Analysis, news, and podcasts from the Castine team, on the market it works in every day: commission management, CSA services, research payments, and trader compensation.
TopicCSAs and Commission ManagementClear
Latest
As research funding evolves across the UK and EU, asset managers are reassessing the limitations of RPAs and P&L funding. CSAs offer a more flexible approach, combining transparent governance, operational efficiency, stronger broker alignment, and research budgets that can scale with trading activity, without the rigidity and administrative burden associated with alternative models.
Vendor and contract oversight may appear to work well, but fragmented systems, unclear ownership, and reactive workflows can create hidden costs and operational risk. Castine Telescope and Contract Manager bring due diligence, contracts, renewals, utilization, approvals, and compliance into structured, centralized systems—helping firms reduce unnecessary spend, strengthen oversight, and stay audit-ready
In this conversation we meet Rudolf Siebel, a Managing Director at the BVI German Investment Funds Association.
Spinnaker helps research brokers eliminate revenue slippage by automating invoicing, capturing billable activity, improving reconciliation, and delivering globally consistent processes that protect and optimize the full value of research.
In this conversation, several members of the Castine team discuss the key takeaways from the June 11, 2026 Unbundling Uncovered conference in New York.
Europe’s Listing Act marks a major shift in MiFID II research funding by reintroducing bundled research payments across all issuers. While preserving transparency and governance requirements, the reform increases operational complexity. Asset managers must now focus on scalable infrastructure, robust controls, and effective commission management to implement flexible funding models
In this conversation, Aaron Walter and Steve Stone discuss the status of CSAs from a global perspective with Robin Hodgkins, president of Castine. Topics include the current state of CSAs in the USA but focus more on how CSAs and "payment optionality" are being re-introduced to the United Kingdom. Where brokers and asset managers stand on rolling out CSAs, what actual and perceived hurdles exist, and when full use of CSAs is likely in the UK.
Castine has launched AI capabilities embedded across its commission management platform for brokers and asset managers. The AI enhances broker reviews, research analysis, and invoice processing, reducing manual work and errors. Built to support, not replace, professional judgment, the tools improve productivity, transparency, and decision-making across research, payments, and evaluation workflows.
Research-payment rules are diverging across major markets. While the UK has introduced flexible joint-payment models under FCA reforms, the EU is cautiously opening its regime through the Listing Act. For global asset managers, this shift brings trading desks back into the center of research funding, execution strategy, and broker-relationship decisions.
In this conversation we meet with Brijesh Malkan, the CEO of Singletrack.
The global CSA landscape in 2026 reflects growing alignment across the UK, EU, and U.S., reducing nearly a decade of fragmentation. Buy-side firms are adopting unified CSA frameworks to enhance governance, transparency, and efficiency, while sell-side brokers face strategic decisions on investing in CSA capabilities or risking competitive disadvantage.
In this conversation we meet Doug Leo, the Head of Commission Management at Raymond James. Doug's leadership at Raymond James has helped them grow to be a major player in commission management. At the same time, Doug is very involved in the invoicing for the research that Raymond James creates. Hundreds of clients require invoices for the research they consume, and Doug has expanded his remit to cover that as well. Our conversation covers Doug's award winning childhood (!) and his work at…
The FCA marks a significant shift for UK buy-side trading desks, reopening the door to funding research through trading commissions after years of separation under MiFID II. With Commission Sharing Agreements once again permitted, Heads of Trading are being pulled back into decisions around research funding, broker engagement, and budget control. This change elevates trading’s role beyond execution, placing greater emphasis on governance, transparency, and commercial oversight. Firms that…
No items on this page match that audience.
One surface, kept current. Dated, on-category analysis is how buyers and answer engines both learn who knows this market.