Data, portfolio valuation and OTC derivative trade processing vendor Markit Group says that global custodian Northern Trust has selected the firm as its preferred provider of OTC derivative valuations.
Markit’s portfolio valuations service is aimed at mutual funds, hedge funds, traditional asset managers, fund administrators, custodians and banks. It was launched, says Markit, in response to strong client demand and it addresses growing concerns among investors and regulators over the lack of accurate, independent valuations for complex, illiquid instruments.
Markit says it offers a bespoke service that provides independent post-trade calculation of the gross asset value of a portfolio of OTC derivative trades. Valuations are provided for both vanilla and exotic instruments, and the service is calibrated with Markit’s proprietary data, received from over 75 leading market makers. The ability to refer to these prices, which span over one million data points collected daily, sets Markit apart from alternative services, says the firm.
“Markit has been valuing our swaps for over a year now,” says Michael Muller, Senior Business Process Analyst at Northern Trust in Chicago. “Because of Markit’s extensive global support and market coverage across many currencies, we have decided to make them our primary valuations provider for OTC derivatives, and will roll out their valuations across asset classes over the coming months.”
Tim Barker, Executive Vice President and Head of Valuations at Markit, says the firm is pleased to have been chosen by Northern Trust to provide independent valuations for OTC derivatives and other complex instruments. “As the focus of regulators and investors sharpens on fund valuations, we are seeing increasing demand for our service and we look forward to working with Northern Trust to meet their clients’ needs,” he says.