BMLL Expands Data Offering with Six Years of Historical OPRA Options Data

BMLL, provider of harmonised Level 1, 2, and 3 data across global equity, ETFs, and futures markets, has added OPRA (Options Price Reporting Authority) data to its platform. Market participants now have access to six years of nanosecond unconflated OPRA options data, complementing existing US equity and futures datasets. This historical dataset is available via the BMLL Data Lab and BMLL Data Feed through AWS S3.

OPRA consolidates and distributes critical options market information from all U.S. equity options exchanges, supporting traders, brokers, and institutional investors in understanding market dynamics, assessing liquidity, and optimising strategies. The data aids buy-side firms in backtesting strategies and generating alpha, while sell-side firms utilise it for execution algorithm optimisation and tracking market structure changes. Exchanges leverage the data to evaluate market share across platforms. BMLL’s normalised tick history dataset ensures accuracy and usability for these applications.

Paul Humphrey, Chief Executive Officer of BMLL, commented: “Adding OPRA options data is another significant milestone in our data coverage expansion strategy. To date, we have built out our equities coverage to 98% of the MSCI All-Country World Index. Including OPRA options in our data and analytics capabilities is a natural evolution for BMLL, driven by customer demand for a best-in-class product and very much in line with our multi-asset strategy.”

David Robinson, Chief Technology Officer at BMLL, added: “Making OPRA data available via BMLL Data Lab and BMLL Data Feed, via AWS S3, is another step in our mission to democratise data and analytics at scale and meet our customers where they need us to be. They can now gain immediate access to this significant dataset in a cloud-based environment, at a level of conflation that suits their own specific needs, and at the highest quality available in the market today.”

Ten10 Solutions Acquires The Scale Factory to Enhance Cloud and DevOps Services

Ten10 Solutions Limited, the IT consulting firm specialising in Automation, Quality Engineering, and Cloud & DevOps services, has acquired The Scale Factory, an AWS Advanced Consulting Partner known for its expertise in B2B SaaS, offering infrastructure improvements, cloud migrations, and ongoing support.

This strategic acquisition aligns with Ten10’s growth objectives, strengthening its position as a leader in professional services for Cloud, DevOps, and Automation. By integrating The Scale Factory’s capabilities, Ten10 aims to expand its AWS service offerings, providing enhanced solutions for fast-growing B2B SaaS companies.

Richard Frodin, Ten10’s CEO, commented: “This acquisition is an important milestone in Ten10’s strategic plan to expand our capabilities and extend our reach in the cloud computing market. The Scale Factory’s innovative technology and talented team will complement our existing strengths, allow us to deliver even more value to our customers, and enhance our ability to develop the next generation of tech talent through our Academy.”

ACA Group Expands Broker-Dealer Compliance Support with FINOP Consulting Acquisition

In a strategic move to deepen its support for broker-dealer clients, ACA Group has acquired FINOP Consulting, an outsourcing firm specializing in financial and operational compliance for broker-dealers. Led by industry veteran and FINOP founder Dan Beaton, the acquisition enables ACA to expand its capacity in financial operations (FinOps) services, particularly for clients needing precise alignment with SEC and FINRA requirements in areas such as recordkeeping, accounting, and reporting. 

This acquisition feeds into ACA’s broader compliance platform, ACA Signature, which delivers scalable support for financial operations. By acting as a licensed Series 27 and Series 28 principal, ACA provides expertise in maintaining accurate records, preparing financial filings, and ensuring overall regulatory compliance. 

Patrick Olson, CEO at ACA Group, views this move as critical for broker-dealers facing increasing regulatory demands: “This acquisition allows us to provide a more complete solution to broker-dealers, who are under immense pressure to maintain compliance in a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape”.  

Beaton, now ACA’s Director, echoes this sentiment, noting, “Our collaboration with ACA means broker-dealers gain access to comprehensive GRC services at a time when regulatory pressures are only growing. Together, we’re equipped to navigate these complexities for our clients.” 

ACA’s FinOps offerings provide broker-dealers with key benefits, including the ability to stay compliant with evolving regulations, allowing them to focus on core business objectives without the burden of daily regulatory tasks. Additionally, by outsourcing, firms can reduce full-time employee (FTE) costs. ACA’s use of advanced financial tools further supports clients by optimizing reporting processes and ensuring data accuracy. 

This latest acquisition continues ACA’s tradition of evolving to meet industry needs. Specific financial terms were not disclosed.

DTCC’s Enhanced VaR Calculator for Potential Cross-Margin Reductions

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has updated its Value at Risk (VaR) calculator to include cross-margining and repo transaction functionalities, aimed at improving firms’ risk management capabilities ahead of expanded U.S. Treasury clearing requirements expected in 2025 and 2026. These enhancements, introduced through the Fixed Income Clearing Corporation’s (FICC) Government Securities Division (GSD), offer users more nuanced tools for evaluating margin requirements and cross-margining benefits. 

The enhanced calculator allows users to gauge potential cross-margin reductions at FICC based on sample portfolios that include both GSD cash positions and CME Group futures. According to Tim Hulse, Managing Director of Financial Risk & Governance at DTCC, these updates are part of a broader effort to “support greater transparency for market participants,” aligning with DTCC’s focus on enhancing understanding and management of margin obligations in a rapidly evolving market. 

This development comes as FICC’s GSD experiences record volumes, clearing an average of $8.8 trillion daily as of October 2024. The new capabilities are seen as a valuable tool for firms navigating this high-volume environment, allowing for optimized capital efficiency through consolidated margin management and reducing potential excess liquidity needs. 

