This Week: Refinitiv; Broadway; BMO/Clearpool; Skytra/Nasdaq & More

Broadway Adds Repo Functionality to Global FICC Trading Platform

Broadway Technology, a provider of fixed-income and FX front-office solutions, rolled out new functionality for repurchase agreement (repo) trading on its FICC trading platform, introducing automated workflows for trading, hedging, and collateral management.

This functionality, called RepoTrader, encompasses connectivity to multiple repo markets, order routing and management, and execution tools. Coupled with Broadway’s fixed-income functionality, RepoTrader enables users to trade repos and the bonds that are used as underlying collateral on a single platform.

One new feature of RepoTrader is the Bulk Order Manager, which provides workflow tools for handling large inventories across assets and geographies and enables traders to perform bulk pricing and order management across their portfolio. Traders can also access multiple order execution strategies, including pegged orders, TWAP and randomized iceberg orders to minimize impact in a variety of market conditions.

BMO Financial To Acquire Clearpool

BMO Financial Group has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Clearpool, a New York-based provider of electronic trading solutions and broker-dealer. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and other customary conditions, and is expected to close in the second quarter. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2014, Clearpool has about 60 employees and more than 100 clients, primarily US broker-dealers who utilize its trading technology and execution services. The company joins the BMO Capital Markets division, but will remain an independent offering with information barriers to secure clients’ confidential information.

The acquisition positions the firm to become a global, multi-asset class electronic trading solution, says Joseph Wald, Clearpool CEO.

Refinitiv Joins Newly-Launched Future of Sustainable Data Alliance

A consortium that aims to accelerate sustainable finance through data has been founded by Refinitiv, in conjunction with the World Economic Forum, United Nations, and other organizations and fintechs. The Future of Sustainable Data Alliance will work to channel capital toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and mainstream climate and environmental data into capital markets.

Its creation was inspired by Refinitiv’s partnership with the UN Secretary General’s Task Force on Digital Financing of the SDGs and the Future of Finance report, which shows that the availability of reliable ESG data and SDG impact data is crucial for accelerating more SDG investments at scale.

Other founding-member firms include  IIF, OMFIF, Tsinghua University, ASIFMA, GFMA, Climate Bonds Initiative, FinTech4good, Everledger, Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, Bank of Africa-BMCE, and GoImpact.

AxeTrading Integrates Overbond COBI Pricing Analytic Platform

AxeTrading, a fixed-income trading software provider, and Overbond, a predictive analytics platform for fixed income, announced the integration of the Overbond COBI Pricing analytic platform with the AxeTrader EMS for buy-side and sell-side firms, as well as agency brokers.

AxeTrader connects to more than 45 execution venues and 11 market data sources, including Overbond. COBI Pricing is Overbond's AI-powered bond-pricing solution for electronic bond trading. It utilizes deep data aggregation and AI modelling trained on five years of live market data and 20 years of back-data history. 

The integration stands to enhance users' bond-trading workflow by providing precise, executable prices in up to 30% more situations when there is no directly-observable trading price in the market, says Vuk Magdelinic, CEO of Overbond.

Skytra Chooses Nasdaq as Tech Provider for its New Venue for Air Travel Price Derivatives

Skytra, a subsidiary of Airbus, has selected Nasdaq to provide the core technology for its derivatives trading venue. Headquartered in London, Skytra was recently established to help the air travel industry hedge its revenue risk through the trading of cash-settled futures and options contracts based on a series of Skytra Price Indices.

As part of the agreement, Nasdaq will deliver a suite of marketplace systems, including the core matching engine, the regulatory reporting required under Mifid II, and the market surveillance and pre-trade risk management solutions required to safeguard the integrity of the trading venue. The systems will be hosted in Nasdaq’s data centers and the public cloud. The exchange will provide a fully-managed service, including technical operations of all software and infrastructure.

Beacon Raises $20 Million in Series B Funding Led by Centana Growth Partners

Beacon Platform, a vendor of cloud-based enterprise technology and capital markets software solutions, closed a $20 million Series B funding round led by Centana Growth Partners, with participation from existing investors, PIMCO and Global Atlantic. Beacon will use the new capital to expand operations and product development.

Founded in 2014, Beacon is an application development platform designed for capital markets, which enables its customers to build, test and deploy applications in the cloud. The company also announced that it has grown its user base by 150% over the past 12 months and expanded its global client base, which now includes Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Shell New Energies and SMBC Capital Markets.