In other FinTech news, Northern Trust will be using DTCC-Euroclear’s Global Collateral, and CACEIS, the asset servicing banking group of Crédit Agricole, scores a German customer.
HTG, Kottke to Form a ‘Strong Team’
HTG Capital Partners, a liquidity provider for listed and over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives instruments, is slated to acquire the introducing broker, money management and proprietary trading businesses of Kottke Associates, creating “a strong team” to take on the futures industry, say officials.
HTG and Kottke Associates, which is a commodity trading advisor/proprietary trading firm working in futures markets, are expected to close the transaction during the current quarter of this year. No amount was given for the acquisition price.
HTG also serves as a consultancy and financial technology provider.
“HTG will now provide its expertise, technology and high level of service to the Kottke prop traders, customers and account managers,” says Chris Hehmeyer, manager and CEO of HTG, in a prepared statement. Hehmeyer adds that he has known Neal Kottke, CEO of Kottke Associates, for more than three decades.
“The merging of the operations of HTG and Kottke provides a strong team ready to compete in the futures industry both as principal and as a service provider,” Kottke says via a statement.
Kottke will remain “integral” to the businesses acquired by HTG, officials say. He will apply his experience from his time at the Chicago Board of Trade Clearing Corp., and as former vice chairman of the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT).
Hehmeyer is the immediate past chairman of the board of the National Futures Association (NFA), and also holds a board position at the Futures Industry Association (FIA), officials say.
HTG provides traders with infrastructure, financial backing, including the use of capital, exchange memberships, connectivity and information technology, risk management, compliance, and operational support, officials say.
Northern Trust to Offer New Service Based on Demand
DTCC-Euroclear Global Collateral has announced that Northern Trust will implement the vendor’s Settlement Messaging Service to streamline the fund administrator’s margin call process, officials say.
The settlement messaging and tracking facilities from Global Collateral, a joint venture of Euroclear and the DTCC, run on the Margin Transit Utility (MTU) technology, officials say. The service is ready for client on-boarding and is anticipated to go live with client collateral movements during the first half of 2017, officials add. It is intended to offer straight through processing to the settlement of margin obligations, as the industry prepares for pending global derivatives regulations projected to create an increase in margin calls and operational complexity.
Northern Trust plans to offer the MTU service to its clients, based upon demand, officials say. Development and deployment timelines will be determined based upon client feedback.
When implemented, Northern Trust officials will be able to confirm the underlying clients’ collateral movements with the MTU overseeing the margin call process, officials say.
The MTU service adds settlement instructions to the collateral movement, “delivering those instructions to the appropriate custodian for movement of the collateral, and delivering confirmed settlement details back to Northern Trust and its counterparties,” officials say. “This will provide automated notification that the call has been successfully completed and that the collateral has been received, providing Northern Trust with the information to help to ensure that their clients are fully collateralized.”
CACEIS Breaks Into the German Market
CACEIS, the asset servicing banking group of Crédit Agricole, has been picked to act as depositary for the first two mutual ship funds under the German KAGB investment act, officials say.
The two closed-end funds, “MS Marguerita” and “MS Tanja,” will be managed by MST AIFM Eins Fondsmanager GmbH, which is the investment management company of Mineralien Schiffahrt Spedition und Transport GmbH (MST).
Under the KABG law, “closed-ended public AIFs” are allowed to invest in tangible assets such as shipping facilities. MST specializes in ocean transport of “a variety of bulk products with modern bulk carriers and multipurpose vessels,” according to its website. In addition to deep sea shipping, MST “can carry your product by truck, rail or barge to any inland destination.”
“We found CACEIS to be a flexible service provider, keen to seek out solutions for new asset types,” says Matthias M. Ruttmann, managing director of MST, in a statement. “Our ships will be the first of this asset type to be structured in a German AIF. We have put our trust in CACEIS’s experience in dealing with regulations and launching funds holding new asset types, so will have a solid framework for the launch of the funds.”
“During the last couple of months, we have ensured we are fully prepared to handle all relevant requirements for the funds such as the depository function and relevant legal aspects,” says Holger Sepp, member of the management board at CACEIS in Germany, in a statement.
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