In other news, ANZ names its first CTO, CME Group focuses on voluntary carbon markets, and SIS Software Factory embraces electronic trading.
Liquidnet Offers a Direct Link to Syndicate Banks
Agency broker Liquidnet is focusing on the issuance process for corporate bonds via a new feature that aims to bring straight through processing to the front-to-middle office workflow.
The new function of the Liquidnet Primary Markets service helps investors communicate directly with syndicate banks via their order and execution management system (O/EMSe) “as part of the book build process, before a bond is priced and allocated,” officials say.
The new feature “builds on the Liquidnet Primary Markets functionality launched in September last year, which enables bonds to be set up in the O/EMS in the very early stages of the syndication process using a pre-ISIN, early identifier,” according to Liquidnet.
Liquidnet’s buy-side members can send orders “directly from the O/EMS all the way to the syndicate bank group. Charles River Development (CRD) is one of the first to deploy the feature that accommodates this workflow,” officials say.
“As record issuance continues across corporate bond markets, integrating with Liquidnet Primary Markets will enable streamlined access to new issues for our institutional clients,” says Vidya Guruju, CFA, senior product manager, Charles River, in a prepared statement.
The announcement “brings us another step closer to realizing our vision to electronify the full lifecycle of a bond,” says Mark Russell, global head of fixed income at Liquidnet, in a prepared statement. “We want to improve the capital markets ecosystem for all participants, and we are open to collaborating with existing and emerging technology providers in this space.”
The drive to electronify the lifecycle of a bond is welcomed by buy-side clients.
“The early provision of key information around a new bond issue has allowed us to get that bond set up in our OMS much earlier, facilitating more efficient collaboration between our investment team and trading desk,” says Paul Squires, head of EMEA Equity Trading and Henley Fixed Income at Invesco Asset Management, in a prepared statement. “More electronic communication with the syndicate group will free up valuable time and resources for us,” Squires says.
The Liquidnet global institutional investment network includes more than 1,000 institutional investors overseeing $33 trillion in equity and fixed income assets, officials say. The network spans 46 markets and links institutional brokers, investment banks, exchanges, alternative trading venues, and data and research providers. Liquidnet Holdings and its subsidiaries are part of TP ICAP Group plc.
ANZ Promotes for Its First CTO Post
Tim Hogarth
ANZ has promoted Tim Hogarth from the position of chief architect to be the first chief technology officer (CTO) for the Australian multinational bank, officials say. Hogarth will report to Gerard Florian, who is ANZ Group Executive Technology.
Hogarth, who has already taken over as CTO, is tasked with aligning ANZ’s technology projects with the bank’s business plans, and will continue to oversee ANZ’s technology architecture, officials say.
“He will also continue to drive ongoing improvements across engineering and further extend ANZ’s move towards common technology platforms,” according to an official ANZ statement.
At ANZ, Hogarth served as chief architect from September 2020 to February 2022, and before that position as architecture Centre of Excellence lead from September 2019 to September 2020, according to his LinkedIn page. Before ANZ, he was at TD Bank where he served as vice president for innovation framework and strategies.
CME Group to Launch of Emissions Offset Futures Offering
(Photo: Chris LeBoutillier via Unsplash)
Derivatives exchanges company CME Group will be launching CBL Core Global Emissions Offset (C-GEO) futures on March 7, 2022, in an effort to provide a risk management tool that will facilitate standardized benchmarks for voluntary carbon markets, officials say.
The CBL C-GEO futures, which will need regulatory approval, “are intended to align with the Core Carbon Principles, an emerging set of transparent and consistent standards around the supply of carbon credits to be overseen by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Markets,” according to CME Group officials.
“C-GEO futures were jointly developed with Xpansiv market CBL. The contract will allow the physical delivery of energy, renewables and other technology-based voluntary carbon offset credits that meet quality and integrity criteria based on the Core Carbon Principles,” according to the CME Group.
“As our clients closely follow the implications of Article 6 and other developments in this space, we are responding to demand for scalable market-based solutions that will allow them to execute their reduction strategies more effectively,” says Peter Keavey, Global Head of Energy and Environmental Products at CME Group, in a prepared statement.
The CBL C-GEO futures offering is in addition to CBL GEO and N-GEO futures, which the CME Group launched last year.
Officials add that CBL C-GEO futures will be listed by and subject to the rules of NYMEX. More information is at: www.cmegroup.com/c-geo.
SIS Software Factory Debuts Consulting for Electronic Trading
The Miami, Florida-based SIS Software Factory is expanding its consulting advisory services to focus “as its niche, on the area of electronic trading,” officials say.
“SIS Software Factory comes to the fore to challenge the status quo by offering integrated trading solutions,” according to a company statement.
The vendor is offering advisory services to help firms with high-frequency trading, low latency and arbitrage, quantitative research, and qualitative development, officials say. The consulting will also help firms with futures and commodities, cryptocurrencies, CFDs, foreign exchange, equities, fixed income, and derivatives.
In addition, SIS Software plans to offer operations and customer service solutions, starting with a focus on an order management systems, officials say.
“SIS Software intends to build real-time order management systems and order blotters. In this, all the order activities and associated data shall get managed. What’s more, SIS shall provide Smart Order Routing or SOR solutions. These shall help enhance the execution efficiency and help lower the market impact,” officials add.
The company will also “provide framework solutions to back test the trading ideas in the market. From equities to foreign exchange to futures to derivatives, SIS shall provide a robust toolset to enable the research team to work efficiently,” officials say. SIS Software Factory offers three packages: the standard package, the startup package, and the corporate package.
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