Technology briefs

Algo unveils Suite 4.2

Algorithmics, the Toronto-based enterprise risk management vendor, has unveiled the latest version of its flagship application suite, Algo Suite 4.2.

The new offering, based on the firm’s Algo Suite 4 server architecture, supports enterprise-wide management of market, credit, asset and liability management, and operational risk. The product also features enhancements in the area of scalability and can incorporate new risk management tools, business divisions, geographical areas, instruments and lines of business as they evolve.

“Our applications offer an integrated enterprise-wide approach to risk management,” says Michael Zerbs, Algorithmics’ chief operating

officer. “For example, Algo Credit provides an integrated solution to measure and manage credit risk across both the trading and banking books, delivering consistent multi-level decision support for front- and middle-office users.”

Kiodex and LIM forge global alliance

New York-based risk management vendor Kiodex has signed a data distribution agreement with Chicago-based Logical Information Machines (LIM). LIM provides analysts with access to worldwide historical, real-time tick, intra-day and daily data as well as a range of software tools for data analysis.

Under the agreement, Kiodex global market data, which comprises more than 60 different forward curves and volatility surfaces, will be available to LIM’s customer base. “LIM is constantly seeking the highest-quality data sets to add to our data warehouse,” says Jim Garland, executive vice-president of sales and marketing at LIM. “Kiodex’s proprietary forward curves and volatility surfaces are a good addition, and I’m certain our customers will appreciate the addition of these curves to their current LIM services.”

New trade automation platform from SmartStream

London-based STP specialist SmartStream Technologies launched Transaction Lifecycle Management (TLM) – its trade life-cycle automation platform – at the Sibos conference in Geneva in October. SmartStream has tested the platform during 2002 and has a number of live clients in Germany and the UK. TLM generates a single view of the transaction life cycle by integrating trade information, giving transaction control and visibility across products, processes and departments, and eliminating manual processes and duplication of tasks. Highlights include:

• Matching. TLM matches, monitors and collates data from feeds, enhancing transaction flow from the front to the back office and between counterparties and utilities.

• Multi-product exception management. TLM gives real-time control for all products, processes and departments to automatically process exceptions and resolve discrepancies before settlement.

The firm claims early benchmarks demonstrate volume processing of around 1.5 million transactions an hour.

Murex to offer clients Reech Capital’s analytics library

Murex, the Paris-based supplier of foreign exchange, stocks and interest rate trading systems, has teamed up with London-based buy-side risk management specialist Reech Capital to offer the Reech Analytics Library (Real) suite of pricing models through the Murex Mx G2000 trading and processing platform.

Under the new arrangement, the first Real model – advanced forex stochastic volatility – has already been integrated, enabling Murex users to access the model to more accurately price and hedge exotic forex options. One of the strengths of the Advanced FX StochVol model is its ability to price and risk manage both barriers and vanilla options, thereby allowing consistent risk management across the two books.

Murex’s Mx G2000 product manages a wide range of vanilla and exotic products tailored to each asset class. It has a library of models for vanilla and exotic transactions, of which the FX StochVol model is the newest addition. The partnership will enable Murex users – including most global investment banks active in forex derivatives – to access the StochVol model for pricing and risk management.

Autumn sales

• Fortis Investment Management (FIM), the

  Belgium-based asset management arm of

  global financial institution Fortis, has signed up with straight-through processing and financial messaging specialist HelioGraph for its Helio TradeFlow platform. The platform will provide FIM with electronic trade confirmation (ETC) and electronic trade settlement (ETS) capabilities.

  The contract will allow the firm to automate its entire post-trade process, including matching, workflow, connectivity and exception processing. The ISO15022-enabled HelioGraph application will interface with Decalog – FIM’s existing investment management system supplied by SunGard Trading and Risk Systems – as well as external financial networks and services such as Swift and Omgeo. The implementation is being phased in in two parts: the ETS aspect will be live by

  December 2002, with the ETC module scheduled to go live early next year.

• London-based ABN Amro Asset Management (AAAM) has signed up with SunGard Business Integration to receive the vendor’s Mint middle-office application for STP. The system will provide ABN Amro’s asset management business with Swift and Omgeo CTM connectivity, automated workflows, infrastructure integration and messaging requirements to enhance the efficiency of its post-trade operations. The buy-side firm is already using Mint Knowledge for financial messaging across its equities, fixed-income and futures operations.

  “We were looking for the most effective way to deliver significant straight-through processing capability to the business within a very short time frame, and SunGard demonstrated both the capability and flexibility we needed,” says Ray Bell, head of technology at AAAM.

• The Energy Business Group of Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation has signed a deal with TradeCapture, a Connecticut-based energy trading and risk management systems vendor, for use of its ICTS Symphony platform. It will be used to track and manage Mitsubishi’s global petroleum and gas assets, and global marketing and trading activities. ICTS Symphony is an integrated, multi-commodity trading and risk management system that operates across the transaction chain and supports all physical and financial transactions, including exchange-based futures and over-the-counter derivatives.

“After reviewing a number of trading platforms, we decided on ICTS Symphony’s ASP version because it provided the best balance between reliable and innovative technology,” says Robert Nunan, Mitsubishi’s manager of international petroleum business planning. Mitsubishi becomes TradeCapture’s first customer in Japan and joins customers in Singapore, Dubai, Mexico, Panama, Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands, the UK and the US.

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