Pimco Hires from Bayside Capital Pimco, the Newport Beach, Calif.-based investment management firm, reports that it has hired Lionel Laurant as an executive vice president and portfolio manager focusing on distressed credit strategies. He will be based in the London office, reporting to Marc Seidner, managing director and chief investment officer — non-traditional strategies. Laurent… Read More >>
Vendors Are Rushing to Fill Voids in Ops Offerings
Front-office financial technology vendors are moving quickly to expand their reach into the middle and back office while traditional portfolio accounting systems providers are moving upstream into the middle office in attempts to provide a fuller suite of asset management operational services, according to a new report from market research firm Celent, a division of… Read More >>
The First Conviction in the LIBOR Scandal
The situation sounds almost like a bad, high-concept synopsis for a Hollywood movie — maybe “Rain Man” meets “Wall Street” — but the reality is far less glamorous. In the U.K., Tom Hayes, described by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) as “the first individual to be charged and stand trial” in an ongoing criminal investigation… Read More >>
Bank of America Vet Joins Holley Holland
Bank of America (BofA) veteran Marty Rose has joined Holley Holland, the self-described “business transformation experts” to build the change management consultancy’s U.S. business, including opportunities in Charlotte, North Carolina, and throughout the region, officials say. Rose, who will be based in Charlotte, has left her post as chief operating office (COO) of the EST… Read More >>
Five Years On, Dodd-Frank’s Ops Changes Are Here to Stay
The U.S. financial services industry — including its collective back- and middle-offices in particular — has undergone sweeping changes since the Great Recession, the vast majority of which are directly attributable to the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act. The law was contentious from the very beginning, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that opinion on its… Read More >>
ISDA: Regulatory Harmony Needed After Five Years of Dodd-Frank
Despite greater transparency and the reduction in counterparty risk via the Dodd-Frank Act, the next stage of reform for derivatives trading should be focused on regulatory regimes that “are consistent and harmonized across borders, and to ensure they support risk management that enables economic activity and growth,” say officials at the International Swaps and Derivatives… Read More >>
Avox Receives ISO 27001 Certification
Avox, the DTCC’s wholly owned subsidiary specializing in legal entity reference data, reports that it has received International Standard Organization (ISO) 27001 certification from the British Standards Institution. The ISO 27001information security standard “certifies that Avox has the requisite information security controls in place to protect client data,” Avox says. “The certification is awarded only… Read More >>
Dutch Pension Fund to Use SimCorp Data Warehouse
Already a SimCorp customer, Dutch pension fund provider Vermogensbeheer B.V. (PGGM) has chosen to use SimCorp’s Data Warehouse solution with the intention of improving its performance, analytic and benchmark operations, SimCorp officials say. PGGM manages roughly €200 billion ($310.9 billion) in pension assets and has been using SimCorp Dimension since 2006, officials say. The decision… Read More >>
RJO Takes a Hosted Leap into Recs Automation
Chicago-based futures brokerage and clearing firm, R. J. O’Brien & Associates (RJO) has gone from manual reconciliation to a hosted system that has allowed staff members to leapfrog into automation, even shrinking one process from a tedious 48-hour effort to minutes, says Jamal Oulhadj, senior managing director and chief risk officer of RJO. Since last… Read More >>
Convergex Fills CFO Post
Convergex, an agency-focused brokerage and trading-related services provider, reports that Frederick Arnold has joined the firm as chief financial officer (CFO). Arnold will oversee all global financial operations and serve on the executive committee, responsible for providing organizational guidance and governance, Convergex officials say. Currently a director of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Corporate Capital… Read More >>
