TradingTech Insight Brief
OpenYield Secures $6 Million Series A Funding and Partners with LeveL Markets
Bond marketplace OpenYield has closed a Series A funding round of over $6 million, led by LeveL Markets with participation from Draper Associates, Canapi Ventures, and Clocktower Ventures. Launched in 2024 as an alternative trading system (ATS), OpenYield provides an automated, equity-like trading experience for fixed income. To date, the platform has executed nearly $2 billion in volume across corporate, municipal, and US Treasury bonds, serving more than 60 institutional clients representing over $5 trillion in assets under management.
Alongside the investment, a strategic commercial partnership will see LeveL Markets integrate OpenYield into its equities platform. This integration grants LeveL’s institutional clients direct access to OpenYield’s bond liquidity through existing equity trading infrastructure, requiring no new development. For LeveL, which is backed by major institutions including Nasdaq and BlackRock, this marks its first strategic investment as it expands its equity-market connectivity into new asset classes.
OpenYield will use the capital to expand its marketplace by adding buy-side and sell-side firms, deepen institutional order system integrations, and grow its trading data products. The funds will also support the development of agentic trading workflows and advance tokenised bond trading. The expansion aims to capitalise on the fixed-income market’s ongoing shift toward automation, particularly within municipal bonds and separately managed accounts requiring efficient, low-cost execution.
STP Investment Services Named Premier Partner for Lightspeed TDMS Fund Services
STP Investment Services (STP) has been officially designated as the Premier Partner for Fund Services by Lightspeed Data Solutions. This formalises a commercial relationship that began in 2019, positioning STP as the preferred operational partner for investment firms using the Lightspeed Trade Data Management System (TDMS) platform. The two firms already share 18 investment managers and fund services clients under this combined operating model.
The partnership integrates Lightspeed’s post-trade automation technology with STP’s operational teams, allowing investment firms to outsource trade settlement, reconciliation, and middle- and back-office operations without building internal infrastructure. Clients can choose from flexible engagement models, including standalone trade settlements, full outsourcing, or a managed service model where STP operates directly within the client’s own TDMS environment.
This expanded collaboration addresses a rapidly tightening global settlement landscape, following the US transition to T+1 in 2024 and ahead of the UK and EU transitions scheduled for October 2027. To mitigate the increased operational risks and costs of settlement failures under these tighter timelines, the platform features SmartSettle AI. This predictive analytics module identifies potential trade failures before they occur, preparing clients for future shifts toward T+0 settlement cycles.
Xceptor Launches AI-Driven Features to Streamline Reconciliation Configuration
Xceptor, the data automation specialist for capital markets, has introduced two new features, AI Reconciliation Rule Builder and Live Tester, to simplify the creation and validation of reconciliation logic. Initially accessible through the Xceptor Reconciliations SaaS platform, these tools use artificial intelligence alongside proprietary evaluation logic to automatically suggest matching and comparison rules from sample data.
The launch addresses a growing challenge for financial institutions, where rising data volumes and shorter settlement cycles require fast control deployment without expanding headcount. Traditionally, configuring and deploying new controls has created an operational bottleneck. This update allows non-technical operations teams to generate and test rules quickly within a controlled environment, identifying potential issues before deployment.
By streamlining this process, the functionality reduces the technical expertise required and accelerates the time between uploading a source file and establishing a working configuration. Internal testing by Xceptor indicates that the AI Reconciliation Rule Builder can reduce rule validation times by over 50%. The workflow keeps human operators in control of reviewing AI outputs, aiming to improve operational efficiency while maintaining strict governance standards.
Aiviq Launches AI-Powered Native App on Snowflake Marketplace
Aiviq, the client data platform for the investment management industry, has launched an AI-powered Native App on the Snowflake Marketplace. The application deepens the integration between the two firms, allowing joint customers to securely access Aiviq datasets, including assets under management (AUM), flow, and net revenue data, directly within their Snowflake environments.
The app utilises Snowflake’s Streamlit and Cortex Agent functionality to enable natural language querying and automated dashboard generation. Built on a semantic model designed to ensure query accuracy, the app provides immediate access to mastered client datasets covering companies, contacts, legal entities, agreements, and financial terms.
By running the application directly within their existing Snowflake accounts, clients can deploy pre-configured dashboards without moving their data. This integration eliminates the traditional 12- to 15-week IT setup period, making insights available immediately. Consequently, the application removes the need for internal data engineering resources, saving customers an estimated £125,000 in development and warehouse build costs, according to the company.
Clearstream Partners with Ares to Boost Access to Private Markets
Clearstream, the post-trade business of Deutsche Börse Group, has partnered with alternative investment manager Ares Management Corporation to add Ares’ private market strategies to its fund platform. The collaboration aims to simplify the investment process for fund distributors, allowing them to access private market investments with the same operational efficiency as traditional mutual funds.
For Ares, the integration opens up a broad distribution network that connects the firm with diverse wealth management sectors, including family offices and private banks. This alignment supports Ares’ strategy to make private market assets a core component of diversified portfolios for a wider range of investors.
The initiative also aligns with wider regulatory goals within Europe. By unlocking private savings for broader investment opportunities, the partnership directly supports the European Union’s objective to establish a stronger Savings and Investment Union (SIU) and deepen continent-wide capital markets.
