This Week’s Vendor News

NEW & UPDATED PRODUCTS

Alkymi has launched a new private cloud solution to help financial services firms with integrating generative AI into their workflows. This new solution provides users with a private cloud environment to use self-contained LLMs with their unstructured investment data. This enables firms to use generative AI with the assurance that no data leaves the secure environment and no external services are used. This new solution allows firms to benefit from LLMs in their workflows while meeting their data privacy and regulatory compliance requirements. ↗

Ark has introduced Bank Integrations and Capital Call Reconciliations on its platform. Users can now connect their bank and line of credit feed to their general ledger for automated journal entries from categorized bank transactions, boosting bookkeeping efficiency and reducing errors. Automatic capital call tracking replaces manually managing capital call receipts. Ark automatically notifies investors when funds are received and generates journal entries to keep your books up to date, in real-time. ↗

Attio has launched expanded automations features on its platform. Attio's new Aggregate values block enables users to aggregate a list of numerical values as Sum, Average, Minimum, or Maximum. Additionally, users can now trigger Record command workflows from a list view for list entries of the specified record type. This means users can trigger both List entry workflows and Company workflows from a list of Companies. Attio has also added failure notifications, so users can keep track of any errors in their workflow runs. ↗

Allvue Systems has launched a dedicated essentials platform for emerging private debt managers. The Private Debt Essentials solution is designed to empower emerging private debt managers across the entire investment lifecycle. The fully integrated solution provides the foundation to grow fund operations and future-proof front- and back-office processes. ↗

FactSet has expanded its private market data coverage in the Asia-Pacific region. This expansion specifically targets China, Japan, and Australia, providing investment banks and private equity firms with firmographics and financial data to streamline their deal sourcing and due diligence workflows. Limited access to private company intelligence and financials restricts investment bankers and PE professionals from conducting efficient deal research and finding new investment opportunities. Building on FactSet’s current APAC data coverage, this expansion strengthens FactSet’s position as a trusted provider for investment professionals in the APAC region and offers insights into private market datasets to enable users to save time and identify investment targets. ↗

Rundit has introduced a new update to Rundit's LP report features. Key features of the new Interactive LP Report by Rundit are: format flexibility, industry standards compliance and customizable visuals. Rundit's platform enables users to enhance their LP relationships by delivering reports in Interactive, Excel, and PDF formats, which allows users to cater to various preferences, ultimately strengthening partnerships and adding value. ↗

Position Green has announced a new update to its sustainability suite of services. The new software enhancements include: wider availability for the Plan and Strategize product, an upgraded supplier assessment experience and a new widget, added filters, and ESRS Hub improvements. ↗

S&P Global Market Intelligence launches Peer Comparables for private markets investors. Peer Comparables is a new module that integrates S&P Capital IQ Financials and Estimates data into iLEVEL. iLEVEL Peer Comparables provides investors with an up-to-date view of private company valuations by enabling users to reference financial data from public companies and compare them to metrics from their own private portfolio companies. Other highlights include: side-by-side view of public company financials alongside proprietary alternative investment data in iLEVEL, at-a-glance charts and visual analytics allowing users to track and monitor portfolio performance over time and the ability to manage and share company lists across teams within the platform. ↗

MSCI has introduced the new MSCI Private Capital Indexes. The Private Capital Indexes were designed to help users navigate complex markets, contextualize investments and benchmark their portfolio. MSCI Private Capital Indexes are designed to cut through the complexity of private assets, and to provide clear and unified performance insights. These indexes span the spectrum of private asset classes, powered by MSCI's standardized methodology and dataset. ↗

SS&C has launched FundCentre Fundraising. SS&C Intralinks’ new FundCentre Fundraising solution is an integrated platform built to help users seamlessly launch and close their next fundraise. This new solution automates your marketing outreach, while giving real-time visibility into all aspects of your fundraising status. Features include: the ability to track engagement, streamline investor onboarding and enhance due diligence. ↗

Dynamo’s new investor portal software has officially launched. Dynamo’s new Investor Portal provides a digital fundraising experience to accelerate capital raising. With Dynamo’s fundraising and marketing tools seamlessly integrated into its Investor Portal software, users can consolidate and organize investment processes to enhance transparency and foster collaboration across their firm. By leveraging this platform, users can target and engage with ideal investors, gather investor details and documents, and onboard new investors, all within a cloud-based system designed for cohesion and efficiency. ↗

