader, Wall Street and Technology, Wall Street Letter and Nikkei Shimbun Japan, et al.

2016

• NYSE Proposes Changes, as It Braces for More Volatility, Wall Street Journal, January 29, 2016
• NYSE Outlines Priorities for Enhancing Market Structure, Dow Jones Business News, January 28, 2016

2015

• Why not to freak out about the NYSE trading halt, American Public Radio Market Place, July 8, 2015, audio link
  
• SIFMA Tears Into Nasdaq Pricing In Market Data Row, Law 360, April 22, 2015
• SEC Told Nasdaq, NYSE Prices Hit Returns In Market Data Row, Law 360, April 23, 2015

• "Fundamentals of High Frequency Trading", Webcast, Gerson Lehrman Group, 2015, NYC
• "Market Data in Support of Equity Trading", Panel Moderator, FISD Issue Brief, 2015, NYC
• "Capital Markets Trading Activity in the Cloud Technology Age and Cloud Centric Applications in Data Centers", Panel Moderator, HPC for Wall Street, 2015, NYC

2014

• High Speed Trading Under Siege, Compliance Week, April 15, 2014
• Goldman Sachs "Cuts Out" NYSE Market Business, Sohu.Com (Chinese News Service), April 2, 2014
• Goldman in Talks to Sell NYSE Floor-Trading Unit to Dutch Firm, Wall Street Journal, April 2, 2014
• Secrets' Behind High Frequency Trading, ECNS.CN (E Chinese News Service), April 3, 2014
• High Frequency Trading Under Investigation, CCTV America (China Central Television), Biz Asia America TV Interview, April 3, 2014

• "TradeTech 2014 Buy Side Summit", Chairman, 2014, NYC
• "Do You Know Where Your Orders Are Being Routed?", Panel Moderator, TradeTech Buy Side Summit, 2014, NYC
• "One Touch Coverage: What Do The Partnerships Between the Cash & Electronic Desks Mean For the Buy Side?", Panel Moderator, TradeTech Buy Side Summit, 2014, NYC
• "Fireside Chat with Donald Bollerman, IEX Market", TradeTech Buy Side Summit, 2014, NYC

2013

• Study: Rebates Are Key to Where Brokers Route Orders, Wall Street Journal , December 13, 2013
• Raging Bulls: How Wall Street Became Dependent on the "Speed" of Trading, Gagamir (Russian) , November 28, 2013.
• HFT Debate: Two Experts Square Off On Market Structure, Advanced Trader, May 1, 2013.

• "The Regulation of Cross-Border Trading", Speaker, Committee on Foreign and Comparative Law of the New York City Bar Association, 2013, NYC.
• "High Frequency Trading and the Financial Markets", Speaker, Council on Foreign Relations, 2013, Washington DC.
• "Debating High Frequency Trading", Speaker, Zicklin Center for Corporate Integrity, 2013, NYC.
• "High Frequency Trading - Are Markets and Investors Better Off Now", Panel Moderator, SIIA/FISD Issue Brief, 2013, NYC.
• TradeTech USA Global Trading Conference, Chairman, 2013, NYC.
• "Improving Trade Performance By Establishing Best Practices For Dark Pool Trading & Venue Selection", Panel Moderator, TradeTech, 2013, NYC.
• "Best Practices Panel: How To Pay Your Mid-Tier Brokers", Panel Moderator, TradeTech, 2013, NYC.
• "Developing Your Flexible & Dependable OMS/EMS Strategy", Panel Moderator, TradeTech, 2013, NYC.

