Schroders Uses Xceptor to Consolidate Applications and Automate Operations

Schroders has selected the Xceptor data automation platform for a range of core business use cases including cash flow data handling and customer onboarding. The investment management firm initially used Xceptor to process incoming transfer agency cashflows into its investment book of record, Blackrock Aladdin. The firm’s expanded use of the platform across operations provides operational resilience and efficiencies through data automation and end-to-end process transformation for business users.

Peter Hilborne, chief operating officer, operations at Schroders, comments: “The initial phases we entrusted to Xceptor comprised critical business functions that the platform handled exceptionally well. By consolidating all other applications into Xceptor, we have radically transformed how we process and automate data.”

Arcesium Offers ESG Book Data Through Aquata Platform

American FinTech provider Arcesium is to offer its financial institution clients sustainability data from ESG Book, the Germany-based vendor and asset manager that is supported by a dozen major banks. Analysis, scores and other metrics on 50,000 companies will be provided by ESG Book through Arcesium’s cloud-based platform called Aquata.

Majority of Asset Managers and Owners Follow TCFD Guides: Report

Most asset managers and owners are reporting their climate performance data in line with the disclosure framework that’s thought most likely to be adopted as a global standard.

The latest annual survey by the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) found that 70 per cent of managers and 84 per cent of asset owners reported climate-related data to their stakeholders last year. Of the former, more than four fifths report in line with at least one of the TCFD’s 11 recommended disclosures, while half of asset owners followed the organisation’s guidelines.

The TCFD disclosures with which most asset managers were aligned were those covering the reporting of climate related metrics as well as risks and opportunities. Asset owners placed greater focus on risk management recommendations.

The materiality of climate-related risks to their business was given as the most common reason why both groups reported such data, while asset owners gave equal weight to regulatory requirements.

The annual report highlighted how TCFD has become the go-to reporting framework for financial institutions, a point underlined by the incorporation of its recommendations into the International Sustainability Standards Board’s (ISSB) own set of disclosure guidelines. The ISSB, which was created in 2021, is widely expected to form the backbone of any globally accepted standard on ESG disclosures.

SIX Collaborates with Megaport for Wider Cloud Connectivity

Swiss financial information and market infrastructure provider SIX has teamed up with Network-as-a-Service provider Megaport, to offer customers direct private access to its data services through all major public cloud providers, including AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and Oracle Cloud. The new service

The new initiative, SIX Connect, spans over 100 cloud regions and numerous data centres in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, and is designed to give clients enhanced flexibility in data access, connecting them swiftly and securely to SIX’s streaming, web, and file-based data services, whether via the cloud or physical data centres.

Broadridge and Iress Partner to Enhance Trading Solutions for UK Market Makers

Broadridge Financial Solutions has announced a strategic partnership with financial technology software company Iress, under which Broadridge’s order management system (OMS) and its Tbricks market-making platform will be integrated with Iress’s Retail Service Provider (RSP) network.

The integration aims to provide market makers with streamlined order management, enhanced market connectivity, real-time data, analytics, and robust compliance features. The collaboration, designed to improve market data access, trade execution, and risk management capabilities, will result in a bespoke trading and connectivity solution for UK market makers, giving them comprehensive access to the retail and wealth sectors.

CJC Releases Detailed Report on Data Fabrics, Cloud and Trading Technology Panel from A-Team Group’s TradingTech Briefing

CJC have published an in-depth report on the panel session ‘Adopting Modern Data Fabrics and Cloud in Trading Technology Infrastructure’ from A-Team Group’s recent TradingTech Briefing, Buy & Build – The Future of Capital Markets Technology.

The panel, featuring Peter Williams, CJC’s Chief Technology Officer, alongside Richard Balmer of IPC Systems, Naomi Clarke of CDO Advisory and Bob Mudhar of Synechron, investigated a wide range of topics around modern data infrastructure in trading.

CJC’s full debrief of the conversation, along with analysis of audience poll results, is well worth a read at here.

Survey Finds Substantial Surge in Greenwashing

Greenwashing is on the rise within financial institutions, with a quarter of all ESG risk incidents linked to the scourge, up from a fifth last year, according to a new report.

Sustainability science provider RepRisk found 148 cases of greenwashing in compiling its second annual report, which also found that 70 per cent of incidents were attributable to banks and most of those with regard to human rights breaches.

ESG Pillar 3 Disclosure Tool Launched by ISS ESG

ISS ESG’s European bank clients can now take advantage of a tool designed to help them comply with a key sustainability regulation. The company’s ESG Pillar 3 ESG Solution provides templates and disclosure facilities to meet the European Banking Authority’s sustainability reporting standards. Clients can access the service through is own DataDesk as well as an API, cloud and data feeds.

Orient Futures Singapore Adopts Integral’s FX Platform to Enhance Client Experience Amid Rising Demand

Futures and FX broker Orient Futures Singapore has deployed an end-to-end currency trading platform from currency technology provider Integral, with the aim of improving clients’ trading experience, streamlining trading operations and accessing a broader market. The move to adopt Integral’s platform comes after Orient Futures Singapore witnessed surging demand for its services across the Asia/Pac region.

In 2022, Integral became the first cloud-based FX workflow platform to be deployed at the SG1 data centre. Orient Futures Singapore will offer clients the ability to streamline, automate and optimise every stage of their workflow, complete with SG1 implementation.

UBS Integrates Broadridge’s DLT-Enabled Repo Solution for Enhanced Cost-Savings and Efficiency

UBS has gone live on Broadridge’s newly launched sponsored repo solution, the next phase in the rollout of Broadridge’s DLT-enabled Distributed Ledger Repo (DLR) platform, which aims to provide clients with significant settlement cost savings, process simplification, scalability, and reduction of operational risks via distributed ledger technology and smart contracts.

This marks the latest milestone in executing on Broadridge’s vision of transforming the global repo market infrastructure and further demonstrating the power and value creation of DLR, according to the company.