CEPRES has just launched new features and enhancements to the CEPRES platform. First, CEPRES have added the Fund Net and Gross Valuation metrics to the Power Analyzer at the Deal Level, which enhances the granularity of your analyses. Next, users can now view analysis in the dashboard using the original currency of the data. Also, calculated fields created in the Power Analyzer and used in analysis widgets are now included when sharing dashboards. Lastly, there is new fund and deal sizes range for performance attribution analysis. These updates are designed to provide users with the tools they need to perform more detailed and precise analyzes, improve data visualization, and enhance collaborative efforts. ↗

Tactyc has launched a new feature on its platform. Now users can override Tactyc's FMV for portfolio companies - without impacting the Aggregate Valuation of the company. Previously, users could mark up / mark down an investment's FMV, but this would also mean the Aggregate Valuation of the company would also change in lockstep. ↗

Attio has launched some new feature updates on its platform. The first is that users can now pin favorites in the sidebar. Open Attio, and users will find a new Favorites section in the sidebar. Now users can favorite Dashboards and Workflows, in addition to pinning Object views, List views, Records, Notes, Note Templates, and Email Templates to the sidebar. The second update is new browser extension capabilities, including Attio's Chrome extension, which now integrates with LinkedIn. Scroll through LinkedIn, and you’ll find new Attio buttons in your news feed, messages, search feed, side panel, and more. Attio has embedded even more Attio buttons, and added the ability to deep scrape LinkedIn for information that isn't even visible on your screen. Attio has also added support for relationship cards, so users can identify connections between different records. Attio users just need to update to version 5.0.24 to access these new features. ↗

Salesforce has unveiled its LLM benchmark for CRM to help businesses evaluate the growing number of LLMs for use in their CRM systems. The new benchmark is a evaluation framework that measures the performance of LLMs against four key measures: accuracy, cost, speed, and trust and safety. It’s been designed to evaluate common sales and service use cases, including prospecting, lead nurturing, as well as sales opportunity and service case summaries. The benchmark also includes a public leaderboard to help professionals decide which LLM is best for their CRM needs. ↗

Titanbay launches AIFM, which enables Titanbay to market funds directly across Europe, establish branches, and hire local salespeople. The AIFM status enhances Titanbay’s service offerings and operational efficiency and supports its European expansion strategy. This move enables Titanbay to streamline operations, reduce reliance on third-party managers, and maintain greater control over investment and distribution processes. This results in increased efficiency and a faster response to market opportunities. ↗

S&P Global Marketplace has made updates to its platform. S&P Global Marketplace Generative AI Search has expanded the search functionality to both the Marketplace Homepage and Blueprint tiles, in addition to Dataset and Solution tiles. ↗

Axial has launched a new publication, The Winning M&A Advisor. The Winning M&A Advisor will anonymously unpack data, fees and terms from M&A engagement letters of professional M&A advisors using Axial to win new sell-side business. ↗

M Science has launched a new blog. This initiative features M Science thought leaders discussing latest trends in the alt data and investment research industry. ↗

Decimal Point Analytics has launched a program which aims to identify and nurture talented students from underprivileged backgrounds in the financial analytics sector. The "Dnyanodapi Dhanodapi" program, launched under the company’s corporate social responsibility, offers paid internships, mentorship programs, and career guidance. Upon successful completion of the internship, students are offered full-time positions at Decimal Point Analytics. ↗

DEAL ACTIVITY

TrustQuay Viewpoint has rebranded to Quantios following its merger in May 2023. Quantios will continue to use cloud solutions (TrustQuay Online is now Quantios Core) to solve the problems TCSPs face across global jurisdictions. The company's mission statement is: "to provide cloud solutions for the Trust and Corporate Services industry, aimed at enhancing our clients' operational efficiency, ensuring data integrity, and simplifying regulatory compliance." ↗

Apex Group has announced that Carlyle’s Global Credit business and Goldman Sachs Private Credit, have jointly committed in excess of $1.1bn into the company. This commitment endorses Apex’s sustainable growth strategy, following the integration of a number of previous acquisitions, continued organic growth and technological innovations. Carlyle and Goldman Sachs have committed to Holdco PIK Notes of Apex to continue to support the company’s growth plans that will focus on optimising the current platform, strategy and combined investment in technology innovation. Apex’s assets now stand at ~$3.1tn serviced across custody, administration, depositary and under management by over 13,000 employees worldwide. ↗

