WEF Convenes Team to Oversee ISSB Standards

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has brought together a team of experts to offer best-practices guidance to the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). The group will monitor implementation and adoption of ISSB’s first set of standards, which are set to be unveiled by the end of this month, and offer insights and advice.

Arabesque Builds ESG Index with HSBC

Data vendor and asset manager Arabesque has jointly created an AI-supported ESG index with HSBC. The ESG Risk Improvers Index uses publicly available data and data from Arabesque’s ESG Book, a sustainability metrics platform built for financial institutions in conjunction with several large international banks.

GaiaLens Builds News Sentiment Tracker

A news sentiment scoring tool has been created to help investors gauge the ESG performances of listed companies. AI-backed GaiaLens Momentum AI assesses the scores against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, giving investors real-time visibility into their investments’ activities before they issue their periodic reports.

KX Collaborates with AWS to Make kdb Insights a Managed Service on Amazon FinSpace

KX, creator of the kdb+ time series and analytics database, has teamed up with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to make kdb Insights available as a fully managed service on Amazon FinSpace. Managed kdb Insights enables investment banks and hedge funds to launch, configure, run, and scale capital markets analytics and AI workloads with just a few clicks. Firms already using applications that rely on kdb Insights can migrate to AWS in days without modifying queries or workflows, and gain the agility, scalability, high availability, and security of AWS.

Ashok Reddy, CEO at KX, says: “With the launch of kdb Insights on Amazon FinSpace, our customers can experience unparalleled levels of price versus performance thanks to the market-leading capabilities of our Data Timehouse technology and the powerhouse that is AWS.”

ISS ESG and Qontigo Launch Joint Biodiversity Index

ISS ESG, the sustainable investment arm of Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), and index compiler Qontigo have created a jointly branded biodiversity benchmark timed for release on the United Nations’ International Day for Biological Diversity. The ISS STOXX Biodiversity Index Suite enables investors to align their portfolios with biodiversity impact targets and applicable UN Sustainable Development Goals.

SwanCap Implements Canoe Intelligence to Manage Alternative Investment Documents and Data Processes

Munich-based SwanCap Partners, an independent investment boutique, is working with Canoe Intelligence, a provider of alternative investment solutions, to automate and manage its document collection and data management processes, specifically for its capital calls, distributions, and account statements.

SwanCap has implemented two Canoe solutions: Canoe Connect, to automatically collect alternative investment documents from portals and email inboxes using API connectivity and deliver the aggregated documents to Canoe Intelligence; and Canoe Intelligence, to categorise, extract, and validate relevant private market investment data, and deliver clean, actionable insights to clients’ downstream systems.

Gryphon Fund Group Selects Linedata Mfact

Gryphon Fund Group, a fund administration firm servicing registered and private investment companies, has selected Linedata Mfact to streamline fund accounting, NAV calculation and reporting processes onto a single global platform. Gryphon says Linedata Mfact has helped it to simplify a number of back-office operations and integrate the daily workflow with other reporting requirements allowing its team of accounting experts to focus on client technical matters rather than processing client data.

Linedata Adds Refinitiv Pricing Content to Data Hub

Linedata has expanded its agreement with Refinitiv, an LSEG business, by providing access to the latter’s data sets via its Data Hub cloud platform. The platform, a proprietary API-driven, cloud solution based on micro-services architecture, offers customers access to aggregated and powered data sources. It can be deployed within Linedata’s suite of software solutions and with third-party applications.

The agreement between Linedata and Refinitiv addresses the challenges of front-, middle- and back-office professionals by covering intra-day pricing as well as closing prices of the markets. The Data Hub also meets the needs of investment funds by providing daily closing prices observed by customers.

The Derivatives Service Bureau Calls for Responses to 2023 OTC ISIN Consultation Paper

The Derivatives Service Bureau (DSB) has published the 2023 industry consultation paper related to 2024 OTC International Securities Identification Number (ISIN) and Classification Financial Instrument code (CFI) service provision. The consultation paper focuses on the next steps for the security operations centre investigated as part of the 2022 industry consultation. It also looks at the proprietary index workflow and any industry suggestions for improvement. A review of proposed changes to the release process is also raised in the consultation, as well as the search only API user type fee determination based on the infrastructure and support costs for programmatic connectivity.

Stakeholders have until 31 May 2023 to respond to the consultation paper. The final report will be published on 30 June 2023.

SSImple Unveils SaaS DLT Platform to Transform Standing Settlement Instructions Management

SSImple, a SaaS DLT platform, has launched a post-trade offering aiming to revolutionise the way standing settlement instructions (SSIs) are stored, shared, and enriched across the financial services industry. With incorrect SSI data or usage accounting for 30% of settlement failings according to industry estimates, the platform aims to mitigate risk, create efficiencies, and reduce costs for custodians, prime brokers, buy-side firms, broker-dealers, and third parties.

SSImple’s platform uses a robust industry rule engine to ensure multi-asset class SSIs are entered correctly. The platform enables automation of SSI delivery, receipt, and permission access, as well as logical enrichment at the point of electronic trade confirmation. By interacting with distributed ledger technology (DLT) databases, SSImple selects the correct SSI based on DLT position keeping records, providing real-time updates and greater transparency.