ESMA Recognises ICE’s Data Indices Unit as Benchmark Administrator

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has granted recognition to Intercontinental Exchange’s (ICE) Ice Data Indices as a third-country benchmark administrator.

This recognition allows one hundred climate transition and Paris-aligned benchmarks offered by the administrator to remain available for use by supervised entities in the European Union. The fixed income benchmarks incorporate ESG screening criteria alongside a carbon reduction methodology.

Preston Peacock, head of Ice Data Indices, said that receiving this recognition expands the organisation’s reach and supports efforts to help investors make decisions to achieve emission reduction goals.

The administrator also manages other benchmarks that are not subject to the European Union benchmarks regulation. Ice Data Indices previously secured recognition as a third-country benchmark administrator from the UK Financial Conduct Authority.

EXL Integrates NVIDIA Foundation Model to Expand Proprietary Data Use

EXL has integrated the Build Your Own Transaction Foundation Model developer example from NVIDIA into its artificial intelligence and analytics offerings, enabling financial institutions to build and deploy transaction intelligence applications using their own data.

The application uses a foundation model designed to analyse billions of transaction events, such as payments, transfers and behaviour signals. Foundation models provide a unified intelligence layer across transaction activity rather than relying on separate systems for individual tasks.

“Every financial institution is sitting on decades of transaction data that holds the answer to their biggest challenges – fraud, risk, underwriting, customer experience,” said Kevin Levitt, senior director of global business development for the financial services industry at NVIDIA. “By integrating the Build Your Own Transaction Foundation Model developer example with EXL’s deep financial services expertise, financial institutions create a shared intelligence fabric that drives smarter decisions and better customer outcomes.”

The technology helps institutions transition from rules-based systems to automated transaction monitoring by embedding the tool into the EXLerate.ai platform.

The development expands a collaboration between the two companies to help enterprises deploy industry-specific AI solutions.

Diginex Adds Supply Chain Risk Tech to Platform

ESG, sustainability and compliance specialist Diginex has integrated Risk-to-Remedy as an end-to-end supply chain due diligence solution.

The framework combines worker-level evidence, prioritised remediation and regulator-ready reporting to verify company declarations. It builds on the technologies of Lumen for risk assessment and Apprise for worker engagement, alongside the acquired expertise of The Remedy Project in grievance mechanisms.

Future features will enable clients to manage assessments, collect evidence, monitor non-compliance and maintain records.

Taskize and Global Relay Add Evidence Layer for Financial Services Operations

Taskize has partnered with Global Relay to add API-based communications archiving to its investment operations collaboration platform, supporting stronger evidence of cross-firm resolution workflows.

The integration uses the Global Relay Open Connector API to capture activity within Taskize Bubbles, the platform’s shared spaces for resolving operational issues between firms. The archive can record transcripts, metadata, participants, attachments and system events, creating a more complete record of how issues were raised, discussed, escalated and resolved.

The partnership comes as operational teams face growing pressure to evidence control over communications and workflow processes across regulated markets. Europe’s planned move to T+1 settlement in October 2027 adds to that pressure by compressing post-trade timelines and increasing the need for faster issue resolution without weakening recordkeeping.

For Taskize users, the integration adds tamper-proof recordkeeping and unified searchability across communications channels. That can help firms reconstruct activity across operational processes, while reducing the manual burden associated with preserving records from collaborative workflows.

Anthony Crespy, senior vice president of business development at Global Relay, said the partnership reflects the role of structured data capture in compliance operations.

“Our API-driven approach to structured data archiving complements Taskize’s strategy perfectly. Through this partnership, we not only offer customers the confidence that their communications meet the highest compliance standards but also significantly reduce the operational burden associated with regulatory recordkeeping.”

Diederik Geeraerts, CEO of Taskize, said financial services operations teams need stronger assurance as regulatory expectations evolve across jurisdictions.

“Amid an evolving cross-jurisdictional regulatory environment, operational teams in financial services need total assurance. By partnering with Global Relay, Taskize can capture all interactions in line with regulatory requirements. It’s the latest example of how Taskize is helping firms transition into a digital- and AI-first landscape.”

Zema Global and Natural Gas Intelligence Enhance North American Energy Data Partnership

Zema Global and Natural Gas Intelligence (NGI) have announced an enhanced data partnership designed to provide energy market participants with expanded natural gas pricing and flow data. Building on an existing seven-year relationship, the collaboration integrates NGI’s extensive datasets into Zema Global’s Decisioning Infrastructure to support curve analytics, portfolio valuation, trading, and risk management in the North American markets.

Under the expanded agreement, Zema Global customers can access NGI data covering more than 150 monthly and 170 daily physical natural gas price indexes across the US and Canada, alongside over 80 forward price curves and 40 Mexican price locations. The partnership also introduces additional NGI datasets, including North American LNG flow indicators, shale basin pricing, pipeline flow data, and indicative intraday pricing.

Furthermore, the integration includes NGI’s Entropic Analytics pipeline flows, which capture and normalise over 20,000 daily flow data points from more than 180 interstate North American pipelines. This data automation reduces manual ingestion and improves enterprise system consistency. The collaboration is also structured to support future customer demand, allowing Zema Global to develop new data processors in response to evolving client requirements.

Over Four in Five UK Firms Now Engaged in T+1 Transition, Survey Reveals

A new market readiness survey by The ValueExchange shows that 83% of UK firms are actively preparing for the transition to a T+1 (one-day) trade settlement cycle, an increase from 66% in the third quarter of 2025. It also places the UK ahead of the US timeline, where only 67% of firms were engaged at a comparable stage before their 2024 transition. The data shows that 90% of firms expect to have their T+1 projects scoped and funded by the end of 2026, ahead of the joint UK and EU deadline on 11 October 2027.

