StarCompliance Adds Natural-Language Agent to Compliance Analytics

Maryland based StarCompliance has added an artificial intelligence (AI) agent to its Analytics product, allowing compliance teams to question connected employee and firm data in natural language. The agent returns responses as text, charts or tables. It is intended to reduce the manual work involved in producing compliance analysis and management information.

Users can create and refine dashboards from plain-language descriptions. They can also investigate risks across compliance areas through a new cross-product data model. StarCompliance said this enables compliance staff to explore information without depending on data scientists, information-technology teams or separate business-intelligence tools.

The agent can analyse trends, correlations and outliers within the available data. Users can add explanatory context to its charts and dashboards, then export or schedule reports in PDF, Excel and comma-separated value formats. These functions could support recurring management reporting and investigations that combine data from several compliance processes.

StarCompliance attributes the potential efficiency gains to the agent’s ability to generate queries, analysis and visualisations from natural-language instructions. The announcement does not quantify the manual effort involved or provide customer results showing how much time the functionality saves.

“The new AI functionality in Analytics reflects our commitment to delivering frictionless compliance intelligence that makes data more accessible, meaningful, and actionable,” said Kelvin Dickenson, Chief Product Officer at StarCompliance. “By simplifying how firms explore, visualize, and analyse complex information, we’re helping compliance teams uncover deeper insights, identify emerging risks, and make more informed decisions with greater speed and efficiency.”

The release follows StarCompliance’s May launch of StarAssist. That capability converts rule evaluations and audit trails into natural-language explanations within employee-compliance workflows. Its initial coverage includes personal account dealing, pre-clearance and trade monitoring. StarCompliance plans to extend StarAssist across other parts of its platform.

Covalent Backs AML Analytics Expansion of Financial-Crime Control Testing

Covalent Equity Partners has made an undisclosed growth investment in AML Analytics to fund new testing engines and international expansion. AML Analytics provides independent testing, validation and risk analytics for anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorist financing and sanctions controls. The transaction’s value and Covalent’s ownership interest were not disclosed.

Founded in 2010, AML Analytics uses reference datasets and benchmarks to evaluate financial-crime systems and control architectures. Its platform supports the measurement, calibration and verification of AML systems. The company says more than 50 supervisory authorities and 1,450 financial institutions use its technology across almost 60 countries.

Covalent’s capital and operational support will fund AML Analytics’ engineering roadmap, next-generation testing engines and wider geographic coverage. The announcement provides no timetable or technical specification for the new engines. Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer Justin Holder will continue to lead the company with its existing management team.

The companies link the investment to the adoption of generative and agentic technologies in financial services. They argue these developments are creating additional routes for financial crime. AML Analytics’ datasets and independent benchmarks are intended to help institutions and supervisors assess whether their controls continue to detect relevant risks.

“From day one, our mission has been to give the defenders of the financial system the empirical tools to stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated threats. Covalent shares our conviction and brings deep sector and operational expertise, which will help us scale that mission to more institutions and regulators worldwide,” said Holder.

AML Analytics currently tests sanctions-screening and transaction-monitoring systems. Its products include tools for ongoing validation, system benchmarking and tests using synthetic transaction data. The company also provides testing services for supervisory authorities conducting reviews across regulated firms.

Hummingbird Acquires Quantimon to Connect AML Detection with Alert Outcomes

San Francisco based Hummingbird has acquired anti-money laundering (AML) risk-detection company Quantimon to connect transaction-monitoring models with the outcomes of alert investigations. The acquisition adds Quantimon’s machine-learning technology and federated learning network to Hummingbird’s financial-crime compliance platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The planned workflow feeds completed alert decisions back into detection. Hummingbird records whether an analyst or artificial intelligence (AI) agent closes, escalates or files on an alert. Quantimon’s models are designed to learn from those decisions and risk-rank subsequent alerts. The companies said the models could also identify activity resembling confirmed cases when no existing rule fires.

Quantimon has also built a federated learning network. It is designed to identify patterns across institutions without sharing their customer data. Hummingbird said customers could eventually combine these signals with third-party intelligence and their own alert history. That cross-institution capability forms part of the integration roadmap. The announcement did not describe it as immediately available.

