THETRADETECH DA I LY
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THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF TRADETECH 2019
Data
BNY Mellon and BlackRock
sign alliance to create front-
to-back office data service
BNY MELLON PLANS TO DELIVER REAL-TIME TRADE DATA, ASSET PRICES AND CASH POSITIONS TO THE 40-50 CLIENTS IT
SHARES WITH BLACKROCK’S ALADDIN.
B
NY Mellon and BlackRock have agreed to
a landmark partnership to provide mutual
clients data across the front-to-back office.
The alliance will involve integrating BNY
Mellon’s data insights, accounting and asset
servicing tools to BlackRock’s Aladdin, one of
the industry’s widest-used investment and
operating platforms.
BNY Mellon plans to deliver real-time trade
data, asset prices and cash positions to the
40-50 clients it shares with BlackRock’s
Aladdin.
“The combination of Aladdin’s capabilities
with BNY Mellon’s data and tools will further
enable our common clients to access their in-
vestment management and servicing capabil-
ities on one platform. Both firms have already
demonstrated the value of enhanced technol-
ogy and servicing integration over the years,”
said Rob Goldstein, chief operating officer and
head of BlackRock Solutions.
BNY Mellon and BlackRock will also work
together on new solutions to provide mutual
clients additional flexibility and insights through
the investment lifecycle, from the front-office
to operations and accounting.
Speaking to The TRADE’s sister title, Global
Custodian, Hani Kablawi, CEO of BNY Mellon’s
global asset servicing business, said the move
advances the bank’s strategy of becoming a
central point for clients to access their own
data.
“What this partnership does, following on
from what we have said is our strategy of open
architecture, is it allows us to give mutual cli-
ents access to their own data, via Aladdin, and it
is data that can now be accessed intra-day, near
real-time,” said Kablawi.
BlackRock has been vocal in positioning Alad-
din as a key component to creating efficiencies
with its custody bank partners.
JP Morgan’s record $1 trillion custody deal
with BlackRock allowed it to integrate its Athe-
na system with Aladdin, and link up directly
to its other custody clients connected to the
platform.
Connecting to Aladdin will enable BNY Mellon
to deliver a seamless end-to-end optimisation
of the trade flow for mutual clients.
Aladdin provides risk analytics and portfolio
management services to $18 trillion of finan-
cial assets, mostly through licenses to insti-
tutional investors. “It provides a new dynamic
to risk managers, distribution leaders and
portfolio managers because we are enabling
them with data that previously they might not
have had easy access to,” said Christine Gill,
global head of asset manager solutions, for
BNY Mellon.
“For portfolio managers, this will enable them
to understand what is impacting their portfolio;
they can hedge, raise cash, understand what
their cash positions are, and therefore drive
better outcomes.”
The collaboration is the latest example of
global custodians moving into the front-office,
as they look to utilise the mountains of trade
data they hold in order to provide support for
investment managers.
The partnership can also be viewed as a
direct response to meet the challenge posed
by State Street, and its $2.6 billion takeover of
front-office technology specialist Charles River
Development last year.
State Street is currently developing its One
State Street model to provide a full front-to-back
office operating model using Charles River Invest-
ment Management System and its data services.
Issue 1
TheTradeNews.com
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