Data Management, Regulation and Risk Top the Agenda at Investit Conference
At a recent industry conference hosted by Investit, an investment management consultancy, senior investment management executives and third party administrators placed data management, market and counterparty risk, client reporting and regulatory issues at the top of their agenda. Cost cutting also remained a main concern but the overall mood was one of optimism compared to...
Prytania Investment Advisors Appoints CMA DataVision for CDS Pricing
Prytania Investment Advisors (PIA), a London-based asset manager and risk advisory firm, has appointed CMA to provide independent pricing, risk metrics and group curves via DataVision for single name credit default swaps (CDS) and indices. Mark Hale, chief investment officer at PIA, says: “We looked at a number of pricing vendors to support activities in...
Buy Side Firms Must Take Heed of the Scale of the Changes Required as a Result of the OSI, Say TowerGroup and Capco
The buy side must understand and appreciate the urgency of preparing adequately for the incoming Options Symbology Initiative (OSI), said speakers during Capco’s recent webinar on the subject. The move to the Options Clearing Corporation’s (OCC) 21 character OSI code in order to support non-standard options will impact every level of a firm’s operations, warned...
IASB Proposes Overhaul of Fair Value Accounting Rules
It has been a year of significant changes to the way assets are valued and it seems that more are still to come. This week the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) released its long awaited proposals for a revamp of the often controversial fair value accounting rules. The IASB’s proposals are, in fact, four months...
Swift Selects Quantum4D to Provide Data Interface to SwiftNet
Swift is now using Quantum4D’s holographic analytics software platform to improve its ability to model its global network and understand its structure. Annually, as many as three billion messages go around the world via the Swift network. The challenge was to see how new developments in next generation interfaces might improve Swift’s ability to see...
CESR Calls for Mandatory Trade Transparency Regime for Non-equity Markets
The Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR) has called for the introduction of a new transparency regime for non-equity markets. The regulator is concerned that market led initiatives have failed to gain significant traction in the corporate bond, structured finance product and credit derivatives markets and is keen for a greater level of visibility to...
UK Asset Managers Are Aware of Dangers of Not Aggregating Data But Standards Are Lacking, Says SimCorp
The UK asset management community is aware of the dangers posed by failing to adequately consolidate and aggregate their data but underlying problems remain, according to a recent report by risk management platform provider SimCorp and independent consultant Paul Miller. The problems are not to do with technology or organisation, explains Cath Rawcliffe, vice president...
Hungary’s Wallis Group Opts for SuperDerivatives’ FX Derivatives Valuations
The Wallis Group, one of Hungary’s largest holdings companies, has selected SuperDerivatives to improve its ability to hedge cross border currency exposures and to access independent portfolio valuation for auditing purposes. The Wallis Group, which specialises in investment, consulting and asset management, is a multinational company and needed access to accurate, independent pricing for FX...
AG Insurance Selects Pricing Partners for Structured Products Valuations
AG Insurance, which was formerly Fortis Insurance Belgium, has chosen the Pricing Partners service to perform independent valuation for some of its equity, funds and interest rates structured products. “We wanted to challenge and double check the valuation provided by our counterparties for our OTC products. We were also interested in developing more expertise to...
Andrew Davidson & Company Launches New Valuations Service for MBS
Andrew Davidson & Company (AD&Co) has launched a new valuation service, the Credit Loss Snapshot, which provides the key credit loss metrics now required by FAS 124 and FAS 157 for credit sensitive residential mortgage backed securities. This report extends the valuation services currently provided by AD&Co for other than temporary impairment (OTTI) and Level...