Investors See Relevance in Double Materiality Ratings: ISS ESG Survey

Institutional investors believe that ESG ratings built on a double materiality methodology are “very relevant” to them, according to an ISS ESG survey of client needs.

The analysis also found that investors consider the reporting standards of International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), UN Global Compact (UNGC) and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) most relevant to their needs.

The findings were contained in the company’s ESG Corporate Rating Survey, in which it sought to gauge client responses to the methodologies it uses to create its sustainability research.

The survey results, which will be discussed in a webinar next month, also show that investors’ most relevant ESG theme is addressing climate change.

Aquis Markets Introduces Conditional Order Functionality to Enhance Trading Efficiency

Aquis Markets, the pan-European equities trading arm of Aquis Exchange PLC, has introduced conditional order functionality on its Aquis UK and Aquis EU platforms. This enables members to simultaneously post liquidity across multiple venues without the risk of over-trading. Through this functionality, members can issue an ‘Indication of Interest’ (IOI), which may trigger a ‘firm-up invite’ for potential matches. Acceptance must then occur within a 300 microsecond window, upon which trades will take place on the Aquis Matching Pool (AMP), Aquis’s dark pool.

Members can also set a Minimum Execution Size and specify Large-in-Scale (LIS) executions, ensuring that orders meet specific size criteria. Additionally, Aquis has broadened trading strategies by allowing regular conditional orders to match with AMP liquidity or other conditional orders, and by enabling interaction with clients of OptimX, a block trading consolidator set to launch later this quarter.

Trading Technologies Announces Connectivity to EPEX SPOT for European Power Trading

Trading Technologies International, Inc. (TT), has unveiled its new connection to the European Power Exchange (EPEX SPOT), the largest power exchange in Europe, marking a significant expansion into the European physical power markets via the TT platform. This strategic move, developed in partnership with a major European energy supplier, introduces a continuous intraday power trading capability to TT’s clients, offering a fully co-located service.

EPEX SPOT, headquartered in Paris and operating as an independent subsidiary of the European Energy Exchange (EEX), spans power markets across 13 European countries. The integration with TT allows traders to leverage algorithmic trading tools and comprehensive risk management solutions. The initiative aims to foster competitive pricing and greater choice for European electricity consumers, aligning with the broader objectives of market transparency and efficiency.

SIX Adds to ESG Products With SME Assessment Tool

Swiss financial giant SIX has launched a tool that will enable banking clients to make assessments on the sustainability performance of small- and medium-sized enterprises on their loan books.

The service is backed by Greenomy, an ESG assessment and reporting company that the Swiss company acquired late last year. With Greenomy’s software-as-a-service platform, the solution will help banks comply with regulations such as the EU’s new Banking Book Taxonomy Alignment Ratio (EU BTAR).

Further, banking clients will be able to gauge their debtors’ sustainability risk trajectories.

“The importance of gaining a clearer insight into the climate credentials of small and medium-sized enterprises cannot be overstated,” said SIX head of financial information Marion Leslie. “After all, SMEs represent 90 per cent of businesses worldwide, not to mention 99 per cent of the EU’s economy.”

The SME Sustainability Assessment Solution is the latest tool to be released by SIX this year. The Zurich-based operator of the stock exchanges of Switzerland and Spain unveiled a climate-specific data tool last month. That was the first in a programme of product releases that SIX head of ESG product strategy Martina McPherson said would create a one-stop-shop of sustainability data services.

Goldman Sachs Surpasses 99% Same-Day Affirmation Rate with DTCC’s CTM’s M2i Workflow

With T+1 settlement now just three months away, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC has achieved over a 99% same-day affirmation rate and significant improvements in settlement rates for transactions using DTCC’s CTM’s Match to Instruct (M2i) workflow in Q4 2023. This includes a 38% decrease in same-day affirmation exceptions and a 64% reduction in US settlement fails by value among investment manager counterparties.

