Execution management, product integration and application management remain technology priorities
Charles River Development, an award-winning provider of financial software and services to the global investment management community, today announced that 80 individuals from 27 buy side firms from across the EMEA region attended the second annual Charles River Management Forum on May 14 in London. Buy side attendees focused on key topics including execution management, product usability and integration, and application management. A Traders’ Session showcased new trading enhancements in the Charles River Investment Management System (Charles River IMS).
Execution management, including transparency, control and real-time capabilities, continues to be a challenge across Europe. “With MiFID a key focus, and constantly evolving regional execution venues, our clients are demanding more control over their trade execution strategies and best execution,” said Jon Steward, managing director, EMEA, Charles River Development. “The Charles River IMS helps buy-side traders manage trade execution with features such as: trade reporting, integrated real-time information, connectivity to trading venues and pre- and post-trade transaction cost analysis (TCA) tools.”
Attendees cited integration with external vendors and a customizable, dynamic desktop as key benefits of the Charles River IMS’ migration to a complete Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) platform. “I was particularly impressed with the user interface, which appears intuitive to use and entirely customizable,” said Andrew Brown, IT Director, Artemis Investment Management. “For example, you can move around integrated vendor windows depending on which sources you use, and the system should be easy to integrate with external vendors owing to its Web services-based architecture. It’s a cutting edge product that’s scalable and has longevity. We plan to upgrade to the new version as soon as possible.”
Given the current economy, attendees were also interested in learning how Charles River’s Application Management solution can help them ‘do more with less’. Application Management allows clients to house hardware and software at their facility and leverage existing in-house infrastructure and security, while Charles River manages their Charles River IMS application.
Hosted Application Management also provides a fully-outsourced Charles River IMS solution in Charles River’s highly secure, Tier One hosting centers. These solutions deliver increased return on investment by helping clients gain the most value from the Charles River IMS at a lower cost of ownership.
Over the last year, Charles River has expanded its client base in France, Germany, Italy, the Nordic region and South Africa, and is actively involved in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. “Now more than ever the buy side is looking for a strong technology partner to gain operational efficiencies and reduce costs while addressing market challenges,” said Steward.