Hummingbird plans to retain rule-based monitoring alongside machine learning. Its roadmap includes tools to build, test and manage rules across larger and more complex programmes. The company presented strong rule coverage as the foundation for machine learning. The models would prioritise alerts and extend detection without replacing deterministic controls.

FactSet and Hamilton Lane Partner to Integrate Private Markets Data into Portfolio Analytics

FactSet and Hamilton Lane have announced a strategic partnership to integrate Hamilton Lane’s proprietary private markets data and benchmarks into FactSet’s portfolio analytics platform, enabling institutional investors to analyse public and private assets within a unified workflow.

The integration will provide access to data covering more than 70,000 funds and 240,000 assets, alongside fund- and deal-level benchmarks developed from Hamilton Lane’s extensive private markets investment experience.

The offering will support customised performance benchmarking, enhanced risk analysis and commitment pacing models, as well as portfolio construction and monitoring across asset classes. Investors will be able to assess performance, attribution and risk across public and private holdings without relying on separate analytical systems.

The partnership reflects growing institutional demand for integrated portfolio analytics as private markets become an increasingly significant component of investment allocations.

Further details on product availability and additional capabilities are expected in the coming months.

Nasdaq Europe to Launch PureStream-Based Trajectory Trading in November

Nasdaq Europe plans to launch a new trajectory trading service in November 2026, using PureStream technology to help institutional investors execute large European equity orders while reducing market impact and information leakage. The service will match trading interest based on a specified percentage of future market volume, allowing orders to execute progressively at volume-weighted average prices (VWAP).

It will operate through Nasdaq Investment Firm B.V., which received authorisation from the Dutch Authority for Financial Markets on 26 October. Trades will be formalised and published on Nasdaq’s regulated trading venues.

Initial coverage will include selected equities listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen, Helsinki and Stockholm, including constituents of the OMXC25, OMXH25 and OMXS30 indices, alongside stocks from nine other European markets. Nasdaq expects to add approximately 1,200 European equities in January 2027. The service forms part of its Digital Liquidity Networks business, with institutional onboarding beginning through a phased rollout.

Plus500 Becomes First External FCM to Offer Kalshi Perpetual Futures

Plus500 has launched Kalshi perpetual futures through its US Futures Commission Merchant (FCM), becoming the first FCM outside Kalshi Prime to offer the contracts to its customers. The launch extends Plus500’s existing partnership with Kalshi, which already covers prediction markets, and provides access to perpetual futures across its B2B and B2B2C distribution channels.

Perpetual futures are derivatives without expiry dates, allowing traders to maintain positions without rolling contracts forward. Kalshi introduced CFTC-regulated perpetual futures in May 2026 and has since expanded its offering to cryptocurrencies, commodities and indices. Plus500 will provide execution, order routing, clearing and risk management through its proprietary infrastructure, clearing transactions directly as a member of Kalshi Klear.

The company plans to expand its offering as additional contracts become available, strengthening its US exchange-traded derivatives business and providing institutional partners with access to a broader range of regulated trading products.

Baton Systems Launches Portfolio-Wide Collateral Optimisation Capability

Baton Systems has introduced an advanced portfolio optimisation capability designed to help collateral managers, treasury teams and clearing operations allocate cash and securities more efficiently across multiple clearing venues and margin obligations.

The solution evaluates collateral inventories and obligations simultaneously, rather than optimising individual margin requirements sequentially, with the aim of reducing funding costs, preserving high-quality liquid assets (HQLA) and minimising unnecessary collateral movements.It uses mathematical optimisation techniques, including mixed-integer linear programming, stochastic programming and multi-period optimisation, incorporating eligibility schedules, concentration limits, internal policies and venue-specific delivery constraints.

Users can compare allocation scenarios and prioritise different objectives before passing selected allocations into Baton’s automated instruction and collateral movement workflows.

Built on the company’s Core-Collateral infrastructure, the modular capability initially targets cleared collateral for clearing members, with scope to incorporate bilateral arrangements and institution-specific funding economics.