CTM’s M2i workflow, a central matching service for cross-border and domestic transactions across multiple asset classes, is a key component of DTCC’s Institutional Trade Processing (ITP) suite and facilitates central matching and auto-affirmation for DTC-eligible securities, significantly improving same-day affirmation rates and efficiency in trade processing.

Adaptive Announces Performance Breakthroughs with Aeron Technology on Google Cloud

Adaptive Financial Consulting (Adaptive) has announced significant performance improvements for its Aeron technology, a cloud-native, open-source, low-latency message transport and cluster technology, following extensive testing on Google Cloud infrastructure. The collaboration between Adaptive and Google Cloud showcased Aeron’s ability to deliver microsecond latency and millisecond recovery, enabling low-latency, resilient trading systems without relying on traditional on-premises infrastructure.

Aeron comprises Aeron Transport, which facilitates messaging, and Aeron Cluster, designed for zero downtime, 24/7 trading systems. Aeron Premium adds an extra suite of components that further enhance performance, security, fault tolerance, and recovery. Aeron Premium employs components for kernel bypass, significantly reducing packet processing overhead and thereby enhancing network transport speeds.

Imandra Brings AI-Powered Automated Reasoning and Digital Twin Technology to European Exchange Landscape

Imandra, an innovative AI startup, has made significant gains in the European exchange market with its flagship product, Imandra Markets, which now oversees technology responsible for about 25% of all European equities trading. Imandra Markets offers a comprehensive suite of AI-powered services aimed at enhancing the design, testing, calibration, and auditing of complex financial systems. This enables exchanges and trading venues to significantly improve their business intelligence and system resilience.

Imandra’s digital twins simulate real-world applications in a secure, virtual environment, employing AI-powered logical reasoning to verify system behaviour. This enables users to identify defects and inefficiencies early, before systems process any data or trades. This approach is significantly more efficient and cost-effective for eliminating problems than addressing them in later stages, according to the company.

Mirae Asset Global Investments and Bloomberg Plan Strategic Collaboration

Mirae Asset Global Investments and Bloomberg are planning a global strategic data and technology collaboration to support Mirae Asset, an asset manager headquartered in South Korea and operating in 16 markets, in its global business expansion and digital transformation. Bloomberg will offer solutions tailored to Mirae Asset in support of the asset manager’s mission to provide exceptional investment offerings for global investors. Both parties will also actively explore additional areas for collaboration, particularly in the realms of digital transformation, data solutions and innovation. This is Bloomberg’s first MOU in South Korea.

Napier Extends Availability of Continuum AML Compliance Solution

Napier, a London-based financial crime compliance RegTech, has extended the availability of its Anti Money Laundering (AML) platform, Napier Continuum, through two new service offerings: Napier Continuum Live and Napier Continuum Flow.

Napier Continuum Live is a plug-and-play hosted offering that brings the benefits of the platform’s client screening and transaction monitoring to organisations looking to go live and achieve regulatory compliance as quickly as possible.

Napier Continuum Flow is a headless API service designed for organisations looking to leverage AI-powered financial crime compliance intelligence into their existing infrastructure. Using this solution, organisations can route alerts from Napier’s AI-driven screening and monitoring engines into their existing workflow for case management.

Tokenbridge Introduces New Features to Enhance Tokenised Model Portfolios in Wealth Management

Tokenbridge, the token aggregator and distribution platform, has unveiled a set of new features aimed at revolutionising the wealth and fund management industry through the support of tokenised model portfolios. The new functionalities facilitate seamless integration and automation between tokenised and traditional finance (TradFi) assets, streamlining the construction, distribution, and evaluation of model portfolios.

The new features are designed to reduce the complexity, volume, and cost of managing portfolios, enhancing connectivity between model portfolio providers, distributors, and clients through smart contracts. For investors, the features offer flexibility and personalisation in portfolio management, aligning investment preferences across both tokenised and un-tokenised ecosystems.