In other news, SWIFT has a new CTO, HSBC AM Embraces FinTech, and ITRS buys Opsview.
Broadridge Buys Itiviti Partner Alpha Omega
Broadridge Financial Solutions has acquired Alpha Omega, a post-trade solutions provider that uses the FIX electronic trading protocol, a move that will expand NYFIX’s post-trade services, officials say.
Alpha Omega is a longtime partner of Itiviti, which itself is the result of the 2016 combination of NYFIX and Ullink. Broadridge got into the mix when it acquired Itiviti in March.
In fact, the FIX-based NYFIX Matching solution was developed with Alpha Omega to offer buy-side firms a way “to streamline the post-trade workflow, which handles the matching and repair of block allocations by the broker with the internal systems of the buy-side firm,” according to Broadridge.
NYFIX Matching encompasses Alpha Omega’s FIXAffirm solution and Itiviti’s NYFIX network to support the “entire affirmation process,” officials say.
This latest acquisition “encompasses the remaining 68 percent of Alpha Omega” that was not previously in partnership with Itiviti, officials say.
The new deal will “formalize our four-year strategic partnership with Alpha Omega,” says Ray Tierney, president of Itiviti, in a prepared statement.
With the acquisition, Broadridge will fully integrate “Alpha Omega’s post-trade matching and consolidation solution into its existing NYFIX connectivity and FIX infrastructure to better automate buy-side and sell-side firms’ trade matching processes and further accelerates Broadridge’s product roadmap,” according to a Broadridge statement.
Broadridge officials declined to answer FTF News questions about what they paid for Alpha Omega, what will happen to Alpha Omega’s staff, and if Broadridge would be offering Alpha Omega’s customers incentives to stay with Broadridge.
SWIFT Taps Standard Chartered for New CTO
Cheri F. McGuire
Global financial messaging cooperative SWIFT reports that it has appointed Cheri F. McGuire, the former Group Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Standard Chartered as its next chief technology officer (CTO), overseeing SWIFT’s platform, network, cloud capabilities and security.
McGuire will help SWIFT launch “an ambitious transformation” of payments and securities in an effort “to enable instant and frictionless transactions across its global network of more than 11,000 institutions and 4 billion accounts in 200 countries,” according to SWIFT. McGuire, who has already taken on the new role, will serve on SWIFT’s Executive Committee, and will report directly to Javier Pérez-Tasso, CEO of SWIFT.
“During her time as CISO at Standard Chartered from 2016-2019 McGuire established a new global cyber risk management function across 60 countries and 85,000 employees,” SWIFT officials say. “Before that she led cybersecurity policy and programs at Microsoft and security vendor Symantec and was director of the National Cybersecurity Division and U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.”
HSBC AM Launches VC Strategy for FinTech
HSBC Asset Management (AM) is getting into the fintech game by launching a venture capital investment strategy targeting “companies that will participate in the transformation of financial services.”
“The strategy will provide clients with exposure to B2B companies which offer either software or financial services to enterprises or institutions,” according to HSBC. “It will typically participate in series A and B funding rounds of companies with business activity in Europe and Asia. The strategy is aimed at institutions seeking to access innovative companies, including institutional asset allocators, family offices, private banks and ultra-high net worth individuals.”
Remi Bourrette, head of venture and growth investments, and Kara Byun, director, venture and growth investments, will run the strategy, officials say. They have “operational financial service experience gained in Europe and Asia and have been investing together for a number of years. Kara joined HSBC AM in April 2020. Before that, she spent nine years with HSBC’s global banking and markets division holding senior roles in London and Hong Kong.”
ITRS Group Acquires Opsview
ITRS Group, a provider of real-time monitoring and analytics software, has acquired 100 percent of Opsview Ltd., an IT operations monitoring platform that covers on-premise, cloud and hybrid deployments, officials say. Opsview will operate as a separate brand and entity.
The purchase of Opsview for an undisclosed amount “aligns well with ITRS’ strategy to build, buy and partner to deliver smart, automated, and predictive end-to-end monitoring solutions for increasingly complex IT estates across industries,” according to an official statement from ITRS. “This development follows the successful strategic acquisitions of Sumerian, OP5 and Uptrends.”
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