Our free FinTech roundup also covers news from BNP Paribas Asset Management, Strategic Global Advisors & Northern Trust, and Greenwich Associates.
Pimco, State Street, Man Group & Others Back HUB
A new technology and services provider, dubbed HUB, is being launched by investment manager Pimco, U.K. firm Man Group, custodian State Street, vendors IHS Markit and Microsoft, and consultancy McKinsey & Co. in an effort to offer a cloud-based platform “built by asset managers for asset managers,” officials say.
The stated goal of HUB, which will be based in London, is to yield “a cloud-based operating platform aimed at transforming asset managers’ operations technology,” according to officials. “The platform will be designed and built in collaboration with Pimco, Man Group, IHS Markit, State Street, Microsoft and McKinsey.”
The partnership behind HUB has endorsed Microsoft as its technology provider and the asset management operating platform to come will run on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform.
“Through this partnership, HUB will combine modern technology and infrastructure to streamline our middle and back office functions and feed data to every part of our business including distribution and analytics,” says Emmanuel Roman, CEO of PIMCO, in a prepared statement.
“This technology platform forms a core component of our broader strategy which combines technology with portfolio management and client service excellence to provide investors with investment solutions,” Roman says.
The HUB plan is to “transform the industry’s operating model by providing flexible and modular solutions across middle and back office functions,” to cut costs and mitigate risks. “The platform will accelerate the move to a digital operating model enabling asset managers to deliver innovative solutions to their clients both now and in the future,” officials add. HUB will offer a “data-first approach” intended to eliminate data silos and “friction between systems and data,” officials say.
Officials declined to disclose the financial terms of the partnership.
BNPP AM Names Head of LatAm
Luiz Sorge
BNP Paribas Asset Management reports the appointment of Luiz Sorge as its Latin American head.
His appointment went into effect on the first day of 2021. Sorge will be based in São Paulo, Brazil, and will report to Sandro Pierri, the global head of the firm’s client group. In addition, Sorge will retain his current post as CEO of BNPP AM Brazil.
Sorge’s new mandate also adds responsibility for BNPP AM’s operations in Argentina, Chile, Columbia, Mexico, and Peru. And he will join the management committee and BNPP AM’s global business committee, in addition to regional governance committees.
He joined BNPP AM in 2001 as director of products for BNPP AM Brasil, and in 2007 he became head of sales and product development for institutional and individual investors, external distributors, and foreign investors. In July 2013, he was appointed CEO of BNPP AM Brasil and made a member of the executive committee of Banco BNP Paribas Brasil.
Strategic Global Advisors Taps Northern Trust for Outsourcing
Strategic Global Advisors, LLC., which characterizes itself as a woman- and employee-owned institutional asset management firm headquartered in Newport Beach, Calif, has picked Chicago-based Northern Trust to provide middle office outsourcing and outsourced foreign exchange transactions.
Strategic Global Advisors officials say it selected Northern Trust for “its client servicing approach, product capabilities, advanced technology and commitment to middle office outsourcing for investment managers.”
Northern Trust Corporation, founded in 1889, describes itself as a provider of wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking to corporations, institutions, affluent families, and individuals. It tallies offices in 22 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., as well as at 22 locations in Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific region. As of September 30, 2020, Northern Trust had assets under custody/administration of US $13.1 trillion, and assets under management of US $1.3 trillion.
Greenwich Associates Hires David Easthope
David Easthope
Market research firm Greenwich Associates, a provider of data, analytics, and insights to the financial services industry, reports that it has hired David Easthope as a senior advisor to its market structure and technology group.
In that new position, he will head the market structure & technology’s efforts in capital markets fintech and market data & analytics, according to the firm’s statement.
Easthope joins Greenwich Associates from market research company Celent, where he led the firm’s capital markets practice, according to the Greenwich statement.
He is a chartered financial analyst, who “regularly advises financial institutions, technology firms and strategic investors on strategy, growth, digital, vendor selection, and investments,” the statement notes.
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