Cassini Systems and IHS Markit announced today that they are partnering to automate the calculation of margin estimates within thinkFolio. The collaboration will, for the first time, provide advanced pre-trade analytics for over-the-counter (OTC) and exchange-traded derivatives directly within thinkFolio from IHS Markit.
Global regulatory updates such as EMIR and Dodd-Frank have resulted in a meaningful shift for front-office operations at investment management firms. They, along with Uncleared Margin Rules (UMR), call for investment firms to post Initial Margin (IM) when trading cleared and non-centrally cleared derivatives. Going forward, portfolio managers using thinkFolio can access the Cassini platform to calculate and choose the most cost-effective option while dealers are able to view the overall cost, as well as any risk, when executing trades.
“Although regulatory authorities have recently moved to delay the final implementation phases of UMR in consideration of the challenges posed by COVID-19, our partnership with Cassini Systems to deliver an integrated solution to ensure transparency of margin and collateral costs can provide value to all of our users,” said Brett Schechterman, Managing Director and Global Head of thinkFolio at IHS Markit. “Through the newly integrated, powerful Cassini tool kit and consolidated workflow, thinkFolio clients can now meet their regulatory requirements and leverage enhanced decision support analytics to measure, monitor and optimize pre- and post-trade margin and collateral utilization.”
Liam Huxley, CEO and founder of Cassini, said: “We are delighted to bring this partnership to fruition, making our solution available as a fully embedded offering within the thinkFolio platform. As we have already completed the integration, thinkFolio users can easily choose to switch it on and leverage the functionality entirely within their existing workflow. This alliance grew out of strong interest from within the thinkFolio client base and represents the latest opportunity for Cassini to further broaden our reach and demonstrate our platform’s appeal to the largest asset managers in the world.”