Goldman Sachs and MSCI are collaborating to deliver improved portfolio analytics and ‘more efficient workflows to institutional clients’.
The partnership is aimed at leveraging the combined expertise of both firms in data and risk management to provide data and analytics across their institutional client platforms, Goldman Sachs Marquee and MSCI RiskManager.
MSCI’s industry-leading risk factor models are now accessible through Goldman Sachs Marquee, the firm’s digital platform for institutional investors. Likewise, MSCI clients are now able to access Goldman Sachs’ volatility data through MSCI RiskManager, for greater precision in risk management.
Under the agreement, MSCI’s risk factor models will be available via Goldman Sachs APIs and GS Quant, an open-source Python toolkit designed by the firm’s quantitative analysts to integrate data.
GS Quant provides a programmatic environment to interact with Goldman Sachs’ data analytics tools and MSCI’s risk factor models in a scalable manner. The models will also be accessible via Marquee’s portfolio analytics user interface.
Goldman Sachs’ volatility data is based on proprietary pricing models can now be coupled with MSCI’s risk factor models and used to support risk measurement and report use cases.
Anne Marie Darling (pictured), head of Marquee distribution at Goldman Sachs, said the partnership is a testament to how the bank is ‘leveraging technology and embracing open architecture to offer superior solutions to our clients in data and risk’.
Leonteq enters positive impact with ‘world's first’ donation range
Leonteq has reached an agreement with Daubenthaler & Cie. to launch the ‘world’s first donation certificate,’ a new tracker offering impact investing for investors.
The moves is part of the Swisss firm’s plans to grow its sustainability offering after the launch of a dedicated sustainability initiative at the end of last year with the aim of ‘becoming a leading ESG provider for structured investment solutions’.
Under the terms of the cooperation agreement between the two companies, Leonteq will acts as issuer and index sponsor, while Daubenthaler & Cie. will contribute its expertise as index advisor. Germany’s LIXX Index Innovation Deutschland will act as the index administrator of the new BeneFaktorIndex family.
The new BeneFaktorZertifikate range will be comprised by open-ended index tracker certificates linked to the underlying thematic index, BeneFaktorIndex, which is comprised exclusively of shares from companies that confirm that they do not conduct animal testing.
The BeneFaktorZertifikate product range offers investors the opportunity to invest in a charitable certificate that provides an automatic donation - the certificates will invest in socially relevant future themes and focus on the potential of new solutions to address current global and local challenges in the areas of environment, social affairs and society. The donation amounts to 10% of the annual product fees and is given to a non-profit organisation that effectively pursues this issue.
The first BeneFaktorZertifikat, lNo Animal Testing, is offered for subscription in Germany exclusively via comdirect, a brand of Commerzbank. The donation of this certificate will go to US animal rights organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) for their commitment to animal protection.
Leonteq, whose sales team in Germany and Austria is managed by Björn Geidel, will issue new certificates on a regular basis as part of its product cooperation with Daubenthaler & Cie.
Vontobel targets space technology
Vontobel has launched a new delta one certificate that tracks the performance of companies active in space technology comprised in the Solactive Space Technology Index, a passive and rules-based index based on Solactive’s Artis technology which uses advanced algorithms to parse high volumes of public documents evaluating companies’ exposure to various themes or topics.
The Solactive Space Technology Index provides exposure to companies that have business operations in the space industry. Potential companies must provide services deemed to suit the theme of space technology, such as providing and operating satellites, space probes, space launches, space flight and tourism, as well as space stations and space exploration. Additionally, the index features an ESG screening evaluated by Bank Vontobel.
Timo Pfeiffer, chief markets officer at Solactive, said the index will facilitate access to investors to companies affiliated in space technologies ‘with a possible stellar performance’.
‘Innovation potential in this fairly new industrial sector is enormous,’ said Pfeiffer.
Eurex to offer next generation of ESG derivatives on MSCI indexes
From 31 May, Eurex will expand its globally leading ESG derivatives suite by including futures on the MSCI ESG Enhanced Focus Indexes as demand for sustainable investments has triggered a need for more advanced methods to select ESG investments.
By using these ESG integration indexes, Deutsche Börse's derivatives arm will support investors seeking higher ESG scores while at the same time staying close to the benchmark.
‘The MSCI ESG Enhanced Focus Indexes seek to maximize their ESG profile and reduce carbon exposure while maintaining risk and return characteristics similar to the underlying parent index,’ said George Harrington, global head of listed derivatives, OTC and structured products at MSCI.
The underlyings for the five new futures are the ESG Enhanced Focus versions of the benchmark indexes MSCI World, USA, Emerging Markets, Europe, and Japan. The new indices aim to maximise exposure to companies with a stronger ESG profile.
In parallel, the new range intends to reduce their exposure to carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, as well as exposure to potential emissions risk of fossil fuel reserves by 30% - an integrated optimisation process ensures that a targeted tracking error to the parent index is not exceeded.
The new contracts add to the second generation of ESG derivatives that are linked to indices that integrate ESG ratings as part of the constituent selection and weighting process. In a first step, in March 2020, Eurex introduced futures on MSCI ESG Screened Indexes covering USA, World, EM, EAFE, and Japan - these indexes exclude companies not in compliance with the United Nations Global Compact principles or predefined ESG screening criteria.
Eurex has a comprehensive suite of global MSCI derivatives available across all time zones with 136 MSCI futures and 22 MSCI options covering emerging and developed markets. Currently, outstanding contracts amount to almost €129 billion.
StoneX Markets launches self-service OTC platform
StoneX Markets, a subsidiary of StoneX Group, has rolled out a series of enhancements to its self-service OTC Platforms for commodities trading.
These enhancements ‘collectively provide a single, digitised offering from which to fully access, manage and execute futures and options trading offered through the affiliated FCM, StoneX Financial, as well as access to OTC markets offered through StoneX Markets as a counterparty,’ according to the firm. With the new functionalities, StoneX Markets is now offering a fully digitised platform where clients can access market intelligence, risk measurement, scenario analysis and market execution.
MyStoneX offers market intelligence and real time access to futures and options as well as OTC trades aggregated in one place, and the ability to stress test portfolios and model out margin requirements. The platform also allows to ‘model out desired risk management strategies and receive automated price indications’.
StoneX Markets' self-service OTC Platform has been designed to provide direct access to OTC markets, ‘often considered opaque and complicated to novice investors’, through a digital platform.
The platform includes the company's proprietary Structured Product Online Calculator (Spoc), Strategy Option Solver and Options Calculator.
In addition to supporting ‘more than 200 commodity products’, the new platform ‘addresses an educational gap in the OTC marketplace and brings much needed transparency to over-the-counter products,’ according to Mark Maurer, CEO & president of StoneX Markets.
‘We believe that everyone from the professional trader to the farmer looking to protect his latest crop, deserves to not only understand these products but also feel completely comfortable executing sophisticated risk management strategies,’ said Maurer.
The firm reached an agreement in late 2020 with US fintech platform Luma to help streamline its expansion into the Latin American structured products market.