2012

• Markets Face Challenge Reopening After Sandy, NPR Marketplace, October 30, 2012.
• Kill Switches May Be Too Difficult to Implement, Reuters Accelus, October 17, 2012.
• Drop Copies vs. Kill Switches: What's Next for HFT?, CFTC Law, October 18, 2012.
• Execution Consulting Services, Streambase Webinar, September 2012.
• Everything You Need to Know About the Knight Capital Meltdown, Motley Fool, September 14, 2012.
• How Wall Street Got Addicted to Light Speed Trading, Wired, September 2012.
• Living With High-Speed Trading, Wall Street Journal, Aug 11, 2012.
• Hiccups with HFT Create Market-wide Risks, Investor Advisor Week, Aug 13, 2012.
• Knight Says Company May Suffer More Losses From Trade Error, Bloomberg, Aug 9, 2012.
• Knight Capital Gets Backstop, Regulators Under Pressure to Stop Flash Crashes, Globe and Mail, Canada, August 6, 2012.
• Board Software Breakdown Shows Dependence on the PC, Wiener Zeitung, Austria, August 6, 2012.
• Knight Capital Breakdown Reveals Problem of the Stock Markets, der Standard, Austria August 6, 2012.
• Knight Looking for a White Knight, Reuters Video, August 3, 2012.
• How We Trade, Reuters Video, August 3, 2012.
• Knight Capital Failures Highlight the Weak Stock Market, Reuters China, August 3, 2012.
• Software errors, Knight Cap Loss of U.S. $ 440 Jt, Inilah.com, Indonesia, Aug 3, 2012.
• Knight Capital Trading Loss Shows Cracks in Equity Markets, Economic Times of India, August 3, 2012.
• Why Knight Won't Be the Only One, CNN Money, August 3, 2012.
• Knight Capital Filings Show Scant Board Duty for Tech Risks, Reuters, August 3, 2012.
• IBM, Coke Investors Whipsawed by Hourly Swings, Business Week, July 19, 2012.
• High Speed Trading Is Progress, Not Piracy, Bloomberg View, April 12, 2012.

• "Portfolio Asset Allocation and Downside Risk Management", Panel Moderator, 2012 Investment Leadership Forum, 2012, NYC.
• "When Big Data Gets Fast, Realtime Business Cases", Invited Speaker, Orange Institute -- Feedback Economy and Realtime Society, 2012, NYC.
• "Winning the e-Trading Technology Arms Race", Panel Moderator, FX Week USA Annual Conference, 2012, NYC.
• "Educational Teleconference on High Frequency Trading", Invited Speaker, Council of Institutional Investors, 2012.
• "Trading Strategies & Technology", Track Chairman, TradeTech, 2012, NYC.
• "Aligning Smart Order and Dark Pool Aggregation Techniques with Trading Strategies", Panel Moderator, TradeTech, 2012, NYC.
• "Multi-Asset Trading Strategies", Panel Moderator, TradeTech, 2012, NYC.
• "Elusive Liquidity: Perceptions, Myths & Realities", Panel Moderator, TradeTech, 2012, NYC.
• "OMS Comparative Analysis: Different Approaches For Out-Of-The-Box and Proprietary Systems",Panel Moderator, TradeTech, 2012, NYC.
• "Operational Risk", Panelist, Conference on Post Crisis Risk Management, Fordham University, 2012, NYC.

Earlier Press Citations

2011

• NYSE Plans "Dark Orders" for Retail Customers, Financial Times, October 12, 2011.
• Prof Tracks Auto Crash Trades, New York Convergence, August 9, 2011.
• Computer Systems Run World Economy, American Public Radio, August 9, 2011.
• A Beating of Wings, (Italian and English), Il Sole 24 Ore, May 19, 2011.
• HFT Methodologies and Market Impact, Review of Futures Markets, Vol 19 # 1, 2011.
• Trading Spike Seen Just Before ADP Report, Wall Street Journal, January 11, 2011.

2010

• Das Digitale Herz des Kapitalismus (in German), Wissen Magazine, Switzerland, November 21, 2010.
• The Limits of Algo Trading, Deutsche Borse Business Journal, 3Q2010.
• SEC Focuses on Market Makers, Financial Times, November 9, 2010.
• Trading Pennies into $7B Drives HFT Cowboys, Bloomberg, October 6, 2010.
• Debate on Crash and Its Causes, Wall Street Journal, October 5, 2010.
• Flash Crash Report Too Long in the Making, Reuters Insider, Video, October 1, 2010.
• Flash Crash, Australian Broadcasting Co.(Radio), August 29, 2010.
• No Such Thing as HFT, Tabb Forum, August 24,2010.
• Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts, Money Web South Africa, August 12,2010.
• Adventures in Algorithmic Trading, Asset International, August 5, 2010.
• Monsters in the Market, The Atlantic Magazine, July/August 2010.
• Automated Trading Compounds Selloff, Yahoo News Room, May 7, 2010.
• Computers Blamed for Wall Street Crash, New Scientist, May 2010.
• Exposing the Identity of Dark Pools, Advanced Trader, March 1, 2010.
• Algos Gone Wild, Journal Of Trading, Spring 2010.
• Trading Shares in Milliseconds, MIT Technology Review, Jan. 2010.
• Algos Gone Wild, Advanced Trader, Jan. 14, 2010.
• Market Data Roundtable, Streambase Webinar, Jan. 21, 2010.

