New Exegy Whitepaper Quantifies High Cost of In-House FPGA Market Data Infrastructure

Exegy has released the second part of its whitepaper detailing the true cost of market data infrastructure. The report quantifies the high expense for firms building and maintaining their own FPGA-based market data feed handlers. Key findings show a firm’s first in-house handler costs approximately $5.35 million, with full North American equities coverage (18 markets) totalling nearly $9.8 million. This is over five times more expensive than Exegy’s equivalent service. Annual maintenance for an in-house system is estimated at $4.59 million, more than double Exegy’s managed service costs.

The report also highlights the significant time investment, estimating 3.5 years for the first handler and 6.5 years for full coverage, compared to 6 months and 20 months respectively with Exegy. This diverts valuable engineering resources from core strategies. Exegy’s new Nexus platform is presented as a solution, using FPGA hardware to deliver ultra-low latency and 36% lower operational costs. It provides the performance benefits of an in-house build without the associated cost, time, and maintenance burden.

LSEG Expands Partnership with BlackRock to Enhance Private Markets Intelligence

LSEG has expanded its partnership with BlackRock, focused on strengthening its private markets intelligence offering. Through a new advanced data integration, LSEG customers will gain access to Preqin private markets data via the LSEG Workspace platform and its Data & Feeds products.

In parallel, LSEG and BlackRock have deepened their data integrations in two other areas. LSEG has renewed its multi-year partnership to provide its Pricing and Reference Services data to BlackRock’s Aladdin platform to support investment decisions.

Furthermore, BlackRock has extended its partnership with FTSE Russell, part of LSEG. This extension allows BlackRock to continue to license the index provider’s benchmarks to create investment vehicles for its clients.

Edaa and Clearstream Partner to Enhance Saudi Capital Market Post-Trade Infrastructure

The Securities Depository Center Company (Edaa), a subsidiary of the Saudi Tadawul Group, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Clearstream, Deutsche Börse Group’s international central securities depository. The partnership aims to jointly introduce new post-trade services to enhance the efficiency and attractiveness of the Saudi capital market for domestic and international investors.

This collaboration builds on Clearstream’s 2021 initiative providing its clients access to the Saudi market via Edaa. Leveraging its global expertise, Clearstream will work with Edaa to advance the local post-trade infrastructure and introduce new services, including collateral management, securities lending and borrowing, fund services, and digital securities.

A key initial focus for the partnership is the joint development and launch of the Saudi Collateral Management Service (SCMS). This centralised, automated triparty collateral management system will be tailored to the Saudi market. It is designed to optimise financing activities for local financial institutions, increase market liquidity, and provide easier connectivity to international markets.

Alpha One Selects Templum to Power Private Market Investing

Alpha One Asset Management LLC, a subsidiary of Wedbush Financial Services LLC, has selected Templum to provide the technology infrastructure for its private market investments. The partnership will support the firm’s family office and wealth management channels and establish a new self-directed channel for Wedbush’s Alpha One Global Family Office.

Once implemented, the Templum platform will allow Alpha One clients to invest across both public and private markets using a single, seamless system. Alpha One will use Templum’s technology and workflows to streamline end-to-end private market transactions.

Templum will provide full broker-dealer and operational support, covering pre-trade, settlement, post-trade, and secondary trading. The platform, deployed via a white-label and API solution, will also include reporting dashboards and a curated marketplace for alternative products.

ISS STOXX Unveils Real Asset Climate Data Products

ISS Sustainability Solutions, the sustainable investment business of ISS STOXX, has launched its suite of Real Asset Climate Solutions.

The product harnesses Physical Risk, Carbon Footprint, and Scenario Alignment analyses with geospatial asset-level data to support risk identification and management. The new offering is designed to identify and mitigate environmental risks to their raw assets portfolio.

The solutions are powered by the company’s acquisition of Sust Global, a geospatial artificial intelligence platform, utilising the Geospatial Asset Analytics offering for real assets.

