Celent report predicts boom for risk management software
Buy-side portfolio and risk management software spending is expected to grow to US$1.9 billion in 2015, according to a report from consultancy Celent.
Demand from asset managers for improved capital protection and predictable risk-aligned returns means many are seeking greater clarity of underlying risk factors and are using software tools to help them.
As front-office needs become more risk-centric and middle-offices begin to align their risk view with the front desk, vendors are expanding their systems footprint across both areas.
Hybrid “front-to-middle-office” systems have begun to emerge and vendors are seeking to integrate their offerings outside their historic positioning in order to capture a larger share of the value chain.
These factors are driving growth in the market for software aimed at asset managers.
Eze upgrades portfolio management system
Eze Software has upgraded its portfolio management system, Tradar PMS, with improved trade workflow and alerting functionality.
Tradar PMS 5.1 enhances its operational and trade workflow and adds new performance reporting capability. Eze said this will enable buy-side users to gain more insight into the drivers behind their investment returns.
It also adds a number of features to improve communication across an organisation, including automated email notifications and sending ad-hoc system alerts.
Gerry Gualtiere, director of Tradar PMS, Eze Software, said: “The release adds a number of important functional enhancements to the post-trade management workflow. As always, this new release is driven by what our clients and prospects require in order for them to make efficient investment decisions and remain compliant with industry standards and regulations.”
Perseus launches wireless network for London exchanges
Perseus Telecom has launched a high-speed wireless services to connect several London-based financial markets.
NYSE Euronext, BATS Chi-X Europe, London Stock Exchange, London Metal Exchange, iCap EBS and Thomson Reuters and now connected to the service.
It enables market participants to connect across the London metro area and with the wireless network in Frankfurt, giving financial institutions increased precision when using time-sensitive trading applications and go between markets.
The service uses microwave technology to enable it perform better under London weather conditions and has 99% availability. It will run alongside Perseus’ fiber solution.
Jock Percy, CEO of Perseus Telecom, said: “Connecting the London exchanges wirelessly is a significant milestone for the industry and the market. We are also very excited to bring this network together with our microwave connections to Frankfurt currently the fastest as well as with QuanTA our fastest trans-Atlantic product.”
Real-time mortgage analytics added to Charles River IMS
Charles River has expanded its fixed income decision-making tools to incorporate real-time mortgage analytics from The Yield Book.
Its Charles River Investment Management Solution will integrate the yield book analytics for mortgage-backed securities, collateralised mortgage obligations and commercial mortgage-backed securities.
Users can apply a variety of risk measures for their asset-backed securities including key rate durations, convexity and option-adjusted spread for portfolio management.
"We continue to introduce fixed income enhancements for portfolio managers, including advanced tools that allow them to analyse credit, rate or currency exposure compared to benchmarks," said Tom Driscoll, Global Managing Director, Charles River. "Our solution combines all portfolio management workflows into a single view, with integrated data and analysis."