Belasko Launches Integrated Investor and Fund Manager Platforms for Private Markets

Belasko has launched two connected digital platforms designed to improve information access, communication and operational transparency for investors and fund managers across private markets.

The Investor Experience Platform (IXP) provides limited partners with access to fund information, documents, announcements and investment opportunities, alongside tools for tracking queries, deadlines and upcoming activities. The Client Experience Platform (CXP) gives general partners greater visibility into fund operations, investor engagement and service interactions, supporting investor relations and operational planning.

Both platforms are integrated with Belasko’s fund administration services, bringing data, communications and workflows into a shared environment intended to reduce reliance on disconnected systems and email-based processes.

The launch follows a period of testing and pilot programmes, with Belasko planning further automation and AI-enabled capabilities. Belasko, which administers more than $29 billion in assets, positions the investment as part of its strategy to modernise technology-enabled fund administration across UK and European private markets.

TTI Cats: Post Trade, Clearing & Settlement; Trading Systems & Workflow
Brief – S&P Global Expands AI and Analytics Capabilities Across Private Markets
S&P Global has expanded the AI, valuation and analytics capabilities of its iLEVEL private markets platform, introducing new tools for portfolio monitoring, data management and investment workflows. The enhancements include a native iLEVEL Agent, AI-powered data ingestion and natural-language search, enabling investment teams to automate data-intensive processes and retrieve portfolio information more efficiently.
An iLEVEL Model Context Protocol (MCP) server also allows clients to connect governed platform data and capabilities to external AI applications, including Microsoft Copilot and Claude, while retaining existing permissions and access controls. Enhanced integration with S&P Global Private Market Valuations streamlines third-party valuation workflows, while additional functionality supports private credit covenant monitoring and early identification of portfolio risks.
S&P Global has also expanded performance analytics datasets covering private credit, real assets and private equity, alongside integrations with Capital IQ, WSO and other enterprise solutions. The developments extend iLEVEL’s role beyond portfolio reporting towards integrated data, analytics and AI-enabled workflows across the private investment lifecycle.

S&P Global Expands AI and Analytics Capabilities Across Private Markets

S&P Global has expanded the AI, valuation and analytics capabilities of its iLEVEL private markets platform, introducing new tools for portfolio monitoring, data management and investment workflows. The enhancements include a native iLEVEL Agent, AI-powered data ingestion and natural-language search, enabling investment teams to automate data-intensive processes and retrieve portfolio information more efficiently.

An iLEVEL Model Context Protocol (MCP) server also allows clients to connect governed platform data and capabilities to external AI applications, including Microsoft Copilot and Claude, while retaining existing permissions and access controls. Enhanced integration with S&P Global Private Market Valuations streamlines third-party valuation workflows, while additional functionality supports private credit covenant monitoring and early identification of portfolio risks.

S&P Global has also expanded performance analytics datasets covering private credit, real assets and private equity, alongside integrations with Capital IQ, WSO and other enterprise solutions. The developments extend iLEVEL’s role beyond portfolio reporting towards integrated data, analytics and AI-enabled workflows across the private investment lifecycle.

Standard Chartered to Acquire Zodia Custody; Spin Out Zodia Solutions

Standard Chartered has entered into definitive agreements to acquire Zodia Custody, including 100% of Zodia Custody UK Limited, the parent company of its regulated operating entities in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Luxembourg.

Post completion, Zodia Custody’s regulated digital asset custody business will be integrated into Standard Chartered’s existing digital asset custody activities within Securities Services. The move will consolidate Standard Chartered’s digital asset custody businesses and will drive value by unlocking revenue synergies, further strengthening the Group’s digital asset capabilities and supporting its ambition to build a unified client offering that integrates both traditional and digital asset securities services for institutional clients, globally.

As part of the transaction, Zodia Custody will separate its digital asset software and professional services business and transfer the assets relating to that business to Zodia Solutions, an independent entity to be established under SC Ventures. Zodia Solutions will continue to provide bank-grade infrastructure to financial institutions, including Standard Chartered, as they launch and scale digital asset services.