Finbourne Doubles Funding in £55m Series B Round

Finbourne Technology has almost doubled the capital it has raised from investors, with the latest series B injection increasing its total by £55 million to more than £100m.

Six existing investors in the London-based investment data management solutions provider chipped in more funds and they were joined by another four investors. Two of them, CommerzVentures and HSBC, will have a presence on the Finbourne board as observers, the company said.

Finbourne offers a range of data management services, including through its SaaS-based LUSID platform, which are being utilised by clients including Northern Trust, Omba Advisory and the Pension Insurance Corporation.

While the company didn’t detail how it would use the proceeds from the secondary funding round, chief executive and co-founder Thomas McHugh said that Finbourne is looking to “significantly expand” its client base.

Earlier this year Finbourne said it would expand its sales, product and marketing capabilities in the UK, the US, Ireland, Singapore and Australia.

The company drew in £55m during its previous series B funding round in June, which was led by venture capital firm Highland Europe and AXA Venture Partners. That followed a £15m injection in 2021. It also has a £30m debt facility from Kreos Capital.

FESE and Oxera Publish New Analysis on Market Data Fees in EU Equity Trading

The Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE) has commissioned Oxera to conduct an analysis of market data fees and revenues since the implementation of MiFID II, building on previous studies from 2019 and 2022. This analysis is timely, aligning with the ESMA’s recent consultation on the Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on Reasonable Commercial Basis.

The Oxera study reveals that market data revenues from stock exchanges have remained relatively stable, suggesting that overall market data prices have not significantly increased. The findings also indicate a shift from display to non-display data usage, with fees adjusted accordingly to reflect this change and accommodate smaller clients.

FESE urges ESMA to consider these findings in shaping the final RTS to avoid overregulation, which could restrict data access and investment. FESE also recommends a principle-based approach to cost allocation, ensuring fairness across different customer groups.

LTP Partners with Avelacom to Enhance Low Latency Network Services for Crypto Trading

Low latency network solutions provider Avelacom has been chosen by LTP, a prime broker for digital assets in the Asia Pacific region, to deliver advanced network services. The collaboration aims to enhance trading speeds and reliability for LTP’s diverse client base, including hedge funds, high-frequency trading firms, funds of funds, and family offices, across global crypto markets.

The partnership highlights LTP’s commitment to optimising trading infrastructure and supporting increased cross-venue trading volumes. Avelacom, recognised for its pioneering low latency solutions in the crypto industry, will leverage its extensive network coverage and recent expansions in Asia Pacific, including a new presence in Korea and an office in Hong Kong, to provide superior connectivity and performance for LTP’s clients.

Droit Achieves Top Cloud Security Certifications, Strengthening Trust in Data Integrity

Droit, a leader in computational law and regulatory technology, has achieved the ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and ISO/IEC 27017:2015 certifications, solidifying its commitment to cloud security and data protection. These certifications, which represent the highest international standards, reassure clients amid increasing concerns over cyber threats.

Droit’s latest certifications demonstrate its proactive stance on resilience, security, and data privacy, assuring clients that the firm’s security frameworks align with globally recognized best practices.

Achieving these certifications offers several benefits: enhanced protection against cyber-attacks, adherence to evolving security standards, secure management of information across formats, and a unified approach to safeguarding data. “These certifications are a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team,” said Brock Arnason, Founder and CEO of Droit. “We’re fostering a culture where security excellence is integral to our business.”

Arnason added, “Our clients can be confident that their data and cloud services are secure, bolstering their own compliance efforts through our alignment with ISO standards.”

ISO/IEC 27001 focuses on information security, cybersecurity, and privacy protection, while ISO/IEC 27017 provides guidelines specific to cloud security. Both standards address emerging threats in cloud computing and advanced technologies, reinforcing trust among Droit’s stakeholders.

Kaveh Moravej, Droit’s Head of Information Security, emphasized the importance of these certifications: “Integrating these standards goes beyond compliance; it embodies our commitment to prioritizing client data security in every facet of our operations.”

These certifications build on Droit’s 2022 achievement of the ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification, further demonstrating its dedication to a robust Information Security Management System (ISMS) that meets global benchmarks.

Sedric AI Secures $18.5 Million Series A to Revolutionize Compliance for Financial Institutions

Sedric AI, a pioneer in AI-driven compliance technology for financial institutions, has raised $18.5 million in a Series A funding round led by Foundation Capital, with participation from Amex Ventures. This investment brings Sedric’s total funding to $22 million, which will be used to expand its AI lab in Tel Aviv and strengthen its global sales teams. 

As financial institutions increasingly adopt generative AI to enhance their offerings, they face growing scrutiny from regulators to ensure robust safeguards across all customer touchpoints. “For financial institutions, compliance and growth can often feel like competing priorities,” said Nir Laznik, co-founder and CEO of Sedric. “Our compliance-dedicated AI turns risk into an opportunity, providing a proven, bank-ready solution already widely adopted across the financial services sector.” 

Sedric’s platform is among the first of its kind to feature a large language model specifically designed for compliance, giving firms a holistic view of their compliance risks across all communication channels. The technology allows companies to quickly identify and correct potential policy breaches, reducing the need for costly manual reviews. 

The company’s growth has been impressive, with revenue increasing fivefold in the past year. Sedric now counts global banks, lenders, trading platforms, and insurers among its clients in the U.S. and Europe. 

