CMA, the credit information specialist, announced that Augustus Asset Management has selected CMA DataVision and Derivation Software to provide independent CDS price verification services. Augustus, a London based fund manager with $13.5bn in assets under management, will receive prices fromDataVision’s buy-side consortium model via the Derivation platform.
“Augustus has been actively trading credit for about 4 years. We wanted a reliable data set that could be used by both the front and middle offices to price positions and perform flash P&L for a variety of alternative and mutual fund strategies and that would help with Augustus’s ongoing drive to comply with AIMA / IOSCO valuation guidelines,” says Michael Allen, COO, Augustus.
“We’d been speaking with Derivation as they have the ability to manage a wide variety of securities and they recommended CMA to us. During the trial we were impressed by the quality of the data and the levels of support we received from CMA. Accessing CMA prices via Derivation will benefit our fund managers, product controllers and client servicing teams and will ultimately enable us to offer addedvalue to our investors,” adds Allen.
“Technology is no longer optional for asset managers- there is increasing focus and spending on technology as awareness of the need for risk management and operational best practise grows. Derivation is receiving more enquiries now than any time over the last three years. High quality spread and term data is critical for any credit investor and CMA is widely acknowledged as the gold standard provider of CDS data- we’ll continue to recommend them to our clients,” says Kevin Lenehan, commercial director, Derivation.
“We are pleased to count Augustus among our clients. DataVision is an extremely flexible product that’s easy to integrate with other technologies. Partnerships with firms like Derivation add value for our clients as they enable us to deliver DataVision to users via theirpreferred platform,” says Laurent Paulhac, chief executive, CMA.
CMA DataVision is a same day, consensus based price verification data service for CDS, Indices and Tranches, used primarily for mark-to-market, flash P&L, research and analytics. Data is based on observed real-time indicative prices from a consortium of 30 buy-side firms including Hedge Funds, Asset Managers and the buy-side desks of leading global Investment Banks. DataVision is used for a range of functions, including valuations, research, modelling and risk management.