First New York, a multi-asset class investment firm, has deployed Eventus Systems’ Validus platform to meet its global trade surveillance needs.
The firm has begun using the cloud-based version of the platform for futures and will soon leverage Validus to surveil all of its equities and equity options trading activity as well.
Shawn Fischman, General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer, says: “As a multi-asset, multi-strategy firm with approximately 100 portfolio managers, our structure is extraordinarily complex, particularly as each manager trades accounts with a variety of counterparties across global markets. We wanted to establish a relationship with a market-leading, proven firm with the expertise to handle trade surveillance across multiple asset classes and the flexibility to meet our complex needs. Eventus was among the top providers recommended to us by many of our peers and counterparties.”
Fischman says that the firm’s compliance and technology teams ultimately considered several trade surveillance solutions and conducted multiple demos with each one before selecting Eventus. He said that First New York executes hundreds of thousands of transactions annually, and the way Validus can be trained through its machine learning capability really stood out among others, with the ability to identify certain patterns, simplify and manage the compliance staff’s day-to-day review process, and gain new efficiencies.
Eventus President Jeff Bell says: “This implementation involved some unique challenges due to First New York’s structure, the need for connectivity and access to the full range of trade lifecycle data from the many different execution platforms its portfolio managers use, and the complexity of its trading processes. We were able to meet these challenges and get its team up and running quickly.”
Fischman adds: “The Eventus team members are very professional, and the client service has been exceptional throughout the training and implementation process. In addition to their deep market knowledge and outstanding expertise, they take the time not only to educate us on the platform but to thoroughly understand our business and unique needs and then help us determine how to integrate and customise Validus so we achieve the best long-term results.”
First New York is a multi-strategy investment firm specialising in equities, derivatives, fixed income, currencies, commodities and futures across global markets.