PARTNERSHIPS & INTEGRATIONS

ESG_VC has announced the first licensing of its measurement framework in partnership with Novata. ESG_VC is a network of over 250 global venture capital firms. The ESG_VC Measurement Framework, designed specifically for early-stage companies and VC investors, will be available on Novata’s platform to help startups measure the metrics they want. ↗

BlackRock teams with GeoWealth to offer custom models featuring access to private markets. Through this partnership, BlackRock will offer custom models via GeoWealth’s platform that enable advisors to meet client demand for private markets, direct indexing, fixed income SMAs, ETFs and mutual funds, in a single account. The agreement with GeoWealth will expand BlackRock’s custom models business, which generated $31 billion in new assets over the past four years. ↗

Stableton partners with Colb to tokenize pre-IPO portfolio opportunities. This partnership is aimed at bringing growth equity and pre-IPO opportunities on-chain, through Stableton's systematic portfolio approach. Through this partnership, Colb’s $USC stablecoin can be seamlessly exchanged for TKSPs. These TKSPs are backed by and mirror the performance of the Stableton Unicorn Index AMC, a portfolio encompassing pre-IPO opportunities in companies like OpenAI, Kraken, and Discord. To participate, users onboard themselves through Colb’s WebApp. ↗

FundGuard is now available on the Amazon Web Services Private Marketplace. This strategic move enhances accessibility, streamlines procurement processes, offers financial incentives to joint FundGuard and AWS clients, and provides a scalable solution for asset managers, fund administrators and other service providers. By harnessing AI and the power of the cloud on AWS, FundGuard’s technology allows its clients to be more cost effective and security compliant, while also providing a launch pad for the development and roll out of new products and services of their own. ↗

Quanta has announced a new integration partnership with Carta. Quanta is a real-time accounting and automated bookkeeping firm. With this new partnership, fundraising and stock purchases will automatically be identified and accounted for. ↗

ERM has entered into a new strategic partnership with OPTEL, a provider of end-to-end and granular traceability solutions that help businesses unlock the potential of digital supply chains. This partnership has been developed as businesses are increasingly required to track and report their supply chain performance in line with evolving environmental regulations including the EU CSRD, CBAM, EUDR and the Digital Product Passport. By blending ERM’s experience in corporate and product sustainability with OPTEL’s digital supply chain platform capabilities, this partnership will enable clients to meet their regulatory requirements and help them to drive performance improvements across their supply chains in support of sustainability goals. ↗

RelPro has announced its new partnership and data integration with Cognism, in order to expand its business executive and company coverage. The new partnership and data integration will expand RelPro’s coverage of business decision-makers in the US and globally with accurate emails, and mobile and direct phone numbers. Cognism business contact data is available to all users of the RelPro SaaS platform and API workflow integrations. ↗

Atfinity is partnering with Secuteer, a security consulting firm. Secuteer's security professionals will be responsible for providing an independent review of Atfinity's security architecture, which ensures its resilience against potential threats, reinforcing the reliability that businesses associate with Atfinity's solutions. This partnership, rooted in a shared commitment to safeguarding digital operations, assures businesses relying on Atfinity can navigate compliance requisites and data protection. ↗

FactSet leverages Digital Vega partnership to expand into FX options. Through this new collaboration, FactSet will expand its offering and Digital Vega will add to both its distribution and client base. Digital Vega has been integrated into FactSet’s FX execution management system, Portware, so that FactSet can expand its offering to include FX options on top of its existing fixed income, equities, futures and FX services. ↗

Marlborough's Investment Fund Services Ltd enters into strategic partnership with SS&C. SS&C has signed a long-term agreement with Investment Fund Services, which is Marlborough's authorized corporate director and authorized fund manager business. Under the agreement, SS&C will provide fund accounting, middle-office and transfer agency services for the funds for which IFS acts as ACD or AFM. Additionally, this role includes taking responsibility for a fund's compliance with Financial Conduct Authority regulations and ensuring it is managed in the best interests of its investors. Under the agreement, around 90 IFS staff in Bolton transferred to SS&C on June 1, 2024. ↗

The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) has selected SimCorp One to support PSP Investments’ operations for its CAD 264.9 billion of AUM. PSP Investments selected SimCorp One based on a review of its technology suite, with the goal of simplifying its investment management operations and minimizing manual processes. ↗

