Buy-Side Technology Awards 2013: Best Buy-Side Compliance Product—Linedata

The extent to which individuals at technology firms might influence the profile and perceptions associated with their products is impossible to measure. But, like it or not, buy-side firms of all description are acutely familiar with the personalities behind the products they choose to implement, and in this respect, Robin Strong’s recent move from Fidessa to Linedata is noteworthy. It’s unlikely that any of the nine judges were influenced by Strong’s move to the degree that it alone could have swung votes, but Linedata management’s master stroke wouldn’t have hurt the vendor’s chances in what is always a keenly contested category.

Significantly, Linedata Compliance is one of the only compliance platforms to offer sophisticated Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) support, functionality that is set to become crucial for all UK-based alternative asset managers as the transitional period for compliance with the directive ends on July 22 next year. Linedata already has a Luxembourg-based administrator live using this functionality, with a number of additional firms scheduled to go live in the coming months. The platform, which boasts impressive custodian and fund administrator user-numbers, is designed to automatically capture relevant data and store it in an online-accessible format. It can also recreate relevant portfolios at any point in time and re-test them, using current or amended positions and original or new rule sets.

A central tenet of any compliance strategy is the often laborious process of creating and maintaining complex rule libraries, and it is here that Linedata Compliance comes into its own. It features sophisticated rule types that result in fewer individual rules—up to 90 percent fewer in some instances—combined with an automatic cataloging mechanism to streamline the entire process, while on the data management front, it features Linedata Navquest, a toolset designed to analyze incoming data, allowing users to validate its business context, ensuring, for example, that net-asset values (NAVs) are plausible and that prices are appropriately validated.

Linedata Reaction:
“At Linedata, we pride ourselves in delivering superior solutions to our client base; winning this esteemed best buy-side compliance product award is a direct recognition of that commitment. Over 85 clients use Linedata Compliance globally, including asset managers, custodians and third-party administrators. Using our technology ensures these firms are well-positioned to meet the on-going stringent demands of investors. Firms are continuing to react to the changing regulatory environment and compliance processes are being put under a microscope. As a result, it is essential to have an exceptional infrastructure that provides the controls and audit trails necessary to overcome reporting and compliance burdens. We are confident that Linedata Compliance is well-equipped to continue to deliver the essential and advanced compliance tools to the buy-side community.”
—Anvaraly Jiva, founder and CEO, Linedata