Crux Expands Data Partnership with Databricks

Crux, a data integration, transformation, and observability solution, has expanded its partnership with Databricks by adding pre-integration services to its existing Partner Connect integration. The company has worked with its data provider network to make a total of 75 data sources available for consumption in the Databricks Marketplace. With this expansion, a large number of paid financial datasets on Databricks Marketplace are powered by Crux.

Canoe Adds Apliqo Performance Management and Business Planning to Partner Programme

Canoe Intelligence, a provider of alternative investment processes for institutional investors and wealth managers, has added Apliqo, a software provider of advanced performance management and business planning to its partner programme. Based in Zurich, Apliqo offers LP Portfolio Management, an intuitive and dynamic analytics platform for private market investors. Using Canoe’s open APIs, Apliqo pulls documents and data collected, categorised, extracted, and validated by Canoe into its system for aggregation, analysis, and reporting.

ISS ESG to Update Cyber Risk Score Model

ISS ESG is to tweak the model behind its recently launched Cyber Risk Score to make it easier to identify “good” and “bad” scores.

“The ability for this model to differentiate ‘goods’ from ‘bads’ by discerning forward-looking risk, is a key differentiator in the market,” the company said. The new version, 5.0, also updates its Incident Type Likelihood ranking of potential cyber breaches.

Many companies are including cybersecurity within their ESG processes because they recognise that protection of personal and corporate data falls within the social and governance pillars.

The sustainable investment arm of Institutional Shareholder Services, which launched the service earlier this year, said the enhancements would be rolled out by the end of July.

Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 Makes Progress with Royal Ascent

The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 has received royal ascent on route to delivering the UK Government’s vision of growing the economy and creating an open, sustainable, and technologically advanced financial services sector. Post-Brexit, the act tailors financial services regulation to fit UK markets and is expected to increase UK competitiveness as a global financial centre and deliver better outcomes for consumers and businesses.

New powers include reforms to Solvency II, which are calculated to unlock around £100 billion for investment, and secondary objectives for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) to facilitate the growth and international competitiveness of the UK economy. This will be backed up by changes to enhance the scrutiny and accountability of the regulators, including ensuring regular reporting and a greater focus on cost-benefit analyses.

Confluence Sets Out on AI Journey with Reconciliation Solution

Confluence Technologies, a technology solutions provider to the investment management industry, has announced the first development from its innovation lab that leverages AI technology to solve complex industry problems. Confluence Unity Rex applies large language models (LLMs) to solve reconciliation challenges from the SEC’s Tailored Shareholder Reports (TSR). It mines and pinpoints discrepancies in language and numeric information between financial reports and the TSR, delivering efficiency and cost savings in the reconciliation process.

S&P Global Market Intelligence Adds Loan Pricing and Analytics to Capital IQ Pro

S&P Global Market Intelligence, a provider of information services and solutions to global markets, has added loan pricing, analytics and liquidity measures to its S&P Capital IQ Pro platform. This is the latest enhancement resulting from S&P Global’s merger with IHS Markit in 2022.

Informatics Makes Intelligent Data Management Cloud Available in Japan via AWS

Informatica has made its Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) platform available in Japan via AWS Asia Pacific (Tokyo) Region. The platform is expected to support customers in data-led cloud modernisation journeys, and enable them to manage, access, and accelerate data transformation for business insights, while complying with data residency requirements in the country.

Informatica’s IDMC is a comprehensive cloud-native data management platform that enables enterprises to visualise, analyse and collaborate with their data regardless of location or platform. Powered by CLAIRE, the company’s AI metadata-driven engine, IDMC helps organisations accelerate innovation and increase productivity at scale. IDMC on AWS Asia Pacific (Tokyo) Region can be accessed through the AWS Marketplace.

GLEIF Signals Intent to Join Global Project Designed to Digitise ESG Credentials of MSMEs

The Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have signed a statement of intent to embark on a collaborative initiative to develop digital Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) credentials for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) worldwide.

The initiative, Project Savannah, hopes to lower the barriers to ESG reporting for MSMEs by establishing a common framework of ESG metrics to generate basic sustainability credentials and commence the journey towards meeting UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It will use digital initiatives, such as MAS’s Project Greenprint1, to generate ESG data credentials that can be housed in MSMEs’ LEI records. MSMEs will then be able to transmit verified entity information and key ESG data to their business partners.

Arcesium and Confluence Partner to Provide Efficiencies for the Buy-Side

Arcesium, a provider of enterprise data management solutions, and Confluence, a solutions provider for the investment management industry, have partnered to deliver an integrated data management and analytics solution for middle/back-office operations of asset managers.

The partnership is intended to deliver workflow efficiency across performance, risk and regulatory reporting, and will integrate Confluence’s StatPro Analytics solution, comprising performance, attribution, risk, GIPS, and other investment analytics, with Arcesium’s Financial Data Stack modules and cloud-native data management platform, Aquata.

The offering is available as a technology solution or a fully managed service, allowing asset managers to consolidate vendors and lower total cost of ownership.

Sphera Launches Cloud-Based AI Climate Risk Tool

Investor clients of ESG risk management software provider Sphera can access the company’s new SpheraCloud Corporate Sustainability-Portfolio Management service. The product offers financed emissions and portfolio emissions data, using AI.