Investment institutions have a bewildering range of B-2-B messaging standards to chose from, and the arrival of XML promised to be the catalyst for sorting out the spaghetti. However success to date has been limited, with the simplicity of defining XML schemas and translating between formats encouraging a rash of bottom-up, stovepipe solutions - creating significant challenges in interworking between the various XMLs and legacy systems and formats. This presentation will provide an overview of investment sector messaging standards, the business drivers for convergence - and a route map towards implementing compatible, XML-based standards.