Charles River Development, a trading software provider for investment firms, has opened a regional office in Beijing, China, to better connect with its clients in the region.
The new office will be located in the Excel Centre and staffed with Chinese nationals who will provide China-based investment managers with implementation, consulting and support services. Charles River’s client base in the country includes institutional investment firm China Life Asset Management Company.
Charles River’s Investment Management System (IMS), a multi-asset class trading, portfolio management and compliance software suite, has full Chinese language capability and supports over 35 Chinese security types and associated workflows. Clients can use the system to trade, execute and manage domestic and international asset classes, portfolios and regulations. The system also offers direct Chinese exchange connectivity using a bi-directional, real-time interface to a widely-used domestic trading platform.
“The opportunity to invest in international securities has increased Chinese asset managers’ demand for front-to-middle-office systems that can support complex investment strategies including domestic Chinese instruments, products and workflows,” said Tom Driscoll, managing director, global, Charles River Development.
“Charles River has always grown its business organically,” added Cameron Field, managing director, Asia-Pacific, Charles River Development. “We build local teams of Charles River experts who understand the local investment management market, language and culture.”
Field added that the company is working on a number of strategic initiatives with key market bodies in China and is closely monitoring how the adoption of the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s next generation trading system and the STEP Protocol, a Chinese FIX-based connectivity standard, will improve connectivity, data integration and straight-through processing for Chinese clients.
In addition to Beijing, Charles River’s offices in the Asia-Pacific region comprise Melbourne, Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Brisbane and Sydney.