Broadridge Releases Blockchain-Based Multi-Jurisdictional Version of Private Market Hub

Broadridge Financial Solutions has released a multi-jurisdictional version of its private equity platform, Private Market Hub, based on blockchain technology, available to funds domiciled in North America, and designed to ease the complexities faced by asset managers with funds in multiple geographies. The hub was previously operational for funds domiciled in Guernsey

Broadridge says its new capabilities are the first of their kind in the private equity industry, allowing all stakeholders in a fund’s lifecycle to participate around a common set of data and workflows via a unified user interface, irrespective of the fund’s jurisdiction. Northern Trust, the cornerstone client, has gone live with the first group of North American clients – marking a new milestone in the evolution of the platform.

Finbourne to Offer Denominator DEI Data on its LUSID Platform

Financial institutions have a new way to assess the S factor in their ESG investments. Finbourne Technology has signed a deal to offer Denominator’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) data to the buy-side. The information will be integrated into Finbourne’s LUSID investment management platform.

Raymond James Selects FactSet for Virtual Wealth Workstations

Raymond James US private client group has selected FactSet as its primary technology and market data provider. FactSet has worked alongside Raymond James to virtually deploy over 7,500 advanced wealth workstations to financial advisors throughout the US, providing advisors with FactSet’s content and analytics within a modern, web-based interface to reduce the firm’s dependence on locally installed applications.

Fairlight Asset Management Upgrades with SS&C Eze Eclipse

Fairlight Asset Management, a Sydney, Australia-based global equity manager, has selected SS&C Technologies Eze Eclipse to update is existing workflows and provide a front-to-back investment management platform. Fairlight is using the solution to optimise team activities, ensure compliance across global portfolios, and reconcile its full investment book of record on a daily basis.

EFAMA Supports Move Towards Global Reporting Standards

Europe’s asset management industry has backed calls for globally aligned sustainability reporting standards. The call from the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) came in a written response to a position paper from the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) of private companies. It said that investors can only help bring about zero-emissions strategies if they have the sort of data and insights that can be obtained through common reporting standards.

Broadridge Opens APAC Headquarters Office in Singapore

Broadridge Financial Solutions has strengthened its presence in Asia-Pacific with a new office in Singapore that will be its APAC headquarters. The office brings together dedicated teams from product development, implementation and support, research insights, sales, marketing and finance.

“To better serve clients in Asia-Pacific on their digital transformation journeys and enable them to simplify their technology stacks to address cost pressures, inefficiencies and legacy systems, Broadridge is investing heavily in the region, and has expanded its bench of senior leaders based in Singapore,” says Samir Pandiri, president of Broadridge International.

DTCC Partners Kingfield to Automate Corporate Actions Claims

Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) subsidiary The Depository Trust Company (DTC) has connected its automated ClaimConnect corporate actions solution to the claims processing platform offered by Kingfield Corporation. By integrating ClaimConnect with the Kingfield platform, mutual clients, including State Street, will be able to automate claims from submission to settlement from their own proprietary systems.

Accenture Invests in Data and Performance Start-up pulsESG

ESG data and performance management company pulsESG has received an undisclosed investment from professional services giant Accenture, which plans to offer the Silicon Valley-based start-up’s services to its own clients. The software-as-a-service platform helps organisations integrate their internal data and investor-facing systems to help track and improve their sustainability credentials.

Data Management Tools Are Priority Investment Among Financial Services Firms

Investing in technology to optimise data and modernise data management are top priorities for financial services firms. Research by Broadridge Financial Solutions among 200 financial services professions at SIFMA Operations Conference in May 2022 shows towards 98% of respondents’ companies investing front-to-back-office workflow management, with 27% of respondents citing data management tools as their firm’s priority investment. Some 23% of firms are investing in AI and automation, 13% in human capital, 10% in cloud-native capabilities, and 8% in blockchain technologies.

On the downside, the research found 94% of firms continuing to face challenges around effective data use. Some 27%  of respondents said legacy or outdated technology are the biggest hurdle, and 23% poor data quality. challenges around effective data use. Some 27% said legacy or outdated technology stands out as their biggest , with 23% noting poor data quality. Nearly 19% said they are unable to quickly test, onboard, validate or maintain datasets.

Stacking up the stats, the research shows 57% of respondents confirming that their firms still have progress to make before they reach the advanced stages of their innovation and technology plans.

UK Governments Releases AI Rulebook

The UK government has released an AI rulebook with a view to protecting data and promoting responsible use of the technology. Proposals in the rulebook look to future regulation of AI and take a less centralised approach than the EU. AI is defined as ‘machines which learn from data how to perform tasks normally performed by humans. For example, AI helps identify patterns in financial transactions that could indicate fraud.’

The proposals are part of the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill that has been introduced to Parliament. Instead of giving responsibility for AI governance to a central regulatory body – as the EU is doing through its AI Act – the proposals allow different  regulators to take an approach suited to their industry, the aim being to create proportionate and adaptable regulation that allows AI to be rapidly adopted to boost productivity and growth.

Whatever the application, however, regulators must make sure developers and users follow six core principles: ensure AI is used safely; ensure AI is technically secure and functions as designed; make sure AI is appropriately transparent and explainable; consider fairness; identify a legal person to be responsible for AI; and clarify routes to redress or contestability.