BlackRock has integrated FactSet’s Portware execution management system (EMS) into its flagship investment management platform, Aladdin.
FactSet’s EMS is most widely known for its capabilities in list assets and foreign exchange, however, it also recently added fixed income capabilities to its remit.
Through a multi-year partnership, the pair will offer a turnkey integration allowing mutual clients to access both entities capabilities across trading execution and multi-asset portfolio and risk management, as well as Portware’s electronic trading and automation abilities via an API.
It will also offer users common access to both BlackRock and FactSet’s data-driven trade automation and at-trade decision support capabilities across asset classes.
The new capabilities will be accessible via Aladdin from March with additional functions expected to be added through this year and next year.
“Our partnership with Portware reflects BlackRock’s ongoing commitment to providing Aladdin clients with choice, flexibility, and access to efficient capabilities in their daily workflows,” said Daniel Gourvitch, managing director, global head of platform for Aladdin at BlackRock.
“This partnership reinforces our strategy to add deep integrations with leading technology providers so that clients can choose the capabilities that best fit their needs while maintaining seamless workflows.”
BlackRock has invested significant resources into Aladdin in the last year, with several partnerships seeing it add new capabilities to its roster.
Most recent was its tie-up with Cassini in June last year, which saw BlackRock add margin-based analytics to its platform; along with an expansion into multi-asset trading through an integration with FlexTrade in May.
“Offering flexible access to Portware through the Aladdin platform effectively advances our open data and platform strategy while answering the growing demand for personalised workflow solutions,” said Rob Robie, head of analytics at FactSet.