BCS Global Markets has launched a new synthetic prime product.
The new synthetic prime brokerage platform, a new synthetic prime product, offers professional and institutional investors simplified access to the Russian capital markets and will be expanded into a global multi-asset platform.
It is the first time that those without dedicated Russian access, either through BCS’s prime brokerage or another brokerage, can access the Russian market.
According to BCS, trading Russian instruments has traditionally been difficult from a regulatory, settlement and hedging perspective, but the new platform has been designed to overcome these challenges.
BCS’s synthetic prime brokerage offering can be US dollar-denominated, enabling any investment vehicle access to Russia without local settlement arrangements or rouble accounts.
The platform is already being used by major institutions and there is growing interest in the product from hedge funds, proprietary trading firms and investment banks who are either looking to trade Russian assets for the first time or to benefit from trading Russia with US denomination.
BCS has been offering specialist Russian prime brokerage services since 2013.
Earlier this year BCS became the first Russian brokerage to become a registered member of the New York Stock Exchange and it has expanded its research coverage so institutional and high-net-worth clients now receive updates on equity markets in the US, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
BCS Global Markets also recently revealed its plans to develop a new integrated payment and investment model after obtaining its transaction banking license which will also be a core function across BCS’ growing investment banking capability.
Tim Bevan, global head of prime BCS Global Markets and co-CEO of BCS UK, commented: “Since 2013, we’ve been attracting some of the most sophisticated institutions in the world who want to trade Russian strategies through our specialist prime brokerage, so our core infrastructure in terms of technology, client support and risk management is already in place.”
He added: “We believe that the synthetic prime offering can become a major international business. We’re already seeing a lot of demand from small and medium-sized hedge funds who are underserved by larger international prime brokerages—we’re confident that this is a highly scalable model.”
