ATP and PFA, Denmark’s two largest pension and social security providers have appointed OpenGamma, a leading margin software vendor, to provide cleared and uncleared derivatives analytics ahead of the final implementation phases of the BCBS/IOSCO bilateral margin rules in 2020 and 2021.

OpenGamma’s appointment comes at a pivotal time for the derivatives industry with voluntary OTC clearing on the increase in anticipation of the funding challenges non-centrally cleared derivatives margin requirements are set to have over the next 22 months.

The margin specialist provides pre- and post-trade capital efficiency tools for investment and treasury personnel to maximise trading efficiency at various stages through the trade cycle.

Commenting on the appointment, Lars Dreier, Senior Portfolio Manager at ATP points to the need for derivatives optimisation:

“This new solution provides us with the ability to proactively manage our derivatives book as efficiently as possible”

while Thomas Kolling, Senior Portfolio Manager at PFA states that:

“This is a natural add-on to the partnership we have had with OpenGamma on cleared derivatives for almost two years. Margin analytics is becoming more and more important for our business and OpenGamma provides the necessary tools for us to do these analytics.”

The timely appointment aligns with the recent buy-side trend towards proactively establishing funding, liquidity and optimisation capabilities across cleared and uncleared derivatives portfolios.

OpenGamma’s Chief Commercial Officer, Joe Midmore, highlights the significance of the appointments,

“We are delighted to have been selected by ATP and PFA to support their common objective to reduce trading costs and, ultimately, deliver value for Danish pensioners. These are transformational times for buy-side participants trading OTC derivatives and our recent traction in the Nordic market reflects the growing need for innovative margin analytics that meet the needs of large, sophisticated pension schemes and other asset owners.”