2009

• Algos Gone Wild (TV Interview), Reuters TV, Interview Nov. 2009.
• SEC Rules to Make Dark Pools Disclose Data, Investors Business Daily, Oct. 21, 2009.
• Ultra High Speed Share Trading, BBC World Service, (Radio), Sep. 2,2009.
• Wall Street Secrets, New York Times, Aug. 24,2009.
• Real Time Racing, Risk Professional GARP, Aug. 2009.
• StreamBase High Frequency Trading, On-line Webinar, Aug. 12, 2009.
• Algos Gone Wild, Reuters Blog Commentaries, July 21, 2009.
• Code Green: Goldman Sachs and UBS, Securities Industry News, July 20, 2009.
• The Matrix But With Money, Ars Technica, July 27, 2009.
• Fuzzy Math and Algos, Reuters Blog Commentaries, July 31, 2009.

Earlier Speaking Engagements

• "There Is No Such Thing As HFT", Keynote, Financial Information Services Division, Software & Information Industry Association, General Meeting, 2011, NYC.
• "What are the key conditions that foster HFT growth in the options and futures markets?", Panelist, High Frequency Trading World New York, 2011.
• "Business Development and Front Office Focus", Track Chairman, Trade Tech Architecture, 2011, NYC.
• "Navigating and Managing Infrastructure Investments Transaction As Volumes Increase", Panel Moderator,Trade Tech Architecture, 2011, NYC.
• "The Latency Debate-Defining and Measuring Latency in Today's Marketplace", Panel Moderator, Trade Tech Architecture, 2011, NYC.
• "Realization of Market Data Infrastructure", Panel Moderator, Trade Tech Architecture, 2011, NYC.
• "Next Generation Trading Strategies", Track Chairman, TradeTech USA 2011, NYC.
• "Obtaining Real Time Venue Transparency in Dark Pools", Panel Moderator, TradeTech USA 2011, NYC.
• "Investigating Options Trading Technology and Market Structure of the Future", Panel Moderator, TradeTech USA 2011, NYC.
• "Algo Trading and the May 6th Flash Crash", keynote speaker, Exchange Panel Moderator, Capital Markets Consortium, 2010, NYC.
• "Achieving Best Execution", Track Chairman, TradeTech USA, 2010, NYC.
• "Analyzing Execution Quality To Achieve Best Execution In A Fragmented Market", Moderator, TradeTech, USA 2010, NYC.
• "Balancing The Use Of Human Intervention And Electronic Trading Tools To Become The Most Profitable Equity Trader", Moderator, TradeTech USA 2010, NYC.
• "Risks in Electronic Trading", keynote speaker, Exchange Panel Moderator, Capital Markets Consortium, 2010, NYC.
• "Credit Default SWAPS and AIG", invited speaker, Financial Executives International, 2010, NYC.
• "International and Alternative Trading Opportunities", Track Chairman, TradeTech USA 2009, NYC.
• "Using the Latest Trading Strategies and Tools in Emerging Markets to Amplify Returns on Your Desk", Moderator, TradeTech USA 2009, NYC.
• "Managing International Trading for Long Term Profitability in Global Markets", Moderator, TradeTech USA 2009, NYC.
• "Home is Where the Credit Crisis Is", invited speaker, Association of Commercial Finance Attorneys, 2009, NYC.
• "Capital Markets BootCamp^sm", SEO NYC and Corporate Clients in NYC, Boston, LA and Madrid.
• "Risk Management for Non-Quants^sm", Instructor for 2-day seminars in NYC, Chicago, Toronto, Oxford, UK, Philadelphia, Washington DC and Boston
• "Credit Default SWAPS and AIG", invited speaker, Financial Executives International, 2010, NYC.
• "International and Alternative Trading Opportunities", Track Chairman, TradeTech USA 2009, NYC.
• "Using the Latest Trading Strategies and Tools in Emerging Markets to Amplify Returns on Your Desk", Moderator, TradeTech USA 2009, NYC.