The astute Larry Tabb raises a question: Are multi-asset trading platforms dead on arrival? You may think that traders would leap at the chance to trade just about anything from a single application. You would need to qualify that--they would leap at the ability to trade anything really well from a common platform. There's a vertical bias at work here that will be overcome only by a killer app. Which doesn't appear to be forthcoming. Tabb say the current versions are likely going to be seen as light-weight. Part of the problem is that past the front end, all the back-office activity is so discrete it can undermine any front-end innovation. But you have to think that someone will get it right at some point. As trading strategies diversify, you need technology that can keep up.   

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