Help is on hand for investment firms struggling to meet the January 2018 MiFID II deadline.
London-based startup Hedgd today launches its Hedgd OMS (Order Management System) that enables investment managers to take control of data, costs and productivity. Provided in, and built for, the cloud as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution, Hedgd provides enterprise-grade software to investment firms who previously would not access it due to total cost of ownership barriers.
With Hedgd OMS, firms can enjoy full visibility over transactions throughout the trade lifecycle without the need for expensive infrastructure, as the system is all cloud-based with Azure. The OMS operates in a collaborative workflow “chat app” format that will be familiar to many and includes timestamps throughout the chain. Hedgd OMS allows portfolio managers to manage orders in real time and on-the-go via mobile devices.
MiFID II aims to protect investors and ensure trade transparency, so visibility in record keeping and reporting is essential. Hedgd’s robust design enables auditing for every event with timestamping providing full visibility at the click of a button. Hedgd OMS has been built with all the data attributes for transparency and transaction reporting under MIFID II.
“Until now, investment managers have been held up by a lack of real choice,” says Oliver South, co-founder and CEO of Hedgd. “Options are limited to a handful of legacy providers and suffer from historical design and old technology. As a result, this can prove expensive, time-consuming and often requires in-house IT expertise to manage.”
Hedgd’s technology is designed and built for the cloud, which means that there is no local hardware footprint and all the advantages of the cloud can be unlocked. True utilisation of the cloud allows for cost savings that are shared by clients.
Hedgd believes that the implementation and upgrade process should be simpler. Standard workflows result in a simple, yet flexible, implementation and Hedgd makes software updates available to all users.
Craig Wallis, Head of Trading at London-based outsourced Front, Middle and Back Office services provider, OSMO Partners, comments: “The existing legacy options are limited and have been around a long time. Legacy systems are often expensive to purchase and maintain, and involve hardware and maintenance. Using a cloud-based solution like Hedgd’s, we can access trades from the office or on the go via mobile device. We - and our clients - can track trades, cut costs and work more productively.”