Zema Global and Natural Gas Intelligence Enhance North American Energy Data Partnership
Zema Global and Natural Gas Intelligence (NGI) have announced an enhanced data partnership designed to provide energy market participants with expanded natural gas pricing and flow data. Building on an existing seven-year relationship, the collaboration integrates NGI’s extensive datasets into Zema Global’s Decisioning Infrastructure to support curve analytics, portfolio valuation, trading, and risk management in the North American markets.
Under the expanded agreement, Zema Global customers can access NGI data covering more than 150 monthly and 170 daily physical natural gas price indexes across the US and Canada, alongside over 80 forward price curves and 40 Mexican price locations. The partnership also introduces additional NGI datasets, including North American LNG flow indicators, shale basin pricing, pipeline flow data, and indicative intraday pricing.
Furthermore, the integration includes NGI’s Entropic Analytics pipeline flows, which capture and normalise over 20,000 daily flow data points from more than 180 interstate North American pipelines. This data automation reduces manual ingestion and improves enterprise system consistency. The collaboration is also structured to support future customer demand, allowing Zema Global to develop new data processors in response to evolving client requirements.
Over Four in Five UK Firms Now Engaged in T+1 Transition, Survey Reveals
A new market readiness survey by The ValueExchange shows that 83% of UK firms are actively preparing for the transition to a T+1 (one-day) trade settlement cycle, an increase from 66% in the third quarter of 2025. It also places the UK ahead of the US timeline, where only 67% of firms were engaged at a comparable stage before their 2024 transition. The data shows that 90% of firms expect to have their T+1 projects scoped and funded by the end of 2026, ahead of the joint UK and EU deadline on 11 October 2027.
Preparations are heavily focused on automation, which the UK Accelerated Settlement Taskforce has highlighted as crucial for success. Currently, 51% of firms have automated their settlement instruction processing, and 63% aim to finish their automation projects during 2027. Testing is also well-aligned, with 78% of financial market infrastructures prepared to begin industry testing in the first quarter of 2027.
Despite overall progress, the research highlights significant readiness gaps on the buy-side, where 57% of firms have yet to begin development work due to funding and foreign exchange concerns. Respondents also expressed doubts about third-party support; less than half believe their current service providers can support their preparations, and only 19% feel their prime brokers are equipped to do so today. On the sell-side, confidence remains higher, though firms face ongoing hurdles with pre-trade set-up and settlement exceptions.
Clearwater Analytics Launches AI-Enabled Products for Institutional Investment Workflows
Clearwater Analytics has introduced three AI-enabled products built on its investment data platform, which supports more than $10 trillion in global assets. The new solutions – Clearwater Compass, Total Portfolio Oversight, and Fund Analytics – expand the company’s platform across institutional operations, risk management, and private markets workflows. They aim to automate complex tasks and increase operational speed without compromising auditability or control.
Clearwater Compass integrates AI into accounting to automate exception management and accelerate closing processes. It features Smart Suspense, which automatically categorises unapplied cash, and Recon Transparency, which provides live visibility into reconciliation breaks to replace manual email chains. Developed with Blackstone and currently expanding to select beta clients, Total Portfolio Oversight provides a unified view of public and private assets, combining risk exposure, shock analysis, and portfolio query capabilities.
Fund Analytics targets private markets by using AI to extract, validate, and structure data from fragmented general partner reports, PDFs, and spreadsheets. This gives investment teams earlier visibility into portfolio changes, performance metrics, peer benchmarking, and look-through exposures. All three products connect directly to Clearwater’s central investment record to ensure data consistency across workflows.
FIX Trading Community Introduces New Recommended Practices for Algorithm Testing and Certification
The FIX Trading Community has launched its new Recommended Practices for Algorithm Testing and Certification. The guidelines introduce standardised, electronic mechanisms that enable capital markets firms to test, certify, and share algorithmic trading compliance data seamlessly with counterparties and regulators. By establishing uniform workflows and message descriptions, the framework ensures algorithm certificates contain precise, meaningful technical specifications beyond simple identifiers.
The practices cover critical stages of the algorithmic lifecycle, including setting system configurations, executing and orchestrating test runs across diverse platforms, and formalising production readiness through standardised certificates. This comprehensive data structure assists firms in meeting minimum legal requirements while enabling granular information – such as complete test results and clear performance metrics – to be integrated directly into internal algorithm inventory management systems.
Following this release, the FIX Algorithmic Trading Working Group will host an explanatory online workshop in the coming weeks. The group is also shifting its focus toward artificial intelligence, inviting member firms to help shape upcoming standards for agentic workflows, AI governance, and the deployment of FIX over AI-native protocols.
Marathon Asset Management Consolidates Front-to-Back Investment Infrastructure with SimCorp
Marathon Asset Management, the London-based specialist equity manager overseeing more than USD 40 billion in assets, has consolidated its front-to-back investment operations onto the SimCorp One platform. This transition allows the firm to retire its legacy systems and establish a single, unified data layer across its entire business.
The implementation extends an ongoing partnership between the two firms that began in 2010. By streamlining its technology stack, Marathon aims to improve operational efficiency, ensure data consistency, and create a scalable foundation for its investment operations. The system reduces the time required for data reconciliation and technology management, allowing Marathon to focus more heavily on client service and investment decisions driven by its Capital Cycle philosophy.
This consolidation reflects a broader trend within the global investment industry. According to SimCorp’s 2026 InvestOps Report, consolidating technology platforms and vendors is currently the top priority for 58 percent of investment managers globally. Marathon joins several other prominent asset management firms, including Pictet Asset Management, AllianceBernstein, and Lindsell Train, that have recently selected SimCorp to manage their infrastructure.