In other FinTech news, SimCorp adds to its IBOR and CloudMargin reaches out to South Africa.
Firm Gains Time, Ops Advantages via SS&C Hosting
Investment manager DDJ Capital Management has signed on to use the hosted, software-as-a-service (SaaS) version of the venerable Portia system to outsource the creation, maintenance and control of overnight workflows and batch jobs, say officials at SS&C Technologies, the financial IT conglomerate that owns Portia.
The SaaS version of Portia, supported via SS&C data centers, has helped the firm save time, officials say.
The SaaS implementation includes value-added services “to help streamline business processes and allow DDJ to achieve more straight through processing (STP),” officials say. The services include full integration, batch processing, and other automation via SS&C’s solutions. The move to SaaS has let DDJ deliver on its cloud strategy and focus on core business projects to increase asset and client growth. The firm has been able to dedicate more resources to projects that support its mission of better investment returns for its clients.
“Utilizing SS&C’s Portia SaaS platform has freed up back-office and IT resources to focus on priority items while also improving efficiency and reliability,” says Stephen Simmons, director at DDJ Capital Management, in a prepared statement, adding that SS&C’s solutions include support for disaster recovery. DDJ’s sole office is located in Waltham, Mass.
The SS&C Portia SaaS platform can be used to automate daily activities, support disaster recovery efforts via quick, remote server access, and deliver database administration and monitoring services to bolster data and platform integrity, officials say.
SimCorp’s Private Debt Module Works with Its IBOR
SimCorp, an investment management solutions and services vendor, recently introduced private debt into the latest version of its investment platform, SimCorp Dimension, officials say.
“The new private debt module is part of SimCorp’s dedicated alternative investments focus and was developed in partnership with clients, including, PKA, Denmark’s fourth largest pension fund with over EUR 33 billion in AUM,” SimCorp officials say. The addition is in response to growing interest globally among institutional investors “seeking risk-adjusted yields across asset classes, in a continually low-interest rate environment.”
The new private debt module supports buy-side operations that facilitate many kinds of loans including syndicated, term, direct, bilateral, bank and commercial, officials say. When combined with SimCorp’s Investment Book of Record (IBOR), the module can now be part of a firm’s investment value chain, from front to back office.
The introduction of this asset class forms part of SimCorp’s strategic focus to create an integrated solution that offers a wide range of financial instruments across traditional and alternative asset classes, “as institutional investors continue to diversify,” officials say. Investment managers should be able to optimize and manage intricate private debt transactions in a highly-automated process, “removing the previous difficulties of manual processing, caused by private debt’s unique features, such as parallel interest terms, special lifecycle events and valuation.” The new module also cuts down on trade flow complexities such as delayed settlements and special fees calculations.
CloudMargin, CSD Create Tri-Party Collateral Management Services
CloudMargin, maker of a web-based collateral and margin management solution, and Strate, the South African Central Securities Depository (CSD) and South Africa’s first tri-party collateral management agent, have announced that their integrated platforms will make tri-party messaging and collateral optimization more accessible for both buy- and sell-side firms working in South African markets.
South African securities firms will get automation and straight-through processing by leveraging integrated cloud-based technology to exchange tri-party SWIFT1 messaging for collateral instructions, settlement and confirmations, officials explain.
“The agreement enables clients to efficiently and seamlessly use their collateral held at Strate to cover their margin calls in the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives market,” officials say. “For local market participants without their own SWIFT membership, this previously would have been a time-consuming, manual process to handle messaging related to collateral instructions, confirmations and settlement.”
The collaboration “comes at a time when firms here are preparing to meet the requirements of the non-cleared OTC derivatives margin regulation due to take effect on Sept. 1, which will require enhanced collateral management capability from both the buy-side and the sell-side,” says Steve Everett, general manager of Strate Collateral Management Services, in a statement.
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