VWD Expands Bonds, Ratings Content to Meet Fixed Income, Risk Demand

The new release, which was tested internally and was launched in December, features an updated bond calculator that—in addition to calculating fixed-rate and zero-coupon bonds—is designed to simulate a range of different bond types as well as floating-rate notes in real time, with a separate interface available for each type of coupon, says Domingo Santos Marañón, production management director at VWD. In addition, users can see the results of their calculations in real time while adding additional search criteria.

In line with the broader fixed income coverage, the new version also expands the vendor’s existing credit ratings content—which currently includes ratings from Fitch Ratings and Moody’s—with the addition of data from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (IMD, Sept. 5, 2013). In addition, the product offers enhanced and faster capabilities for users to search the ratings content, Marañón says, such as allowing users to set up their own search criteria, including searching ratings based on country, company type and rating level.

Users can also now filter Fitch’s ratings of credit default swaps via a tab located in the search option, a feature that VWD officials say is a top priority for customers looking to minimize investment risk.

Finally, the vendor also focused on selecting news more effectively, allowing users to receive only information that’s relevant to them, and has introduced a new feature in version 3.4 that enables users to filter the newsfeeds available on Market Manager, so that they only receive news items directly relevant to their requirements. Market Manager carries news in German, English, Dutch, Italian, and French from Dow Jones, DPA-AFX, AWP Finanznachrichten, Agence France-Presse, Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor, APA and Tijd-Nieuwslijn.

The updated version of Market Manager is available at no extra charge for existing customers, with the option of having access to the new content through an add-on subscription.

Marañón says the latest version of Market Manager has already been rolled out by “several” users in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands, including treasury trading desks and proprietary traders at banks, and by corporate treasury departments of non-financial companies.