In other news, AxeTrading works with ICE, Northern Trust fills a new post, ACA Group taps AWS, BNP Paribas’s new U.S. office, and ICR and InvestEdge tighten their alliance.
BofA Research Publishes Crypto Primer
Bank of America reports the publication of an instruction and information book entitled “Digital Assets Primer: Only the first inning,” marking the start of the bank’s cryptocurrency research coverage.
The bank’s head of global cryptocurrency and digital asset strategy, Alkesh Shah, led the primer’s publication, according to a BofA statement.
The cryptocurrency primer offers an “investment framework for the digital asset landscape, looking through a variety of lenses: tokens that act like operating systems; applications powered by smart contracts; Stablecoins pegged to fiat currencies; central bank digital currencies that could replace money; and non-fungible tokens that connect creators and fans in a different way,” according to the BofA statement.
“Bitcoin is important,” Shah says in the statement, “but the digital asset ecosystem is so much more. Our research aims to explore the implications across industries including finance, technology, supply chains, social media and gaming.”
BofA operates in the U.S., “its territories and approximately 35 countries,” per the bank’s statement. — L.Ch
AxeTrading Embraces ICE Pricing & Analytics
AxeTrading, a London-based fixed income trading software vendor, has integrated the pricing, analytics, and market data from major exchanges company the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) into the AxeTrader Quoting and Execution Management System (QEMS), officials say.
“Users of the AxeTrader QEMS will be able to access ICE’s pricing and analytics tools, including end-of-day evaluated pricing, continuous fixed income evaluated pricing, best execution services and ICE Liquidity Indicators,” according to a statement AxeTrading.
The AxeTrader QEMS offer pricing through “user configurable quoting” that helps firms manage request for quotes (RFQs), executes orders, and strive for best execution across multiple execution platforms and trading venues, officials say.
“ICE calculates and publishes independent evaluations for 2.8 million fixed income securities and provides continuous evaluated pricing throughout the trading day through its Continuous Evaluated Pricing service,” according to AxeTrader.
“Data-driven, automated trading strategies are clearly demonstrated to improve trading efficiency and accuracy. In fixed income trading this is further strengthened by a buy-side firm’s ability to act as both price-maker and price-taker as the situation demands,” Mark Watters, chief commercial officer (CCO) and co-founder of AxeTrading, in a prepared statement. — EMG
Northern Trust Fills New Post for Asset Servicing
Gary Paulin
Northern Trust Corp. has appointed Gary Paulin to the newly created position of head of global strategic solutions for its asset servicing business.
Paulin will be based in London and is tasked with the “development and design of innovative solutions that will enable clients to access and benefit from the full range of Northern Trust’s global capabilities,” according to the corporation’s statement.
Paulin will report to Peter B. Cherecwich, who is Northern Trust’s president of corporate and institutional services.
Paulin has more than 20 years of financial services industry experience, according to the statement, which notes that he joined Northern Trust in 2016, “after the Bank’s acquisition of Aviate Global LLP, an institutional equity brokerage firm co-founded by Paulin.” — L.Ch
ACA’s New CTO Worked at NYSE, AWS
Michael Borts
ACA Group (ACA), a governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) provider to financial services, has hired Michael Borts from Amazon Web Services (AWS) for its next chief technology officer (CTO), officials say. Borts has also served in roles in regulatory technology and market surveillance software development leadership at NYSE.
Borts, who has more than 25 years of software development team management experience, will manage “ACA’s technology development, vision, and strategy,” officials say. “In his role, he will oversee all product development for ACA’s award-winning ComplianceAlpha regulatory technology platform and technology enablement at the firm.”
At AWS, Borts worked with “large enterprise clients developing and implementing digital transformation,” officials add. His background includes engineering, operations, digital transformation, and cloud strategy for financial services firms and the entertainment industry.
In addition to AWS, Borts served as the head of digital transformation at Citco Group and head of operations, infrastructure, and information security at Warner Music Group, officials say.
“I have spent most of my career working closely with financial services firms to help them innovate and become more efficient through technology. The regulatory and environmental changes that firms are facing today requires them to be more proactive with their approach to monitoring investment and firm-wide activity,” says Borts, in a prepared statement. — EMG
BNP Paribas Creates 300 Jobs in Pennsylvania
BNP Paribas reports the opening of a new office in Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania, which is in the southeastern part of that state.
The new Chesterbrook office will “create nearly 300 new, full-time jobs,” the bank says in a statement.
“Through its commitment to invest $18 million into the project, BNP Paribas will retain over 100 existing jobs, formerly based in King of Prussia, and will create nearly 300 new, full-time jobs in Pennsylvania over the next three years,” the statement notes.
The King of Prussia area is located in Upper Merion Township, approximately 15 miles from Philadelphia.
“The new office will feature modern spaces, technology and a beautiful, natural environment surrounded by running and hiking trails,” according to the bank’s statement. “An adjacent Amenities Center will feature a food hall, fitness center, and an outdoor recreational area with fire pits.’
In the U.S., BNP Paribas employs “close to 14,000 people and has had a presence in the USA since the late 1800s,” the bank points out.
Also located in King of Prussia: the American College of Financial Services, a private college that trains financial professionals. — L.Ch
ICR Tightens Partnership with InvestEdge
Integrated Capital Research (ICR) Partners, an investment research provider and registered investment advisor (RIA), and InvestEdge, a wealth platform technology vendor, have launched a strategic partnership that expands upon previous collaborations, officials say.
“ICR Partners and InvestEdge have been working closely for the past 18 months in servicing asset managers and providing model delivery to InvestEdge clients. As part of the partnership, ICR Partners has acquired InvestEdge’s model manager hub, MMxChange and has integrated its delivery into ICR’s ResearchModelxChange (RMx),” officials say.
The RMx offering “encompasses model manager portfolios, research, due diligence, and marketing materials in one digital hub,” officials say.
The integration of ICR’s model delivery and billing process with InvestEdge’s portfolio management system offers clients “turnkey trading and billing workflows,” officials say.
“Our mutual clients have had very positive experiences working with us both, leveraging each firm’s strengths, and we are excited to expand this opportunity to all bank and trust companies as we move forward,” says Robert Mehringer, president of ICR, in a prepared statement.
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