Symphony’s 2024 in review: solving for market challenges and achieving steady growth

Volatile and rapidly changing global markets highlighted an opportunity for Symphony and its product offering to be more relevant than ever when it comes to compliance, legacy technology risk, and security and resilience.

Symphony’s federation product – designed to ensure compliance while using WhatsApp, WeChat and LINE for business purposes – saw a 60% increase in monthly active users and a 115% increase in number of messages sent, both year on year, supporting firms in critical times. With compliance-related fines for off-channel communication exceeding $3 billion in the United States due to findings by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), many firms struggled to prove they had conducted business communication in a way that was in accordance with applicable regulation and their designated appropriate channels, recording and retaining responsibilities.

Given the prevalent and growing use of WhatsApp, WeChat, LINE, and Telegram, notably in regions such as the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia Pacific, the firm’s view is that similar regulatory probes will continue into 2025 and beyond. Dow Jones financial journalist Justin Cash reported: “A crackdown on unauthorized messaging app use by traders in the US is catching the eye of global regulators, as banks try to avoid further fines in other countries.” Some firms are getting ahead.

The risk surrounding legacy technology was an important challenge faced by our clients last year. When it comes to trader voice, for example, the industry is rapidly being modernized. Physical turrets are becoming a thing of the past, an evolution propelled by cloud-based (and mainly cloud-first) technology such as Symphony’s Cloud9, that is leveraging AI in unique ways to augment trader voice, as WatersTechnology’s Nyela Graham recently wrote. Last year, Symphony’s Cloud9 offering increased its number of users by 14%, supporting almost 15,000 professionals with voice-specific needs. On the operations front we see more and more firms moving away from email and choosing more efficient workflows – with instant communication at its core – to tackle critical processes such as exception management and trade resolution.

Data security challenges were a big theme with cyber attacks exposing the vulnerabilities of technology in the modern world. Transparency in security architecture and potential risks – as Symphony’s CISO Mitch Hibbs and CIO Dietmar Fauser have eloquently argued – is key to preparedness. Operational resiliency was top of mind as the United States transitioned to a T+1 trade settlement cycle (Europe and the UK intend a potential similar transition in 2027), the European Union implemented its Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) and the United Kingdom prepared to implement its critical third party legislation. Symphony is closely working with clients on these matters by providing secure and modular technology to address a broad range of technical needs.

While the future of corporate sustainability initiatives is under the microscope, Symphony is committed to the regular implementation of sustainable business practices and ongoing organizational improvements. The firm is rated by EcoVadis and reports annually its progress through the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) Communication on Progress (CoP) (2023 report, submitted in July 2024).

And after a productive first half of the year, Symphony accelerated business in the second half of 2024, launching an integration with TradingView – the advanced markets analysis platform-, winning Best Trading Floor Communication System Provider at the WatersRankings 2024, CEO Brad Levy’s inclusion in the 2024 TabbFORUM 40 Innovators in Financial Markets list, as well as attending Abu Dhabi Finance Week with Brad moderating a fintech thought leadership panel for a second consecutive year.