AIA Group Adopts Investment Tech from BlackRock and BNY

AIA Group has incorporated BlackRock’s investment platform Aladdin with BNY’s data management services to administer the Asia-focused life insurer’s investment programme.

The move represents a transformation of the insurer’s end-to-end investment processes, echoing a broader trend towards the outsourcing of data management services by asset managers and owners.

The company said the collaboration with Aladdin and BNY “will provide AIA with an end-to-end solution, empowering the group’s investment professionals with enhanced data and analytics capability, and more robust risk management tools”.

Asset managers are increasingly seeking third-party expertise as the complexity of their data management requirements have intensified, according to recent surveys. This has been driven by the adoption of multi-asset investment strategies to navigate growing market volatility and to comply with emerging regulations.

AIA Group chief investment officer Mark Konyn said that the insurer “will gain a single, consistent, and timely view across all asset classes allowing us to make even more informed investments across complex market environments”.

Bridgewise Brings AI-Powered Analytics to ETFs, Fund Space

AI-powered investment analysis platform Bridgewise has launched a research platform it says will close the gap in exchange-traded fund (ETF) and mutual fund analyses.

The service will offer financial clients deep intel into ETF and fund performance, including that of their underlying assets, the company said. Bridgewise has deployed machine learning and micro-language models (MLMs) to enable detailed analysis of all aspects of the funds industry.

The company, which provides analyses to more than 50 financial institutions globally, said the new service has been developed amid growing demand for information on the ETF sector. Researcher ETFGI said inflows into ETFs climbed almost 11% in the past year to almost US$13 trillion.

The product launch coincided with the appointment of ETFGI founder and managing partner Deborah Fuhr to the Bridgewise advisory board.

Bridgewise co-founder and chief executive Gaby Diamant said the huge demand for insights into ETFs and mutual funds would be beyond the capabilities of traditional research processes.

“Until now, fund analysts have faced a daunting challenge – there is no way for a human to provide a detailed fundamental analysis on each and every asset in popular funds, especially when some funds are composed of thousands of individual stocks,” Diamant said “The time it would take to complete such an analysis would quickly stretch to a full year or more. Our AI technologies not only allow for a previously unobtainable level of depth of fund analysis, but also nearly universal coverage of funds.

”Within the platform, clients will be able to access holdings analysis, intel on alternatives such as private equity, buy-sell recommendations, category indicators and asset discovery features.

Alternatives Data Service Firm Canoe Raises $36m in New Funding

Canoe Intelligence has raised US$36 million in a Series C round to help the alternatives market technology company build out its artificial intelligence-supported fund master database services.

The fundraising was led by Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives. F-Prime Capital and Eight Roads, which contributed to a previous cash injection last year, also joined the latest round.

Canoe Intelligence was launched in 2018 with the claim that it would be the first technology company in the world to transform unstructured data from alternative investment documents into standardised information that investors could integrate easily into their systems.

The New York-based company uses machine learning and other AI technology to scan publications and documents for use by its 325 clients, which comprise institutional investors, capital allocators, wealth managers, family offices and asset servicing firms. Alternatives, including private equity and credit markets, account for $22 trillion of assets worldwide, about 15% of all assets globally, and roughly a third of all institutional holdings.

“With the additional capital, we will continue to advance the alts industry by building innovative AI and machine learning technology, delivering comprehensive back-to-front office solutions, maintaining our commitment to data integrity and, most importantly, creating value for our clients,” said chief executive Jason Eiswerth.

Canoe Intelligence says that since its Series B funding round in February 2023 it has doubled growth in both the number of clients and revenue. It oversees the alternative data management needs of more than 1,000 limited partners across 650,000-plus commitments and subscriptions to in excess of 42,000 funds.

Delta Capita to Provide CLM to European Unit of Daiwa

Capital markets consulting, managed services and technology firm Delta Capita is to provide its client lifecycle management (CLM) product to investment bank Daiwa Capital Markets Europe.

The investment banking subsidiary of Japanese brokerage Daiwa Securities said Delta’s CLM will help its international clients gain exposure to the Asian nation’s markets at a time of growing demand.

The service offers full management of client onboarding, anti-money laundering, know your customer, risk assessment, screening, ongoing monitoring and periodic review cycles and offboarding.

Capita’s “experience in providing managed services, particularly in CLM, gives us great confidence that we can continue to respond the resurgence of European interest in Japan and continue to support our client base across the region”, said Daiwa Capital Markets Europe chief executive Megan McDonald.

Capita’s CLM was recently complemented with the London-based company’s recent acquisition of LSEG’s CLM technology in May. It works in conjunction with Capita’s Karbon KYC suite of tools.

