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The Asset Management Exchange (AMX), which offers a cloud-based platform for asset managers, institutional investors and their intermediaries, has expanded its services with the addition of a securities finance programme.
The new service went live in July and is being introduced to “as many funds as is appropriate”, over the next six months, according to AMX’s head of product Kerrie Mitchener-Nissen.
“Given that we introduced the platform right at the start of the summer, the market for lending has been a little soft which was not too surprising. I anticipate it will open up post-summer,” Mitchener-Nissen tells SLT.
“That said, client feedback on the programme has been strong, and as we roll it out more clients have been enquiring about our capabilities. We will add further products to the programme in a phased approach.”
AMX is currently working with two agent lenders and Mitchener-Nissen says the platform may partner with more banks as needed in line with lending volume growth.
Clients benefit from a generous 80-20 split on revenue from lending — shared between the asset owner and the agent lender. AMX does not take a cut.
“The market, in general, provides a 70-30 percent revenue split between the beneficial owner and the agent lender,” Mitchener-Nissen explains. “We are pushing more in favour of the fund and the investors, so we offer 80-20 percent split.”
Moreover, AMX says its service will smooth-out hurdles to lending laid down by the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation.
Investors will be updated on the use of any of securities lending in the half-yearly reports when required and annual reports.
The platform will also oversee trades sent by counterparties to the trade repository, such as the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, while AMX’s compliance function monitors all transactions and aims to ensure that reporting is in line with SFTR.
What is the AMX?
AMX launched in February 2017 with the mission of standardising, centralising and streamlining processes for its buy-side clients.
“We want to take all non-investment activities off their hands and allow them to do what they do best: managing portfolios and generating returns,” says Mitchener-Nissen.
“Among other things, that means we take over many of the time-consuming activities such as managing relationships with third-party service providers, regulators and auditors.”
AMX offers products across all asset classes and recently surpassed $20 billion in assets on the platform.
An in-depth conversation with Kerrie Mitchener-Nissen on AMX’s bolstered suite of services appears in the latest issue of SLT.