The cross-margining functionality, specifically, empowers firms to explore margin savings across combined GSD and futures positions, presenting an opportunity for capital efficiencies that may mitigate the need for liquidation in volatile markets. These tools thus provide market participants with an accessible means to assess and respond to risk and margin requirements, in preparation for the anticipated regulatory changes. 

As Laura Klimpel, Managing Director, Head of DTCC’s Fixed Income and Financing Solutions, notes, “FICC continues to evolve with the markets to support industry needs.” This expansion of the VaR calculator underscores DTCC’s commitment to delivering tools that not only bolster transparency but also support firms’ operational readiness for future market and regulatory shifts. 

BondWave Acquires Bitvore’s Fixed-Income Analytics Unit

Fixed income-focussed FinTech BondWave has completed its acquisition of Bitvore’s data analytics business, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to scour unstructured data sources for bond market clients.

The technology will be incorporated into BondWave’s Effi fixed income data and analytics platform to “provide users with enhanced transparency and further support our mission and vision as a firm”, said chief executive Michael Ruvo.

With the acquisition, BondWave –which was formed in 2001 – will enable clients to extract data from publicly available sources and crunch it into a useable format for analysis. The company’s other capabilities include portfolio analytics and reporting and proposal generation, as well as tools that support best execution, fair pricing, and mark-up monitoring and disclosure on both a pre- and post-trade basis.

Arcesium Adds Regulatory Reporting Automation to Opterra Platform

Data management service provider Arcesium has launched a regulatory reporting extension to its Opterra data lifecycle management platform.

The New York-based company said the new tooling enables clients to utilise data they already have to automate the collection and presentation of information required for compliance processes.

The extension was created to meet growing demand for ever-more granular data from regulators. Arcesium said clients will now be able to automate disclosure processes using their data on trades, positions, P&Ls and accounts, saving time and resources.

“COOs and compliance leaders are expressing an urgent need to modernise their reporting processes, save time and reduce costs,” said Neil Visnapuu, product owner for regulatory reporting at Arcesium. “This solution empowers them to do precisely that. By auto-populating reports and completing disclosures… managers can release significant resources currently tied up in gathering data from fragmented sources. This streamlined way of working also empowers them to quickly adapt to any future regulatory demands”.

Seneca ESG Joins Private Equity Sustainability Reporting Initiative

Data management and software provider Seneca ESG has become the latest vendor to join the ESG Data Convergence Initiative (EDCI), which provides a common sustainability reporting framework for private equity.

Seneca said that through its membership, the company will help clients feed data pertinent to EDCI’s core set of standardised metrics via a dedicated API. That data can be accessed by limited partners to help guide their decision-making processes.

“By joining EDCI, Seneca ESG strengthens its commitment to advancing responsible investing and transparent ESG reporting in private equity markets,” said Seneca ESG chief executive Jonathan Ha. “Unified ESG metrics allow all stakeholders to gain clearer insights and measure progress in ways that were previously challenging.”

The EDCI was created by a group of global investors and Boston Consulting Group.

BlueFlame AI Builds GenAI-Supported Workflow Automator

BlueFlame AI has built a generative artificial intelligence (GenAI)-supported workflow automation tools to streamline their private markets data processes.
The New York-based startup’s Blueprints also uses large language models to query and process data from internal and external source, helping firms to boost productivity and make better informed decisions, BlueFlame AI said.

“By eliminating the technical barriers traditionally associated with AI implementation, we’re democratising access to sophisticated automation tools that can dramatically improve how investment firms operate and make decisions,” said chief executive and co-founder Raj Bakhru.

“For example, our clients can run a Blueprint to create IC memos, analyse earnings reports, or prepare them for an upcoming prospect meeting, reducing hours of manual work to minutes.”

BlueFlame was launched two years ago and its Nexus platform is designed to help firms mine and make sense of information stored in unstructured sources.

The company said that Blueprints can improve the accuracy of private markets research and analysis and that clients can interact with it through simple natural language prompts.

S&P Global Unveils Document Summary and Insights Tool

S&P Global clients now have access to a generative artificial intelligence (GenAI)-supported platform that can scan, extract and analyse critical data points from text and other content-based documents.

Document Intelligence resides within S&P’s Capital IQ Pro product and works on company filings, earnings call transcripts, investor presentations, news and research. The company has also unveiled ChatIQ, which enables easier engagement with research.

“The addition of GenAI-enabled Document Intelligence and ChatIQ will further enhance the user experience, improve discoverability and shorten time to insights through the provision of some of the most modern and innovative tools in our industry,” said Warren Breakstone, global head of Capital IQ Solutions for S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Document Intelligence will highlight key phrases within documents, present smart summaries and uses natural language processing to establish sentiment scores.

China’s BOCOM Fintech Named as a GLEIF Validation Agent

A Bank of Communications (BOCOM) subsidiary in Shanghai has been named a validation agent by the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation, a move that the organisation describes as a milestone in China’s adoption of LEIs.

BOCOM Fintech will use the LEI to smooth cross-border identification, simplify Know Your Customer (KYC) processes and document requirements for offshore businesses, accelerate identity verification and reduce compliance risks, GLEIF said.

China’s own entity-monitoring agency, the Beijing National Institute of Financial Standardization (NIFS), supports BOCOM Fintech’s new status.

“By becoming a validation agent in the Global LEI System, we are better positioned as a FinTech company and aim to contribute more effectively to China’s economic opening-up,” said BOCOM Fintech president Tang Yi. “We are firmly committed to exploring innovative applications of the LEI in anti-money laundering (AML), maritime trade, and cross-border e-commerce, thus promoting digital finance and economic development.”