The TRADE 65 - Q3 2020 | Page 74

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Street for $ 2.6 billion now almost two years ago , the bank has had significant time to integrate the vendor ’ s solutions into its offering . The COVID-19 pandemic and the shift to remote working has however forced extensions to a number of planned go-live dates and Charles River has a considerable amount of on-site work that still needs to be done . While many of the scores are not where the vendor would want , the eventual completion of projects delayed by the pandemic may begin to push Charles River ’ s scores higher in future .

The vendor recorded an average score of 5.05 (-0.03 from 2019 ) and 0.77 points below the 2020 average of 5.82 . Disappointingly for Charles River , it scored below the category average in 12 of the 13 service areas analysed by the survey and ranked below the default 5.00 ( Good ) in seven functional categories , including the handling of new versions / releases ( 4.58 ) and product development ( 4.48 ).

As in 2019 , Charles River received a relatively low number of responses to this year ’ s survey , representing just 3.23 % of the total number of ratings submitted .

The majority of respondents to Charles River were from larger clients , with over 80 % managing above US $ 10 billion . Large-cap buy-side firms with the most demands are often seen as the most critical . The vendor registered year-on-year decreases in seven categories . Most notably , this year ’ s score for latency fell by 0.87 from its 2019 result . Clients , however , will not have to wait long to experience improvements in latency handling , as Charles River is set to go live with a platform refresh in the coming months .

It was not all bad news for Charles River . The vendor ’ s highest score was in the FIX capabilities category ( 5.79 ) and it also scored well in breadth of asset class coverage , which at 5.69 stands + 0.03 above the category average . The vendor recorded year-on-year score increases in six of the 13 functional categories under review , with the most significant increases occurring in breadth of direct connections to venues (+ 0.61 ) and breadth of asset class coverage (+ 0.60 ). In terms of additional capabilities wanted by respondents , “ better cross-asset capabilities ” is referenced by more than one large client .

CHARLES RIVER RATINGS FOR EMS PERFORMANCE

5.73 4.75 4.75 5.03 4.58 4.66 4.91 5.79

5.69 5.64 4.48 5.06 4.62 5.05