Private equity firm Bowmark Capital has acquired a majority shareholding in software-as-a-service (SaaS)-based document automation provider for structured products, WallStreetDocs (WSD).
The software solutions company has been looking for a buyer for several years as it looks to develop its product roadmap and expand its coverage across North America, Europe and Asia where there are a number of platforms offering similar services such as Luma, Simon, Halo, Fin IQ, Futora and Contineo.
The firm claims to have achieved revenue growth of over 15% per annum since 2019 – the last financial report available on the UK companies house service dated on 31 December 2020 showed net assets of £7.8 million.
[Bowmark’s] previous experience in the sector will be invaluable as we move to the next stage of our development - Mathias Strasser, WSD
Bowmark’s investment is the latest addition to the private equity firm which buys to sell businesses that provide specialist technology solutions to the financial services industry – the firm’s portfolio includes Pirum Systems, a provider of post-trade automation technology, and Data Explorers, a specialist financial data provider.
Earlier this year the firm sold Leaders Romans Group which was formed from the merger of two Bowmark portfolio companies, to Platinum Equity.
‘[Bowmark’s] previous experience in the sector will be invaluable as we move to the next stage of our development,’ said Mathias Strasser, chief executive officer at WSD.
As part of the transaction, Peter Little will join WSD’s board as non-executive chairman.
Cboe Europe Derivatives to launch new equity index products
Cboe Global Markets has announced the launch of new equity index futures and options products for trading on Cboe Europe Derivatives (CEDX), its Amsterdam-based equity derivatives exchange.
Futures and options will be launched on four additional Cboe Europe single country index benchmarks including the Cboe Italy 40, Cboe Norway 25, Cboe Spain 35 and Cboe Sweden 30. The eight new products are planned to be made available for trading on CEDX on 27 April, with clearing provided by EuroCCP, Cboe's pan-European clearing house.
The addition of these products brings the total number of products available for trading on CEDX to 20, adding to the 12 products made available at launch last September, comprising futures and options on six Cboe Europe indices: the Cboe Eurozone 50, Cboe France 40, Cboe Germany 40, Cboe Netherlands 25, Cboe Switzerland 20 and Cboe UK 100.
‘The launch of this second phase of products broadens our equity index product suite to cover additional key European markets providing customers with a tool to efficiently manage their European index exposures via a single marketplace,’ said Ade Cordell (above-right), president of Cboe Netherlands.
China passes futures and derivatives law
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, released yesterday (20 April) the ‘futures and derivatives law’ which will come to effect from 1 August.
Under the new rules, futures refer to futures contracts or their standardised options while derivatives are defined as swaps, forwards, and non-standardised options or their combinations.
Comprising 13 chapters, the rules give more weight to futures involving trading activities, settlement and delivery, traders, business institutions, clearing institutions, service providers and industry association. In terms of derivatives trading, there are eight articles under Chapter 3 which cover trading venue, licensing, transaction agreements and database.
Financial institutions trading derivatives shall obtain approval and perform investor suitability management obligations, one article stated. If the derivatives transaction follows master agreement, the master agreement, all supplementary agreements under it and the agreements made by both parties on the transaction together constitute a complete single agreement, which are legally binding, according to the law.
Symetra introduces Accumulator Ascent IUL
Symetra has rolled out a new version of its Accumulator indexed universal life insurance (IUL) product - Symetra Accumulator Ascent IUL.
The new Accumulator Ascent indexed annuity offers eight interest crediting options including seven indexed strategies plus a fixed interest option. Any growth within the index strategies is linked to the performance of a market index calculated as the one-year and two-year point to point performance.
The pool of available indexes includes the Putnam Dynamic Low Volatility Excess Return Index which is exclusively licensed to the insurance company, Symetra Allocation Index, S&P 500 Index and JPMorgan ETF Efficiente 5 Index.
Other indexed annuities offered by Symetra include the Symetra Stride and Edge Elite annuity linked to the S&P500, JPMorgan ETF Efficiente 5 Index, and Putnam Dynamic Low Volatility Excess Return Index; and the Symetra Prestige annuity offering exposure to the S&P 500 or the SG Columbia Global Market States Index.
‘The Accumulator Ascent IUL offers clients a straightforward indexed universal life product with a simple story: the opportunity for even stronger cash value accumulation potential, more competitive policy distributions and lower policy charges,’ said Phil Bouvier (above-right), senior vice president, individual life sales and marketing.
UK retail ETP adoption stunted by lack of investor knowledge
Only one in five (22%) retail investors in the UK currently invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or exchange-traded products (ETPs), according to a survey of 1,000 UK retail investors commissioned by WisdomTree and conducted by Opinium.
European ETP assets under management swelled to US$1.6tn in 2021, with many investors preferring the low-cost and transparent nature of the wrapper. However, this trend has yet to catch on amongst UK retail investors.
According to the survey, 19% of respondents indicated they have never heard of ETFs/ETPs with education cited as the main barrier to investing in these products - 34% of those who do not invest in them said it was due to lack of understanding while 35% of all UK retail investors polled said they would be interested in receiving ETF/ETP education from their investment platform and online broker.
The survey also showed that 47% invest in single stocks and shares, which are often higher risk than investment funds. Additionally, 33% invest in open-ended funds, while 32% allocate to investment trusts.
Investment research and educational content are held in high esteem by UK retail investors, according to the survey. Over three quarters (77%) would consider signing up to a new investment platform or online broker if it offered a wider range of research and educational material.
The survey also found that 36% of UK retail investors get their investment research and information from their investment platform or broker, 35% from a financial adviser and 33% from financial news sites. This hunger for knowledge comes as almost half of the survey respondents (48%) say that a global recession and inflation (40%) are the biggest risks to their investments this year.