Hedge Fund Awards 2016

http://www.acquisition-intl.com/hedge-fund-awards 72 ~ Best Risk Management Product 2016 Established in 1993, Imagine is the leading provider of real-time portfolio, risk management and regulatory solutions for financial services companies worldwide. Imagine works with firms of all sizes and complexity, including banks, brokerage firms, asset managers, funds of funds and pension funds, including Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Societe Generale, Macquarie Bank, Invesco, Millennium Partners, Arrowgrass, BlueBay Asset Managers, Henderson Global Investors and Nine Masts Capital among others. Imagine is the risk technology engine that drives entire front-to-back office operations. Firms use the Imagine platform as a traditional enterprise installation or as a full-service, cloud-based ASP. From real-time ticking prices, yield curves, volatility surfaces and correlations, to a global security master and corporate actions processing, Imagine delivers all of the data and analytics needed for daily operations and management. In an interview with the firm’s Co-Founder and Head of Global Business Development and Sales, Scott Sher- man, he explains the current state of the industry, including how it has changed over recent years, as well as the most significant developments and challenges facing the business. “Increased regulatory scrutiny has be- come a significant challenge for all hedge funds, and Imagine is playing an instrumental role in helping firms meet data management and reporting requirements,” Sherman said. “Imagine has been processing real-time data on every listed product globally and all major asset classes and trading strategies for 22 years, so we are perfectly situated to help our clients keep pace with any risk and compliance demands,” added Sherman. In 2015, for example, Sherman added, Imagine created a margin calculation tool “that gives financial practitioners the ability to independently predetermine and confirm prime broker margin requirements and efficiently deploy capital.” With Imagine’s margin solution, said Sherman, firms can calculate the margin requirement on a portfolio utilizing various exchange rules, Reg T. or even “house rules” that a prime broker would use. “Managers can stress test up to fifteen factors simultaneously, custom-build their own tests and create user-defined views. The margin tool enhances managers’ ability to anticipate, prepare for an event and avoid untimely margin calls” Sherman said. The hedge fund industry is incredibly diverse and fast-paced, so how does a firm such as Imagine remain on the cutting edge of new developments and ensure that they are best placed to meet clients’ needs? “The Imagine system was built to help firms respond to and manage changing market conditions. For hedge funds that do not have internal risk management resources – and even those that do – Imagine can help manage every facet of risk management, from monitoring and assessing risk, to identifying breaches in real-time, evaluating exposures, conducting stress tests and more,” Sherman responds. “Imagine’s responsive and flexible platform allows clients to tap directly into our technology platform – particu- larly valuable for firms without robust internal systems – to build proprietary applications with or without our assistance – which is, and will continue to be, a great differentiator going forward” Sherman explains when quizzed about working in such a competitive industry and distinguishing the business from that of Imagine’s competitors. “Today, more than 85% of Imagine’s clients access our platform to create bespoke applications for a full range of risk, portfolio management and compliance operations, as well as proprietary functionalities” he adds. Company: Imagine Software Name: Scott Sherman Title: Co-Founder and Head of Business Development & Sales Web Address: www.imaginesoftware.com Address: 22 Cortlandt Street, 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10007 Telephone: 001.212.317.7600 Imagine Software, Inc.