Traders in financial firms are clamouring for access to Twitter, but generally can't get it. Why do they want access, and why can't they use it like anyone else?
When we built EarlyBird we worked with compliance teams to understand not only the explicit Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulations and their overseas equivalents, but also the unique risks of allowing direct Twitter access to traders and analysts.
A new study conducted by The Pew Research Centre examines the social media habits of over 2000 Americans and the way which they receive their news. The proportion of users who say they follow breaking news on Twitter is nearing a remarkable 60%, the report suggesting that this is lending to the viewpoint that possibly Twitter’s greatest strength is providing “as it happens” coverage and commentary on live events.
Twitter is chirping with financial news and analysis, and yet a recent report showed Twitter lagging behind the other networks as an investment tool for the professional analyst or trader. The reason is pretty clear – they can’t have it. In a post LIBOR/FX rigging world where even mobile phones are banned from the trade floor, traders’ requests for Twitter, complete with its person-to-person, instant, unrecorded, encrypted communication channel are being met with a firm Nope from their compliance colleagues.