ISS STOXX Head of Sustainability Business Till Jung said: “Physical and transition risks from climate change are accelerating and are a financial consideration for investors, banks, and insurers.”

Identifiers Body GLEIF Opens Office in Shanghai

The Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF), a non-profit managing the LEI system, has established a representative office in China’s Shanghai Lin-gang Special Area.

The expansion supports demand for the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) and the verifiable LEI (vLEI) across the region. China is a key part of the Global LEI System, following a 2020 People’s Bank of China roadmap that integrated the LEI into payment systems and digital certificates.

Alexandre Kech, chief executive of GLEIF said: “China is at the forefront in demonstrating the important role that trusted, digital organisational identity can play in breaking down the trust and transparency barriers that inhibit global trade flows.”

Diligent to Offer Persefoni Sustainability Compliance Tools

Diligent, which provides governance, risk and compliance SaaS solutions, has announced a strategic partnership with Persefoni AI enabling clients to use the sustainability data management provider’s tools to comply with ESG regulations.

Diligent will transition its carbon accounting clients to Persefoni’s platform and take an equity position in the company. Persefoni, is a.

This agreement follows the introduction of the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the adoption of the International Sustainability Standards Board ESG disclosures framework.

“Persefoni’s advanced technology, compelling roadmap, and top-tier NPS among sustainability vendors makes them the ideal partner for us,” said Amanda Carty, general manager, compliance at Diligent.

ION Fidessa Platform to Support New London Stock Exchange Private Securities Market Auctions

ION’s Fidessa platform will support auction events on the London Stock Exchange’s (LSE) new Private Securities Market. Operating under the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES) framework, this new market uses the LSE’s public infrastructure to provide intermittent liquidity auctions for private companies and their shareholders.

The market aims to simplify investment in high-growth private firms. Transactions conducted on the platform will be exempt from stamp duty, a change intended to reduce costs and simplify the trading process for investors.

To ensure seamless access for its customers from the launch, ION has released updates to its Ticker Plant market data system and the Fidessa trading platform. ION’s Ticker Plant system provides real-time market data for over 275 exchanges globally.

Broadridge Survey Finds Custodians Leading Rapid Tokenisation Adoption

Tokenisation of assets is shifting rapidly from theory to practice, according to a new whitepaper from Broadridge Financial Solutions. The report, “Next-gen markets: The rise and reality of tokenization,” is based on a survey of 300 financial institutions in North America and Europe. It reveals that custodians are leading this adoption, with 63% already offering tokenised assets and an additional 30% preparing to do so within two years.

Adoption rates vary across other sectors. While only 15% of asset managers currently offer tokenised products, 41% plan to launch them soon. Wealth managers remain the most cautious, with only 10% offering them and 33% planning adoption within the next two years, citing operational complexity as a primary driver for the slower uptake.

The survey found regulatory uncertainty to be the biggest challenge to wider adoption, cited by 73% of all institutions. Other barriers include security concerns, infrastructure gaps, and a lack of common standards. Broadridge, which reported $339 billion in average daily volumes on its Distributed Ledger Repo (DLR) platform in September, noted that the benefit gap between early adopters and non-adopters is widening.

LSEG Recognises AQX Technologies as Post-Trade Software & Regulatory Reporting Partner

AQX Technologies, provider of post-trade automation solutions, has been officially recognised as a Post-Trade Software & Regulatory Reporting Partner by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). The LSEG partner program identifies firms with proven expertise in post-trade infrastructure, regulatory reporting, and operational risk mitigation.

AQX Technologies provides a platform for multi-asset, real-time exception management and regulatory compliance. It is designed to help financial institutions meet the demands of regulations such as MiFID II, EMIR, and SFTR, while also preparing for new frameworks like DORA and T+1 settlement.

Using a cloud-native architecture, the firm helps brokers, banks, and asset managers to replace legacy systems, increase operational efficiency, and reduce total cost of ownership.