Preparations are heavily focused on automation, which the UK Accelerated Settlement Taskforce has highlighted as crucial for success. Currently, 51% of firms have automated their settlement instruction processing, and 63% aim to finish their automation projects during 2027. Testing is also well-aligned, with 78% of financial market infrastructures prepared to begin industry testing in the first quarter of 2027.

Despite overall progress, the research highlights significant readiness gaps on the buy-side, where 57% of firms have yet to begin development work due to funding and foreign exchange concerns. Respondents also expressed doubts about third-party support; less than half believe their current service providers can support their preparations, and only 19% feel their prime brokers are equipped to do so today. On the sell-side, confidence remains higher, though firms face ongoing hurdles with pre-trade set-up and settlement exceptions.

Clearwater Analytics Launches AI-Enabled Products for Institutional Investment Workflows

Clearwater Analytics has introduced three AI-enabled products built on its investment data platform, which supports more than $10 trillion in global assets. The new solutions – Clearwater Compass, Total Portfolio Oversight, and Fund Analytics – expand the company’s platform across institutional operations, risk management, and private markets workflows. They aim to automate complex tasks and increase operational speed without compromising auditability or control.

Clearwater Compass integrates AI into accounting to automate exception management and accelerate closing processes. It features Smart Suspense, which automatically categorises unapplied cash, and Recon Transparency, which provides live visibility into reconciliation breaks to replace manual email chains. Developed with Blackstone and currently expanding to select beta clients, Total Portfolio Oversight provides a unified view of public and private assets, combining risk exposure, shock analysis, and portfolio query capabilities.

Fund Analytics targets private markets by using AI to extract, validate, and structure data from fragmented general partner reports, PDFs, and spreadsheets. This gives investment teams earlier visibility into portfolio changes, performance metrics, peer benchmarking, and look-through exposures. All three products connect directly to Clearwater’s central investment record to ensure data consistency across workflows.

FIX Trading Community Introduces New Recommended Practices for Algorithm Testing and Certification

The FIX Trading Community has launched its new Recommended Practices for Algorithm Testing and Certification. The guidelines introduce standardised, electronic mechanisms that enable capital markets firms to test, certify, and share algorithmic trading compliance data seamlessly with counterparties and regulators. By establishing uniform workflows and message descriptions, the framework ensures algorithm certificates contain precise, meaningful technical specifications beyond simple identifiers.

The practices cover critical stages of the algorithmic lifecycle, including setting system configurations, executing and orchestrating test runs across diverse platforms, and formalising production readiness through standardised certificates. This comprehensive data structure assists firms in meeting minimum legal requirements while enabling granular information – such as complete test results and clear performance metrics – to be integrated directly into internal algorithm inventory management systems.

Following this release, the FIX Algorithmic Trading Working Group will host an explanatory online workshop in the coming weeks. The group is also shifting its focus toward artificial intelligence, inviting member firms to help shape upcoming standards for agentic workflows, AI governance, and the deployment of FIX over AI-native protocols.

Marathon Asset Management Consolidates Front-to-Back Investment Infrastructure with SimCorp

Marathon Asset Management, the London-based specialist equity manager overseeing more than USD 40 billion in assets, has consolidated its front-to-back investment operations onto the SimCorp One platform. This transition allows the firm to retire its legacy systems and establish a single, unified data layer across its entire business.

The implementation extends an ongoing partnership between the two firms that began in 2010. By streamlining its technology stack, Marathon aims to improve operational efficiency, ensure data consistency, and create a scalable foundation for its investment operations. The system reduces the time required for data reconciliation and technology management, allowing Marathon to focus more heavily on client service and investment decisions driven by its Capital Cycle philosophy.

This consolidation reflects a broader trend within the global investment industry. According to SimCorp’s 2026 InvestOps Report, consolidating technology platforms and vendors is currently the top priority for 58 percent of investment managers globally. Marathon joins several other prominent asset management firms, including Pictet Asset Management, AllianceBernstein, and Lindsell Train, that have recently selected SimCorp to manage their infrastructure.

Exegy Expands Axiom Market Data Feed to Cover Key Middle Eastern Exchanges

Exegy has expanded its real-time consolidated market data feed, Axiom, to include key Middle Eastern exchanges. The update introduces coverage for markets in Saudi Arabia (TASI), Qatar (QSE), Kuwait (KSE), Abu Dhabi (ADX), and Dubai (DFM). This data is delivered with low latency via Exegy’s London Points of Presence (PoP) at the Equinix LD4 and Digital Realty LON2 data centres, complementing the firm’s existing regional coverage of Johannesburg, Tel Aviv, and Istanbul.

The expanded service allows institutional trading firms to access normalised data for more than 300 global venues across equities, indices, derivatives, and digital assets using a unified model. Axiom supports both Level 1 and full-depth order books through XCAPI or MAMA APIs. To assist latency-sensitive trading strategies, the platform tracks daily latency across four critical processing points, from the venue to the client’s application.

Operating on a market-data-as-a-service model, Axiom connects directly to a client’s premises, colocation space, or public cloud platforms. This infrastructure minimises overheads and accelerates time to market for firms increasing their international trading activity. Additionally, the service provides customisable deployment options and 24/7 global support from Exegy’s worldwide hubs.