Eyal Peleg, co-founder and CTO, emphasized the importance of responsible AI adoption: “GenAI will transform the financial sector, but it’s crucial to use it responsibly. Our platform provides the guardrails needed to ensure AI is used safely and within regulatory boundaries.” 

Amberdata Achieves SOC 2 Type II Compliance for Enhanced Data Security

Amberdata, the provider of digital asset data and analytics for institutional clients, has achieved SOC 2 Type II compliance in line with the standards set by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) under SSAE 18. This achievement underpins Amberdata’s commitment to providing enterprise-level security for customer data.

The audit was conducted by Prescient Assurance, specialists in security and compliance attestation services for B2B and SaaS companies. SOC 2 compliance assures Amberdata’s clients that their data is managed with the highest standards of security, privacy, and compliance, crucial for service providers handling sensitive customer data in the cloud.

“Our institutional customer base requires us to implement a strong security compliance program, and the transparency provided by a SOC report is essential to grow our business,” commented Shawn Douglass, CEO of Amberdata, “The fact that Amberdata achieved an unqualified opinion on a SOC 2 Type II audit report proves that we have the necessary controls and processes in place for compliance. Having our testing conducted by Prescient Assurance, the leader in security testing and compliance for SaaS companies, will provide additional assurance around our security, availability, and processing integrity to our customers.”

3forge Secures Investment from Morgan Stanley

3forge, a provider of high-performance code solutions for business-critical applications, has announced its first external funding since its founding in 2011, with an investment from Morgan Stanley.

The 3forge platform enables developers to build enterprise applications with a strong emphasis on real-time data integration, virtualisation, processing, and visualisation. Since 2014, its technology has been utilised by Tier-1 global banks, hedge funds, asset managers, exchanges, and sovereign wealth funds to support hundreds of client-driven, mission-critical business use cases.

Robert Cooke, Founder of 3forge, commented: “We are thrilled to close on an investment by Morgan Stanley, a longstanding partner who truly understands the value and performance of 3forge technology. This is an exciting milestone as we continually expand our capabilities to help enhance client workflows and productivity.”

The financial terms of the investment were not disclosed.

DiffusionData Releases Diffusion 6.11 with Enhanced Developer Features

DiffusionData has announced the release of Diffusion 6.11, introducing several developer-focused enhancements aimed at accelerating development, reducing operational costs, and ensuring efficient real-time data delivery. Key improvements include a major boost in distributed update performance, aligning clustered environment speeds with single-server operations through asynchronous processing.

The release also introduces a new usage monitoring feature that enables customers to collect usage statistics, which can be periodically reviewed by DiffusionData for optimised feedback. Additional updates include a cluster-aware session event listener, new API capabilities for session filtering and topic management, and the option to disable delta compression in update streams for reduced client CPU usage. Enhancements to the Diffusion Management Console provide a more intuitive interface for managing topic views and viewing JSON structures.

Grethe Brown, CEO of DiffusionData, commented: “Many of the enhancements we’ve introduced in 6.11 have been driven by an ongoing dialogue with our Diffusion community. It’s important for us to understand the evolving requirements of our clients and address those when introducing improvements to our framework. The enhancements reflect some of the daily challenges faced by developers and are intended to improve operational productivity.   The feedback from our amazing customers continues to fuel our innovations in real-time data.”

Murex Completes MX.3 Implementation for Collateral Management and SIMM at Mediobanca

Murex, the provider of trading, risk, and processing solutions for capital markets, has successfully implemented its MX.3 platform for collateral management and Standard Initial Margin Model (SIMM) at Mediobanca. The Milan-based bank aimed to enhance operational efficiency, streamline processes, and optimise capital usage through this go-live. The implementation integrates Mediobanca’s front-to-back operations, including accounting and payments, onto a single system.

The expanded collateral management scope now covers OTC, cleared and listed derivatives, repos, and securities, while the SIMM solution offers real-time connectivity for processing variation margins and advanced back-testing. The successful collaboration between Murex and Mediobanca has resulted in a more integrated IT architecture and improved reporting capabilities, supporting the bank’s strategic objectives.

TS Imagine Unveils Platform 3.0

TS Imagine, the trading, portfolio, and risk management solutions provider, has launched Platform 3.0, a comprehensive upgrade developed over three years of research, development, and investment. This new platform represents a significant modernisation of TS Imagine’s offerings, designed to position its users at the forefront of innovation in global capital markets. Platform 3.0 integrates a wide range of enhancements, including advanced data analytics, artificial intelligence, and automation tools, providing users with real-time, intraday insights and optimised workflows.

Key features include an expanded cross-asset class liquidity network with over 300 endpoints, immediate access to all asset classes for new users, and a significant reduction in total cost of ownership, especially in fixed income trading. The platform utilises AI-driven automation to convert unstructured data into machine-learning-ready structured data, streamlining decision-making processes and automating compliance tasks. Additionally, the new AutoRoute tool improves order flow management by automatically routing orders, assigning brokers and traders, and enhancing operational efficiency.

Platform 3.0 also broadens data coverage to over 20 million financial instruments, allowing users to diversify their trading strategies. Enhanced risk management capabilities, including tools like RiskSmart+ and a comprehensive margin calculator, enable users to handle margin calls and mitigate market risks effectively. With a modular design, Platform 3.0 is tailored to meet the needs of both small and large investment firms, providing scalable, customisable solutions that help firms grow and adapt to evolving market conditions.