Investment, Asset & Fund Management


Coinbase goes into Custody to let investors store digital assets

Who knows how much more appreciation in the price of Bitcoin will be required to encourage notorious cryptocurrency skeptic and JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon to endorse investing in digital assets. But when he does, a new company launched by Coinbase called Coinbase Custody will be there to make sure he does it the right […]

ForwardLane unveils new AI APIs

US-based ForwardLane has introduced a pair of new artificial intelligence (AI) APIs that apply natural language processing and deep learning AI for managing research data and communication, reports David Penn at Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). “The two APIs empower the world’s leading asset managers, wealth mangers, and insurers augment the capabilities of their star performers and […]

Supplement: Inside ETFs Europe Industry Report

Inside ETFs has produced a dedicated industry report for its 7th annual Inside ETFs Europe conference, Europe’s largest and most-respected exchange-traded funds (ETF) conference.

Aegon opts for Wolters Kluwer’s OneSumX for operational risk

Pension, insurance and investment management firm Aegon is replacing its local risk systems with Wolters Kluwer’s OneSumX for operational risk management. Charles Garthwaite, global head of operational and conduct risk at Aegon, says his company needed “a global solution” that could “comprehensively manage Aegon’s requirements”. Following local implementations in the UK and within its asset […]

AMX selects InvestCloud to power exchange solution

The Asset Management Exchange (AMX) has selected US-based InvestCloud to build a bespoke digital solution for its client base of asset owners and asset managers. The digital interface will let clients access and monitor some $2 billion of investments already on the exchange. Established by advisory firm Willis Towers Watson earlier this year, AMX is […]

Navient’s $155m acquisition shows the importance of being Earnest

US asset management firm Navient will acquire education finance company Earnest for $155 million in cash as it hunts out new markets. As part of Navient, Earnest will continue as a “distinct brand” and will be led by its current management team, including founders Louis Beryl and Ben Hutchinson. Navient says Earnest clients will continue […]

Wealthtech is coming to the High Street

For those in employed in financial services, technology has always been important – integrated systems for operations and execution have been with us for decades. But to the banking customer at a High Street branch the advances in technology may not be obvious. However, slowly and surely innovations from the fintech sector are filtering down to the mass-market.

UK regulator unleashes new hub for sweet asset management

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is setting up an asset management authorisation hub to support start-ups entering the lively market. In a speech at the “FT Investment Management Summit Europe 2017”, Megan Butler, executive director of supervision – investment, wholesale and specialist, FCA, says the hub will help start-ups as they move between pre-authorisation […]

State Street unveils Quantextual Idea Lab for investment research

State Street has launched its Quantextual Idea Lab, a hybrid of machine learning and human knowledge, for improved investment research. According to the firm, investment professionals are inundated with research reports from the sell side, the buy side and academia. It reckons financial research teams can produce enough content to consume 24 reams or 12,000 […]

Game, FactSet and match for Banco Santander Totta’s new online broker

FactSet, a US-based provider of financial information and analytics software to the investment management industry, has developed a new online broker offering for Banco Santander Totta in Portugal. The broker portal comes with an embedded trading functionality and a portfolio application. According to FactSet, the bank’s new web presence offers a “clear design with intuitive […]

ING goes manic for Scalable wealth management dynamic

ING will start a partnership with online wealth manager Scalable Capital as the bank plans a digital investment solution for its retail customers in Germany. Customers of ING in Germany will be able to register in less than 15 minutes through a paperless process. With a minimum investment of €10,000 they can monitor their portfolios […]

Aegon Cofunds to oust IFDS and its tech

Pension, insurance and investment management firm Aegon has embarked on a large technology project with a number of specialist tech providers – to move the acquired Cofunds business from the International Financial Data Services (IFDS) platform.

Nasdaq buys analytics provider eVestment for $705m

Nasdaq will acquire eVestment, a content and analytics provider used by asset managers and investment consultants, for $705 million funded through a mix of debt and cash on hand. According to Nasdaq, eVestment provides investors a database for both traditional and alternative strategies, including 2,800 individual data points on more than 74,000 investment vehicles. eVestment […]

Bambu wins strategic investment from Franklin Templeton

Singapore-based B2B robo-advisor Bambu has completed a funding round, featuring a strategic investment from Franklin Templeton Investments and venture capital funding from Wavemaker Partners, part of the Draper Venture Network.

SimCorp bags three wins in asset and investment management space

SimCorp is smiling as it’s secured three sweet wins in the asset and investment management space with C WorldWide Asset Management, Novo Holdings and FIIG Securities. Denmark-based C WorldWide Asset Management (formerly Carnegie Asset Management) has extended its Dimension licence agreement to include Data Warehouse Manager and will be replacing its current reporting solution with SimCorp Coric’s […]

Trustees Australia merges with deposit marketplace Cashwerkz

Financial services group Trustees Australia and deposit marketplace Cashwerkz have merged as they seek to tap into the cash, term deposit and fixed income investments markets. According to the duo, the new entity has access to over 30 Australian banks, and it will be able to compete well in the $2.1 trillion cash deposit market. […]

Linedata acquires outsourcing firm QRMO

Linedata has expanded its outsourcing business into Asia with the acquisition of Quality Risk Management & Operations (QRMO), a provider of outsourced middle-office, shadow accounting and risk monitoring services to the asset management and securities industries.

Absa gets real with virtual investor launch

South African heavyweight Absa Bank has unveiled its own artificial intelligence (AI)-powered online investment platform, Virtual Investor. The self-service platform uses AI and computer algorithms to recommend a product for customers based on their financial attitudes to risk. Armien Tyer, head of Absa Investments, says: “Individuals can either invest a once-off lump sum amount or […]

Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 1 August 2017

The world of blockchain and Bitcoin rumbles on with patents, platforms and positives. Our latest round-up features Bank of America, Blackmoon Financial Group, and research from Cognizant. Bank of America (BofA) has filed three new patents using blockchain. On the US Patent & Trademark Office’s website it now reveals the details. Some of the patents […]

Digital asset start-up NextBlock out of the blocks with $20m funding

Toronto-based NextBlock Global, a new digital asset investment company, has got itself off to a good start with the closing of an “oversubscribed” $20 million financing round. Like many other start-ups, NextBlock says it’s “disruptive” – and is setting its targets on the new digital asset economy. It says these assets, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, […]

Falcon Private Bank flies into blockchain asset management nest

Falcon is the “first” Swiss private bank to provide blockchain asset management solutions for its clients through a new co-operation with crypto financial broker Bitcoin Suisse. The bank’s clients can exchange and hold Bitcoins via Falcon using their cash holdings. Additionally, a Bitcoin ATM has been installed in the lobby of the bank’s headquarters in […]

Broadridge buys data and intelligence firm Spence Johnson

Broadridge Financial Solutions will acquire Spence Johnson, a provider of institutional data and intelligence, for its asset management market ambitions. With the purchase, Broadridge says its Global Market Intelligence, a platform for retail cross-border fund data and analytics, will be able to use Spence Johnson’s Money in Motion dataset that provides analytics on assets, flows […]

Natixis Asset Management to test blockchain with FundsDLT

Natixis Asset Management has started testing the FundsDLT blockchain-powered platform for fund managers. The FundsDLT concept, announced last December in Luxembourg, is a collaboration between Fundsquare, IT firm InTech and KPMG Luxembourg. The platform will enable asset managers to sell funds through a new distribution channel, while doing all the other usual blockchain stuff – […]