Investment Metrics, a provider of analytics, reporting, data, and benchmarking solutions for the institutional investment market, has acquired London and Boston-based Style Analytics, a cloud-based SaaS platform that provides Investment Factor and ESG Exposure analysis for the institutional investment community worldwide.

Exchange traded funds (ETFs) will be included in the Investment Association’s (IA) sectors from 19 April 2021. Their inclusion will coincide with the division of the IA Global Bonds sector, which will be split into 14 new sectors.

Exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuers Charles Schwab Investment Management, and WisdomTree Asset Management, have signed on as new clients of Virtu’s eNAV ETF analytics tool, which has been enhanced with MarketAxess’ award-winning Composite+, an AI-powered algorithmic pricing engine for corporate and emerging market bonds.

By Matthew Chapman (pictured), Director, ACA Compliance Group – Geopolitical change and uncertainty, regulatory sabre-rattling and industry shake-ups have combined to create a perfect storm for many financial services firms when it comes to their trade and transaction reporting obligations under MiFIR, EMIR and SFTR.

Independent futures brokerage RJ O’Brien & Associates (RJO) has selected Broadridge’s post-trade platform to deliver transformational levels of efficiency across its global exchange-traded derivatives operations.

ETFs are justly celebrated for their transparency but Abraham Thomas, Chief Data Officer and Co-Founder of Quandl believes that it can be difficult for investors to view or trust underlying ETF holdings across their entire portfolio. 

FactSet a provider of integrated financial information, and analytical applications, is to acquire Truvalue Labs, a specialist AI-driven environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data. 

ETF assets are on a roll and currently predicted to grow to USD50 trillion by 2030, driven by their improved regulatory status in the US, with the arrival of the ETF rule, and the rise of active funds, including the semi and non-transparent version. July saw the launches of actively managed ETFs exceed passive ETFs for the first time.

As the mass affluent investor segment is tipped for growth, wealth managers should ensure they have scalable solutions to manage the potential increase in client numbers which could come with capturing the progress in this area.

The ASEAN region has demonstrated itself as a major area for investment and potential growth. However, much of this growth is still on the horizon and yet to be materialised. For the prospects of the ASEAN region to reach their true potential, the current environment requires cost efficiency, scalability and talent. These are critical factors to creating a supportive ecosystem.