The LSEG solution is based on Thomson Reuters’ 2013 acquisition of GoldTier Technologies, a provider of client onboarding software. Thomson Reuters Financial and Risk business, of which GoldTier was a part, was later rebranded Refinitiv under the majority ownership of Thomson Reuters and Blackstone, and the whole acquired by LSEG in 2021.

Bloomberg Adds Data for Compliance with EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive

Bloomberg has added a data offering to the Bloomberg Terminal that collates data that companies have started to report in line with the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The offering is also available via Data License for scalable enterprise-wide use.

CSRD expands the range of firms that need to disclose ESG data publicly and broadens reporting to over 1,000 metrics covering both financial and impact materiality criteria, with reporting requirements coming into play in 2025.

The CSRD offering is based on a mapping of European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) to existing Bloomberg data fields and includes historical data for a subset of fields reported by companies voluntarily or under previous regulatory requirements. Additional fields will be created to ensure clients can access mandatory quantitative disclosures covering both financial and impact materiality. Companies required to report in 2025 are already included in Bloomberg’s coverage, which will be expanded to include companies that will start to report in 2026.

GDF, ANNA and DTI Foundation Join Forces to Promote Standards for Digital Asset Industry

Global Digital Finance (GDF), a members association and platform for open innovation in digital assets in financial services, has partnered the Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA) and Digital Token Identifier (DTI) Foundation to support the development of standards and best practices in the digital asset industry. The partnership is designed to help drive awareness and adoption of market standards that can build stronger, transparent and more efficient bridges between traditional finance and the digital asset ecosystem.

Galilee Asset Management Selects Clearwater to Consolidate Fund Activities

Galilee Asset Management, a specialist in fund and wealth management primarily in equity and fixed income, is planning to replace in-house developed order consolidation solutions with Clearwater JUMP, a Clearwater Analytics offering designed to consolidate fund and wealth activities across the investment lifecycle.

France-based Galilee Asset Management cites a world-class user experience, platform scalability and quick implementation as reasons to select Clearwater. Expected benefits for the asset manager include a cohesive platform for all acquired entities, accurate group-level reporting and streamlined middle-office activities to increase efficiency. “In Clearwater, we have found a long-term partner allowing us to centralise our multi-entity and multi-activity business on a single platform,” says Roni Michaly, CEO at Galilee Asset Management. “Clearwater is a technological upgrade and a strategic move to consolidate our operations, drive efficiencies, and foster sustainable growth.”

Vistra and Fenergo Collaborate to Deliver Frictionless Onboarding

Vistra, a provider of business services, and Fenergo, a provider of digital solutions for know your customer (KYC), transaction monitoring and client lifecycle management (CLM), have collaborated to deliver ‘frictionless’ global onboarding for the 200,000-plus companies and funds that Vistra serves. Vistra’s Global Incorporations team will deploy Fenergo’s SaaS-based CLM product to digitally transform processes for global entity onboarding, KYC and ongoing due diligence.

Anne Dolan, head of operations for Global Incorporations at Vistra, comments: “Running a multinational business, launching a new product or fund, or expanding into new markets is never easy. Our collaboration with Fenergo means we can help our clients overcome these barriers through integrated technology and harmonised data.”

AXA XL Alternative Capital Team Selects Clearwater Analytics

AXA XL’s alternative capital team has selected Clearwater Analytics to provide strategic support for a portion of its investment portfolio. The team chose Clearwater for its proven reliability, accuracy and comprehensive ability to meet its complex accounting book of record and regulatory requirements.

“We welcome AXA XL as a Clearwater client,” says Keith Viverito, general manager of EMEA and APAC at Clearwater Analytics. “Our mission is to deliver cutting-edge solutions that simplify investment management and accounting workflows and reporting. Our solutions provide clients with investment analytics and a single source of truth for their investment portfolios across all asset classes. These solutions help clients achieve their strategic growth and investment objectives and navigate a constantly evolving regulatory landscape.”

S&P Global Market Intelligence reports accelerated adoption of GenAI

As GenAI pivots from research to product launch and monetisation, the software part of the technology is forecast to reach $52.2 billion by 2028 with a compound annual growth rate of 58% from 2023, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Published by 451 Research, part of S&P Global Market Intelligence, the Generative AI Market Monitor report highlights an accelerated adoption rate of GenAI technologies across various sectors that it attributes to advances in AI models capable of generating new content, including text, images and code, leading to enhanced operational efficiencies and innovative applications in business processes.

The report shows a significant upward adjustment in market revenue predictions, with 2023 estimates increasing from $3.7 billion to $5.1 billion and the 2028 forecast climbing from $36 billion to $52.2 billion between the June 2023 and March 2024 publications of the market monitor report. S&P says the acceleration can be attributed to expedited enterprise roadmaps for GenAI, an influx of new providers in the market, and intensified focus on monetisation as demands for tangible financial results rise.