BST Awards 2018: Best Overall Buy-Side Technology Provider, 2018—TriOptima

As an organization, TriOptima must be pinching itself. Not only did it win the best buy-side pricing/valuation and collateral management categories, but it also walked away from this year’s Buy-Side Technology Awards with the gong for the best overall buy-side technology provider for 2018. Stockholm-based TriOptima, acquired by Icap in 2010 before becoming part of the NEX Group when Tullett Prebon acquired Icap in December 2016, is clearly doing something right.     

As has become a tradition at these awards, the final category of the 37 on offer and the second of only two announced on the afternoon of the November 2 awards lunch in London—the other being the product of the year category (see page 76)—was that of the technology provider of the year. Last year it was FactSet in the winners’ circle, adding its name to the list of past winners that is a veritable who’s who of buy-side technology vendors: UBS Delta, Advent Software, Charles River Development, Eze Software, Fidessa, Algorithmics and RIMES Technologies. A quick glance through that list will lay to rest any debate surrounding the ongoing spate of tech firm mergers and acquisitions that shows no sign of running out of steam: UBS is now part of StatPro; Advent was acquired by SS&C Technologies in July 2015, as was Eze Software in October 2018; Charles River became part of State Street (also in October 2018); Fidessa joined the Ion stable in 2018; and IBM snapped up Algorithmics at the back end of 2011. In fact, the only recipient of this award over the past seven years that has not acquired another provider or has not itself been acquired is RIMES Technologies.

Speaking to WatersTechnology at this year’s function, Thomas Griffiths, co-CEO of TriOptima’s triCalculate business, explained that one of the most significant industry issues driving buy-side firms to partner with TriOptima are current and future uncleared margin rules for over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives contracts not cleared through central counterparties. “The first buy-side firms came into play for uncleared margin rules in September this year and the next two phases of uncleared margin rules will be in 2019 and 2020,” he says. 

According to Griffiths, up to 1,000 firms will fall under the regulation’s purview, illustrating the scale of the challenge facing the global asset management industry. “We can offer valuations and SIMM sensitivities through triCalculate, we can automate buy-side firms’ margin calls through triResolve, and we can provide them with dispute-resolution processes. This whole package and holistic TriOptima solution is something that really resonates with the buy side,” he says.