Linear Investments, which specialises in providing prime brokerage services to hedge funds, has tapped genesis’ microservices platform to develop its Real-time Portfolio Margin (RPM) cash and margin management system. In line with genesis’ collaboration model, RPM was built based on Linear Investments’ requirements and expertise, and will be re-marketed to other clients by genesis.
RPM is a cloud-based solution for cash management and real-time margin management aimed at prime brokers and hedge funds that need to assess the risk situations of their clients and prospects. The platform helps prime broker clients optimise cash collateral usage across multiple brokers and anticipate margin calls.
According to CEO Paul Kelly, Linear Investments engaged with genesis to develop a pilot product based on Linear’s requirements. “We came up with the knowhow,” he says; “they understand trading and risk, and are able to take it to market.”
Based on genesis’ microservices technology framework, which has been designed for fast and agile software development, RPM is deployed in the cloud, in line with Linear Investment’s service provision methodology, Kelly says. The platform’s flexibility ensures that it meets the varying requirements of Linear Investment’s clients.
The selection of genesis for the project followed Linear’s inability to source an off-the-shelf solution that met its coverage, flexibility, performance and cost requirements. “We didn’t really see anyone else doing this,” Kelly says. Time to market was also a factor. The project was completed in under three months, highlighting the power of the genesis framework to accelerate solution delivery.
The new RPM platform is a key addition to Linear’s technology suite. Says Kelly: “It means that we can now onboard a range of clients, from futures trading firms to fixed income businesses, and are not restricted by asset or product. We can feel comfortable with the risk of the potential client and in turn manage their margin and maximise performance, this is the key to how we scale.” Kelly says Linear’s cloud-based delivery approach is in line with a growing appetite among smaller and medium-sized hedge funds for minimising the cost of infrastructure.