Perwyn has selected Chronograph to bolster its portfolio monitoring capabilities while streamlining investor and ESG reporting. Perwyn is an independent London-based private equity investor specializing in transforming and growing mid-market European companies, with offices in London, Paris and Milan. ↗

AtomInvest has announced that Evolver Equity is its newest client. Evolver Equity is a Finnish private equity fund which specializes in unleashing the potential of Nordic small and medium-sized companies. ↗

UK Pension Pool, Border To Coast Pensions Partnership has chosen DiligenceVault’s digital diligence technology. Border To Coast has implemented DiligenceVault to power their asset manager due diligence and ongoing monitoring needs. The Border to Coast Alternatives team plans to digitize their due diligence questionnaires, research and operational risk monitoring activities with the help of DiligenceVault. ↗

Vestberry has welcomed Simon Capital as its newest client. Vestberry will be responsible for supporting Simon Capital in the following areas: Automated Reporting, Real-Time Dashboards, ESG Reporting, Fund Analytics, Data-Driven Decisions and Fund Administration Interface. With Vestberry's support in these areas, Simon Capital is poised to streamline operations, drive growth, and achieve their investment objectives efficiently. ↗

Symbiotics Asset Management has chosen Societe Generale Securities Services' CrossWise offer for its Middle Office outsourcing solution and for the provision of the Front Office Portfolio Management System Dimension of SimCorp. This fully automated service gives access to technology, thanks to SimCorp Dimension’s front office solution which is fully integrated into SGSS’ value chain, allowing asset managers to optimize their operational model and meet regulatory requirements on all asset classes. ↗

Addepar has welcomed Ultra Financial Partners as a new client. UFP is a full-service retirement and financial planning firm that incorporates an endowment approach to investing in tandem with risk management and tax-efficient strategies to help clients grow, protect and transfer wealth. ↗

OFFICE & PERSONNEL

S&P Global has announced upcoming leadership changes. S&P Global's Board of Directors has unanimously elected Martina L. Cheung, S&P Global's current President of S&P Global Ratings, to succeed Douglas L. Peterson as the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, effective November 1, 2024. Additionally, Cheung has been appointed as a member of the Board, effective July 1, 2024. Peterson will remain on the Board until May 2025 and be a special advisor to the Company until December 31, 2025.  Additionally, Yann Le Pallec, Executive Managing Director and Head of Global Ratings Services at S&P Global Ratings, has been appointed to succeed Cheung as President of S&P Global Ratings, effective November 1, 2024. ↗

Globacap has appointed Scott Kreitz as President and Head of Operations. Kreitz, who will head up the firm’s US office, has over 20 years’ experience in financial markets and a track record of launching products across institutional and wealth management segments. Kreitz is joined by newly appointed US Head of Marketing, Alexandra Marciniak, who previously worked at Goldman Sachs and Bloomberg, Head of US Business Development, Joshua Kasper, who joins from Fidelity Investments and Head of Customer Success US, Carly Ferris, formerly of Z-Squared Securities. ↗

Elise Miller is the new Head of Customer Success at Daloopa. In this role Miller will be responsible for scaling the CS team, and ensuring that customers get the maximum value with the product. Before joining Daloopa, Miller spent seven years at WalkMe. ↗

IQ-EQ appoints Philippe Hijazin as Managing Director for Belgium. Hijazin has 20 years’ experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining IQ-EQ, he was a Director for Deloitte Consulting, where he delivered engagements in asset management, private equity and advisory services for real estate. ↗

Roz Smith is the new COO of Broadridge International, effective May 1 2024. In her new role, Smith has been tasked with scaling and streamlining the division, concentrating on implementation processes and program management with a focus on ensuring a thriving country and regional level organizational structure. Smith will also help to ensure best practices across functions, business units and geographies, applicable to the EMEA and Asia Pacific regions specifically. Prior to joining Broadridge, Smith spent 18 years in various leadership roles at HSBC. ↗

Position Green has appointed Morten Skodbo as its Managing Director for Norway, where he is responsible for leading the Norwegian operations for the company. Prior to joining Position Green, Skodbo spent over 18 years at Ramboll Management Consulting, most recently as the Managing Director of Norway. ↗

