LONDON - BARRA International Ltd. and Combined Actuarial Performance Services Ltd. are establishing a joint venture that would provide a service to address risk management and analysis for pension funds.
The service would produce quarterly and annual investment risk reports based on the current holdings and asset allocation of the funds and would provide a single total fund risk number relative both to the fund benchmark and the universe.
Total fund risk allows trustees and pension fund managers to identify their total risk levels using both stock selection and asset allocation information. Reports also would include information on investment management styles.
"Trustees are increasingly concerned about risk levels. For the first time, a service would be available to address these needs in an easily understandable format, thereby adding a new dimension to controlling and reviewing investment managers," said Stan Beckers, president of BARRA International.
For information, contact Andrew Caldwell with BARRA International in London at (44-171) 283-2255.
BT adds database
NEW YORK - Bankers Trust Co. selected ObjectStore, a software object database, as a key component of its new international risk management trading system.
Bankers Trust will use the database to store and manage sophisticated financial data - data that can be stored more efficiently in an object database than traditional relational databases. The system will incorporate live feeds from 20 different trading systems across offices in London, New York and Tokyo, and give traders accurate, up-to-the-minute information.
ObjectStore is from Object Design Inc., Burlington, Mass., at (617) 674-5000.
Vestek expands classifications
SAN FRANCISCO - Vestek Systems Inc., San Francisco, now incorporates industry classifications from Standard & Poor's Corp. and Frank Russell Co. into its portfolio analytic software.
"Now if one client of an investment manager wants his reports delivered using S&P industry classifications and another client wants reports using Frank Russell industry classifications, the investment manager can give both of them what they want," said Ralph Goldsticker, director of research for Vestek.
Vestek calculates daily rates of return and portfolio weights using industry classifications from Vestek, S&P, Russell and a number of other types of classifications for more than 90 equity indexes. For further information, contact Susan Lundquist at (415) 398-6340.
Trade History Database demo
NEW YORK - Institutional Technologies Inc., New York, and some fixed-income money managers are offering a demonstration of the Trade History Database. The database is a cooperative. The demonstration is available on the World Wide Web at http: www.tradehistory.com.
Real estate program upgrade
NORTHBROOK, Ill. - Quantra Corp., Northbrook, has announced a new version of its real estate software for executives and other decision-makers.
Quantra's Portfolio Strategy System Versions 2.5 brings together critical information from disparate real estate systems, according to Paul Hession, a vice president at Quantra.
The system can gather and analyze information from DYNA for Windows, ARGUS, MRI Timberline, SKYLINE, PRO-JECT and other software. For further information, contact John Wickes at Quantra, at (847) 291-4000.
D&P data on BondCall Reports
CHICAGO - Duff & Phelps Credit Rating Co., New York, is making its ratings and research available via electronic information service First Call's BondCall Reports (Research Direct).
Separately, Securities Data Co., a provider of online global merger and financial information, is now distributing weekly reports on new bond issues, as well as monthly year-to-date summaries of these issues, over BondCall.
Thomson BankWatch Inc., the only major rating agency to exclusively follow financial institutions, also will distribute its full-text ratings reports over BondCall Reports. Thomson BankWatch ratings and research notes already are available over BondCall.
For more information on the BondCall Reports (Research Direct) service, contact Jan Thompson (312) 368-3170.
Primark sets up new unit
WALTHAM, Mass. - Primark Corp. has created a business unit called Primark Investment Management Services.
PIMS will consist largely of the fund accounting and portfolio analytics business operated as part of Datastream International, Primark's information services subsidiary in London.
The designation as Primark Investment Management Services is intended to raise the profile of the business, which focuses on the U.K. and continental European investment management markets. PIMS supplies expert software and consultanting for investment accountants and fund managers.
