The free fintech update from FTF News includes news from CloudMargin, AcadiaSoft, and Thalēs.
SIGMA X MTF Debuts on QuantHouse
Market data provided by a multilateral trading facility (MTF) operated by Goldman Sachs is available via QuantHouse, a vendor of systematic trading solutions including market data services, algorithmic trading support, and infrastructure products.
The SIGMA X MTF market data flow from Goldman Sachs will be available as part of QuantFEED, which normalizes and disseminates market data for more than 150 feeds globally, according to QuantHouse. The new feed is a combination of external participants and the Goldman Sachs franchise.
QuantHouse will offer an application programming interface (API) link to SIGMA X MTF, officials say.
“SIGMA X MTF’s own Periodic Auction Book, the second largest periodic auction book in Europe by volume traded, publishes indicative auction quotes. This market data is now available via the QuantHouse API and can be used to identify auctions, unveiling potential untapped, addressable liquidity,” according to QuantHouse officials. Access will be offered via QuantHouse API Ecosystem store.
The store connects more than 300 buy-side firms and investment banks “to solutions provided by other buy and sell-side firms, execution venues and technology partners,” according to QuantHouse. “Connection to the Ecosystem is managed by QuantHouse via a single API.”
“SIGMA X MTF continues to meet the needs of our clients as transparency develops in the equities landscape post-MiFID II,” says Paul Brennan, chief operating officer (COO) for SIGMA X MTF at Goldman Sachs, in a prepared statement.
CloudMargin Promotes to Fill New Post
Karl Wyborn
CloudMargin, a vendor of cloud-based collateral and margin management solutions, has promoted Karl Wyborn to the new role of global head of business development, effective immediately, officials say.
Wyborn joined CloudMargin in 2015 as managing director, global head of sales after an 18-year tenure in London and Hong Kong at JPMorgan Chase, where he was promoted to managing director in 2012, officials say.
Wyborn has been serving as CloudMargin’s global head of sales for nearly four years, officials say. He will continue to report to Stuart Connolly, CloudMargin CEO, based in the vendor’s London headquarters.
For the new role, Wyborn is responsible for driving new business development strategies to support revenue growth opportunities, and for engaging with partners, regulators, industry participants and other technology vendors to boost CloudMargin’s role via post-trade services, officials say. He will work closely on a cross-functional basis with the firm’s sales, product and technology teams.
CloudMargin also intends to grow its sales operation and team over the next several months, Connolly adds.
AcadiaSoft Onboards Phase 4 Counterparties
Chris Walsh, CEO, AcadiaSoft
AcadiaSoft Inc., a collateral management services provider for the non-cleared derivatives, has onboarded “all counterparty groups” in scope for Phase 4 of the initial margin (IM) rollout under the Uncleared Margin Rules (UMR), including four new buy-side firms, officials say.
The groups and firms have been onboarded onto AcadiaPlus, a communications platform for sell-side and the buy-side firms, and fund administrators, officials say. AcadiaPlus encompasses the vendor’s Initial Margin Exposure Manager (IMEM) and Margin Manager, and serves as a central source of standardized data for the industry. The company has integrated all counterparty groups covered by IM Phases 1 through 4 onto its platform.
“A total of 19 counterparty groups encompassing approximately 1,050 new agreements are in-scope for Phase 4 of the regulatory framework established by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO),” according to AcadiaSoft. “All firms are using Margin Manager for the issuance and agreement of regulatory IM calls and IMEM for calculation and reconciliation of IM exposure using either the ISDA SIMM or schedule method.”
“We’ve been successful in building the standard platform that all in-scope firms to date are using,” AcadiaSoft CEO Chris Walsh says in a statement.
“We hold regular working group meetings for IM Phase 5 and Phase 6 firms to share lessons learned from the earlier phases and to work towards IM compliance as a community. There is no reason for these firms to go at this alone,” says Mark Demo, head of industry and strategy at AcadiaSoft.
Thalēs Hires a New Managing Director
Thalēs, a financial services firm specializing in derivatives brokerage and capital raising, reports that Ted Sturiale joined the firm as managing director to oversee advanced execution services.
“With more than 18 years of experience focusing on listed derivatives trade execution strategies, Sturiale has substantial experience building partnership ecosystems and implementing strategies for best execution technology, as well as a strong background in low latency trade execution,” according to the firm.
Before joining Thalēs, Sturiale was director of sales at ultra-low latency hardware firm, Solarflare Communications (acquired recently by Xilinx) where he ran capital market sales efforts in the central United States, officials say.
“We are pleased to have Ted join our team as he will provide our clients with specialized expertise and deepens our offering”, said Marc Cohen, CEO of Thalēs.
“Institutional asset managers and trading firms are actively seeking ways to reduce operational risk, excessive overhead, and execution slippage. I look forward to addressing these new industry initiatives,” says Sturiale in a prepared statement.
Sturiale will work in the firm’s Chicago and New York offices and report to Marc Cohen, CEO of Thalēs, officials say.
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