Karla Derivatives is a Strategy European macro hedge fund which trades in a variety of stocks, bonds, future and options, and money market instruments. The hedge fund, registered in the Bahamas and opened in July 2005, is administered by Européenne de Gestion Privée (Suisse) S.A.

Thierry Sebban, Fund Manager, Européenne de Gestion Privée (Suisse) comments, "The challenge for hedge funds is that we have many pressures to deliver a high quality of service to our clients and provide our traders with leading edge technology to support the demands of multiple instrument portfolio trading. We have been able to address the balance between efficient business practices with affordable technology through the Financial Tradeware/EGP MA-CUG and are delighted to be able to quickly realise the benefits."

Using the SWIFTNet infrastructure and complementary messaging services, namely FileAct, InterAct, Browse and FIN, MACUG participants will be able to access a single, secure communication channel to send and receive standardised messages (FIN, FIX, XML and others) – automatically or manually – to and from the MA-CUG Service Administrator, who has direct access to more than 7500 financial counterparties through the SWIFTNet network.

Benefits for MA-CUG participants include:

• Single secure window to SWIFTNet, optimising communications to financial counterparties
• Low cost connectivity: substantial infrastructure cost reductions to achieve STP and organizational efficiency
• Security "peace of mind" following SWIFTNet PKI standards
• Service Reliability, Resilience and Availability - 24/7
• Independence (Choice of services and correspondents – i.e. custodians, prime brokers etc.)
• Scalability tailored to changing needs (manual and automated solutions)
• Implementation and integration expertise provided by FT and its Partners

Financial Tradeware is the Service Administrator of the MA-CUG, whilst Service Sponsor is Européenne de Gestion Privée SA, a fully regulated investment fund and like Financial Tradeware is also a member of the Dharma Group of Companies.

Alberto Fontana, Managing Director of Financial Tradeware adds "We are uniquely positioned to offer the MA-CUG service for companies who can benefit from low-cost SWIFT connectivity. We offer the highest level of security, efficiency and reliability associated with SWIFT Network with the benefit of affordable fees for Hedge Funds such as Karla Derivatives. We understand the pressures of balancing the efficiency of servicing clients, managing multiple instrument portfolios and IT investment. Our MA-CUG is an excellent offering for hedge funds with these challenges."