INTL FCStone's swap dealer subsidiary INTL FCStone Markets (IFM) has enhanced its structured products online calculator (Spoc) with the addition of a custom pricing functionality. The company also disclosed today (March 7) that Spoc has been optimised for mobile access.
The calculator is an online pricing tool that provides qualified users with open access to IFM's structured products pricing portfolio, which provides thousands of prices across asset classes in order to bring transparency to the marketplace. With the new custom pricing feature, qualified users can now view the firm's real-time structured product quotes at levels other than the current board price. "The new functionality allows clients to click on any structured products on our platform and interact with the levels and board prices to see how the product would look and customise the start and end date of a product," said Mark Maurer (pictured), chief executive officer at IFM. "The new functionality will create a new high touch experience for our OTC clients."
IFM has developed this functionality based directly on client feedback, and facilitates the strategies of those customers who want to hedge a given structured product at a specific price, according to Maurer. For example, the custom pricing feature would allow a qualified user to determine how far the price of corn would need to move in order for them to hedge effectively, said Maurer.
"Determining the most beneficial hedging strategy can be difficult without the right tools in place, but Spoc significantly streamlines this process for our customers," said Maurer. "The addition of custom pricing functionality provides even greater transparency by highlighting structured product pricing information that is not available elsewhere. In addition to our technology solutions, the expertise of our team is unmatched, and Spoc allows instantaneous and direct connection to INTL FCStone brokers and traders so that they may assist in strategy development and implementation."
The enhancement builds on the early and substantial success of Spoc, which has seen its qualified user base grow to more than 750 customers since its launch in October 2017. "Our main focus remains OTC hedging and the aim with Spoc is to bring light to an otherwise opaque market," said Maurer. "We are changing the OTC market and bringing transparency, not only with new tools and functionalities, but with a strong focus on education by showing our pricing and the product levels to both our current and potential clients. We are also seeking to set market standards and be ahead of our competitors in bringing transparency to the market."
The optimisation of Spoc for mobile use is aimed at enabling customers to access 'all functionality in an easy-to-view manner' from any device. "Regardless of where a qualified user may be when they login to the platform, they will be provided with educational resources on the Company's structured products, a mid-market mark that brings transparency to the forefront, and more," said Maurer. "Additionally, Spoc stores customer pricing histories for reference against future hedging activities. The IFM team analyses each client's entire risk profile, combined with their initial hedging targets, in order to locate potential risks that the customer may not have considered."
Maurer expects to expand its coverage to currencies and interest rates "down the road" but the focus at the moment is on developing Spoc and adding new features and functionalities in response to client demand. "The addition of new asset classes is also aimed at offering a more comprehensive hub to clients and to grow the market as this kind of tool will facilitate more quotes in less time," said Maurer.
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Our main activity is about bringing transparency to the OTC market, IFM