Sell-Side Technology Awards 2019: Best Sell-Side Newcomer (Vendor or Product)—RIMES Technologies
New York-based RIMES Technologies wins this year's best newcomer category, thanks to its RIMES RegFocus BMR Control (BMRC) offering.
![BestSellSideNewcomer_RIMESTechnologies](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_750_463/public/2019-04/19aBestSellSideNewcomer_RIMESTechnologies_NeilKellyJeromeSchippersGianlucaMazzoneLR.jpg.webp?itok=uBaqC61N)
New York-based RIMES Technologies is a regular name in the annual BST Awards, having dominated the best data provider category for more than a decade. But it’s a fresh face in these awards, thanks to its RIMES RegFocus BMR Control (BMRC) offering, initially rolled out to help asset managers comply with the EU’s Benchmarks Regulation (BMR), introduced in January 2018. According to the European Securities and Markets Authority, responsible for enforcing the regulation, BMR is designed to ensure the “accuracy and integrity of benchmarks.” And while it might not set pulses racing, it is nonetheless important for both sides of the industry, especially firms based in Europe or those servicing European clients.
BMRC is a cloud-based inventory management system designed to help firms understand the various indices and benchmarks they use, generating alerts when they are at risk of non-compliance. Crucially, it helps them understand whether they are benchmark administrators, contributors or users, and if so, which benchmarks are involved. “The uptake has been unsurprisingly equal on both sides [of the industry],” says Alessandro Ferrari, RIMES’ chief marketing officer. “Although our initial expectation and marketing focus was on the buy side, with RegFocus BMR we now have as many customers on the sell side.”
Given that BMR is an EU-focused regulation, one might assume that firms based outside the Eurozone are not touched by its tenets, and therefore have little interest in its regulatory impact. Not so, according to Ferrari: “BMR could, in theory, apply to all asset managers, owners or servicers, depending on where they do business,” he says. “If a non-Eurozone firm operates within the EU through a branch or subsidiary, its EU activity will be subject to BMR. Equally, they will be subject to the regulation if they administer benchmarks used by regulated entities within the EU.”
Regulatory compliance is a complex area for firms to navigate, especially when it comes to establishing what exactly they are required to comply with and what that might mean practically. According to Ferrari, the sell side faces arguably more acute challenges than the buy side in terms of identifying its use of benchmarks under BMR. “Whereas asset managers probably have a clear idea of whether they are measuring the performance of a fund by using a published index, it may be more difficult for banks to identify all activities across a wider range of business units that involve issuance of financial instruments that reference a benchmark or the use of benchmarks to determine the amounts payable in financial instruments or other financial contracts they are a party to,” he says.
By winning this category, RIMES joins OpenDoor Securities (2018), IHS Markit (2017), AcadiaSoft (2016) and Symphony (2015) in the winners’ circle.
Only users who have a paid subscription or are part of a corporate subscription are able to print or copy content.
To access these options, along with all other subscription benefits, please contact info@waterstechnology.com or view our subscription options here: http://subscriptions.waterstechnology.com/subscribe
You are currently unable to print this content. Please contact info@waterstechnology.com to find out more.
You are currently unable to copy this content. Please contact info@waterstechnology.com to find out more.
Copyright Infopro Digital Limited. All rights reserved.
You may share this content using our article tools. Printing this content is for the sole use of the Authorised User (named subscriber), as outlined in our terms and conditions - https://www.infopro-insight.com/terms-conditions/insight-subscriptions/
If you would like to purchase additional rights please email info@waterstechnology.com
Copyright Infopro Digital Limited. All rights reserved.
You may share this content using our article tools. Copying this content is for the sole use of the Authorised User (named subscriber), as outlined in our terms and conditions - https://www.infopro-insight.com/terms-conditions/insight-subscriptions/
If you would like to purchase additional rights please email info@waterstechnology.com
More on Awards & Rankings
Asia Awards 2024: Best transaction-cost analysis (TCA) solution—big xyt
Product: Open TCA
Asia Awards 2024: Best middle-office platform—EquiLend
Product: EquiLend Spire
Women in Technology & Data Awards 2024 winner's interview: Joanna Davies (OSTTRA)
OSTTRA's Joanna Davies won the vendor professional of the year (data and operations) category in this year’s Women’s awards.
WatersTechnology Asia Awards 2024: All the winners and why they won
Here are the vendor and end-user winners of the 34 categories that make up the 5th annual WatersTechnology Asia Awards, announced on June 20.
Asia Awards 2024: Best analytics solution—oneZero
Product: oneZero Data Source
Asia Awards 2024: Best alternative data provider—RavenPack
Product: RavenPack Factor Library
Most read
- IEX Cloud closure forces fintech clients to seek data alternatives
- Zeros and ones: Industry contemplates T+0 as the next step
- Natixis refines in-house interoperability model