Brian Bollen's Blog

UK growth slumps

Growth in UK economic activity more than halved in the first quarter of this year compared to the previous quarter, according to official statistics released this morning (this corrects an earlier posting on this subject: BB).

Esprow launches ETP GEMS simulation platform

Esprow Pte Ltd, a global provider of enterprise testing technology for the financial markets, reports the launch of ETP GEMS.

BNY Mellon's Pershing expands 3rd-party model providers

BNY Mellon's Pershing today announced the addition of Invesco and Loring Ward as two new third-party model providers on its Managed360 solution. Several enhancements to its existing third-party model provider offerings from Russell Investments and Vanguard were also added to Managed360.

NT wins £6.7 billion NI mandate

Northern Trust has been appointed by Northern Ireland Local Government Officers’ Superannuation Committee (NILGOSC) to provide global custody, accounting, securities lending, performance measurement and foreign exchange services for its £6.7bn (US$8.5 billion) in pension fund assets.

Beautiful positive morning

Mint - Blain’s Morning Porridge

It’s a beautiful positive morning here in London.

Sporn joins State Street

State Street confirms that Adam Sporn joined its Enhanced Custody business development team in North America in late March.

Revenue up says State Street

State Street has just reported its first quarter figures, which it says show revenue up 7% compared to the same period a year earlier, reflecting a 12% Increase in fee revenue.

Guernsey Finance trumpets inaugural private funds

Following on from the news earlier this morning that GMT Communications Partners LLP, aided by the Guernsey offices of Northern Trust and law firm Carey Olsen, has launched a private investment fund, Guernsey Finance has been in touch to stress that it is not alone.

QUAERO Capital appoints new UK Head of Sales

Geneva-based asset manager QUAERO Capital has appointed James Hepworth as head of sales for the UK, charged with building relationships with UK institutional investors from the firm’s London office.

London stays first for China currency

Recent data from SWIFT’s RMB Tracker shows that London has retained its position as the preeminent foreign exchange (FX) and payment centre globally. It remains the dominant offshore hub for trading the Chinese renminbi (RMB).

State Street Global Exchange today released the results of the State Street Investor Confidence Index (ICI) for April 2017.

TOBAM selects BNY Mellon and FundVantage

BNY Mellon and FundVantage Trust, a fund portfolio series trust, have been chosen by TOBAM, a Paris-based asset management firm formed in 2005, to support the launch of its first mutual fund offered to US investors.

The CRS – Much More than a FATCA Mark ǁ

By Andrew Knight, Partner, Maitland

The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) is well and truly upon all early adopter countries like Luxembourg, with first reports to be filed before June 30 of this year by those Luxembourg investment funds that are regarded as reporting financial institutions.

ENSO expands Broker Vote tool

ENSO, a NEX Group business and portfolio finance and centralized treasury management solution for the buy-side, plans to expand the ENSO Broker Vote tool to include MiFID II (markets in financial instruments directive II) research consumption, powered by RSRCHXchange, the MiFID II compliant marketplace for institutional research.

Intertrust trio promoted

Intertrust Jersey, a global provider of high-value trust and corporate services, has promoted three of its staff to group services director.

Ullink bolsters MiFID 2 transaction reporting

Ullink, a global provider of electronic trading and connectivity solutions to the financial community, reports from Paris, France, that it has launched a fully automated post-trade data management solution called UL PUBLISHER.

SGSS innovates with Euronext

Societe Generale Securities Services (SGSS) says it is contributing to an innovative model, Euronext Fund Service, to facilitate investments in funds for domestic and international investors.

Launched by Euronext and available starting May 15, this new service will enable institutional and retail investors to place subscription/redemption orders, in a simplified and automated manner, through their brokers for open-end funds that are registered or passported in France, says SGSS. 

As a fund agent registered with Euronext, SGSS will process orders placed by investors through their brokers, from order reception to settlement.

Parallel to initiatives such as the FROG Working Group which promote France’s competitive market positioning within the European asset management industry, this innovative service is part of a larger drive to raise the profile of French funds and contribute to market efficiency and attractiveness for investors (this is not a delayed poisson d'avril, it really is called FROG).

“We are convinced of the importance of these initiatives and actively support innovative changes which highlight both the expertise available on the Paris market and the capacity to adapt its infrastructures in response to market expectations,” explains Mathilde Guérin, Head of Product Engineering at SGSS. “It is also an opportunity to support our asset manager clients in their commercial development through the diversification of their distribution and collection channels.” 

* FROG Working Group (French Routes and Opportunities Garden)

The FROG group, created by the French regulator (Autorité des Marchés Financiers) and the French Asset Management Association (AFG), shares the objective to provide French and foreign asset management firms that have chosen to domicile their investment funds in France with the best possible conditions for international growth.

Man to Man

Man GLG, the discretionary investment management business of Man Group plc, reports that William Ferreira has joined the firm as its Head of Machine Learning, a newly created role.

Four new board members for DTCC

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation has announced that four new members have been elected to its board of directors.

Finally watched Downfall

Finally watched Downfall last night, after failing to record Countryfile on BBC1 and then failing to activate it on the iPlayer.

It was our gain. A gripping film, and a towering performance by Bruno Ganz in the key central role. It did, though, go on a bit after what I thought was the natural ending to it, but that is a nitpicking gripe.