The Association writes that over the past decade as emerging technologies have transformed the wider investment industry for both retail and institutional customers, the platforms sector has grown rapidly and is quickly approaching GBP1 trillion worth of assets under administration. 

“The Platforms Association’s launch marks a step change in how the industry will engage with regulators and policymakers and aims to bring a united voice to co-ordinate and promote industry interests. Already, a number of high-profile platforms are represented on the Board and Leadership Council including Abrdn, Aegon, Fidelity, Quilter, Seccl, SS&C and others. 

“Membership will be open to UK and European regulated firms whose primary activities are the settlement, custody and safe keeping of retail investor assets. Membership will also be open to regulated sub-custodian firms providing dealing and safe-keeping services to organisations acting on behalf of retail investors.”

The Association writes that it has already developed a roadmap of priority issues to be tackled covering evolving platform requirements, regulatory expectations and operational efficiencies and improvements.

“These three broad areas will be overseen by a Leadership Council comprising representatives from across the industry. Related financial and professional services firms, including Alpha FMC, have also been appointed as independent strategic partners to the association.”  

The trade body will be headed by industry veteran Keith Phillips as CEO, formerly an Executive Director at TheCityUK, British Bankers’ Association and The Investment Association. David Moffat, Senior Director at SS&C will act as Chair, and will draw on expertise from a Board made up of leading figures in the industry. 

David Moffat, Chair, The Platforms Association, says: “Given a background of increased economic uncertainty and regulatory scrutiny, the UK platform industry now needs its own dedicated forum and representative voice. The Platforms Association will look to co-ordinate collective action and agree best practice to the benefit of platform operators, financial advisors and underlying investors.” 

Keith Phillips, CEO, The Platforms Association, says: “The investment and fund industry has been transformed and democratised over the past decade with millions of customers now interacting directly with their financial futures through a platform. It’s another example of where the UK is a world leader in financial services. It’s also clear that as the industry, technology and customer demographics have evolved, sector-wide co-ordination should now be fully realised for the benefit of all.” 

The firm writes that the updates further expand Wintermute’s OTC derivatives offering with the introduction of GMCI index trading as an instrument for contracts for differences (CFDs), marking Wintermute as the first OTC desk to provide this capability. Additionally, CFD trading is now accessible directly through NODE, alongside Wintermute’s industry-standard FIX API or chat. The update also introduces a revamped NODE user interface and enables the use of virtually any fiat or crypto asset as collateral for margin in derivatives trading via NODE.

Wintermute’s crypto CFD trading volume has surged 19-fold from March to August this year, reflecting significant growth since the product’s introduction in February. Anticipating continued market demand for OTC-cleared derivatives, CFD trading is now available directly via Wintermute NODE, along with multicurrency collateral support for margin that launched earlier this summer. With just a few clicks, Wintermute counterparties can now easily access CFD OTC trading and use a wide range of assets, including cryptocurrencies, fiat, and even Liquid Staking Tokens, to collateralize margin for derivatives trading directly on NODE.

Rounding off the offering, Wintermute now allows trading of GMCI indices as an instrument for CFDs, providing counterparties with a simplified, yet diversified way to gain market exposure to digital assets. Index trading allows investors to capture broad market trends by focusing on entire sectors, providing a diversified portfolio while reducing the risks associated with the volatility of individual assets. Using indices as the basis for CFDs enables traders to gain leveraged exposure to the market, and quickly access and react to market movements, without owning the underlying assets. The first GMCI indices available for trading include GMCI 30, GMCI MEME, GMCI AI, GMCI L1, and GMCI L2, with more indices available for pricing on demand.

Evgeny Gaevoy, CEO of Wintermute, says: “While crypto derivatives are still in the early stages of growth, we believe their adoption and market expansion will surpass anything seen in traditional finance. At Wintermute, our goal is to meet this demand by providing our counterparties with best-in-class trading tools and the most comprehensive OTC offering. This year, we are particularly focused on enhancing our derivatives suite, with a strong emphasis on CFDs. Adding CFD support and enabling CFD index trading on our electronic OTC trading platform, NODE, is a natural progression following our earlier updates this year. It allows us to serve a broader range of counterparties, whether they seek quick, hassle-free access without the need for integration, or want to complement their existing trading via API or chat”.