Portagon has brought in Tilman Fechter and Martin Korbmacher as new Advisory Consultants. They are replacing the former Federal Finance Minister Hans Eichel. Until recently, Fechter was the Head of Strategy Fund Services at Deutsche Börse. Korbmacher currently holds a few other advisory roles in the industry. ↗

DealsPlus has welcomed Vinay Shah to the company. Shah is the new Customer Success Manager having joined from FTI Consulting where he was most recently a Director. ↗

Gregory Sanders has joined PFA Solutions as a new Client Delivery Consultant. Until recently, Sanders was a Senior Implementation Consultant at Allvue Systems. ↗

Jacqueline Tongue is the new Office Manager at Allvue Systems. Before joining Allvue, Tongue was the Office Manager at KA Gaming and Bottomline Technologies. ↗

Inex One has welcomed two new team members to the company. Aslam Johan joins the product team in the Singapore hub, and Abdulrahman Sarsour is the first Associate in Inex One's new Raleigh office. ↗

VENDOR RESEARCH & WHITEPAPERS

Finquest has a new research piece, "The Cost of Being Opportunistic in M&A". In this article, Finquest goes over the core differences between corporates and private equity, the drawbacks of an opportunistic approach, why private equity firms outpace corporates in M&A, the high stakes of modern M&A for corporates and the advantages of proactive deal sourcing. ↗

Cyndx has a new blog, "Middle Market Challenges, Opportunities and AI Deal Sourcing Tips". In this piece, Cyndx states that middle market firms face challenges like limited access to capital, competition from larger firms, and complex regulatory compliance, which can hinder their full potential. ↗

Quva has a new blog, "Exploring the Pros and Cons of Building vs Buying an Investment Platform". Quva knows that both options come with advantages and disadvantages, which must be weighed before making a decision. In this blog, Quva delves into x3 pros and cons of each approach to help users navigate this important choice. ↗

Allvue Systems has a new Whitepaper: The Rise of Co-Sourcing. In this paper Allvue explains that with co-sourcing firms can: 1-benefit from integrated, direct control over data and data security, 2-enable secure data management, cost control and technological agility while leveraging the expertise of service providers, 3-gain flexibility to adapt to regulatory and investor demands, while scaling and enabling firms to take advantage of growth opportunities. ↗

CB Insights has a new research piece, "3 ways financial institutions are embracing generative AI". In this article CB Insights breaks down how financial institutions and fintech startups are navigating the AI space. ↗

Linnovate Partners has a new blog, "From Data to Deals: How AI is Driving a Digital Transformation in Private Equity and Venture Capital ". Linnovate Partners states that ss artificial intelligence gains traction globally, companies are racing to harness its potential. As digital technologies continue to disrupt traditional business models, PE and VC firms are increasingly turning to AI to gain a competitive edge and capitalize on new opportunities. This article delves into the current state of this technology and its implications for fund managers. ↗

Drawbridge has a new blog, "Securing Private Equity investments: The 7 most common vulnerabilities that cyber attackers exploit". Drawbridge feels that ensuring the long-term value of a portfolio requires an in-depth look at the portfolio company's cyber posture. In this blog, Drawbridge goes over seven common cyber vulnerabilities impacting portfolio companies today. ↗

InvestorFlow has a new blog, "Why Marketing Transformation is Imperative in Alternatives". In this blog, InvestorFlow goes over the evolution of alternative assets and explains why marketing transformation is imperative and no longer just an option but a fundamental requirement to remain competitive. ↗

Holland Mountain has a new blog, "Five Key Considerations When Selecting a New Fund Administrator". Holland Mountain has identified five areas CFOs should know about in order to maximize the success of their selection process. This article offers a holistic view on the process, fund administrator landscape and the best practices to adopt before and during the selection process. ↗

Intelligo has a new blog, "The ABC’s of Due Diligence – How Intelligo’s services protect your business". In this piece, Intelligo explains why due diligence is always an essential step in your business process. ↗

Asset Class has a new article, "5 Mistakes Private Equity Firms Make When Adopting Technology". To help firms on their path to digital evolution, this article identifies five key mistakes firms should avoid when adopting technology. ↗

AWARDS

The CEO and President of FIS, Stephanie Ferris, has been named as American Banker’s ‘Most Influential Woman in Fintech 2024'. This annual list honors inspirational women who are leading and shaping the fintech industry. ↗