Contineo hires Franck Lerat as CTO to support further expansion

08 October 2019 (Hong Kong): Contineo, the industry-backed messaging network for equity-linked structured products, announced today the appointment of Franck Lerat as Chief Technology Officer.

CEO Antoine de Charnacé said Mr Lerat was ideally placed to lead the next technology evolution of Contineo’s successful structured product platform.

“We are tremendously excited to welcome Franck to Contineo,” he said. “He’s the ideal person to lead our talented team of technologists as we further develop the platform and deliver the new functionalities that will help our users and their end clients extract even more value out of the structured product investment process.”

CEO Antoine de Charnacé explained this addition to the team was very timely and an important milestone for the company to support the positive trend and ongoing developments.

“We have made significant progress this year in rolling out Contineo platform directly to investment counselors and relationship managers, beyond the dealing team of our buy-side clients. Contineo’s web-based solution gives a unique advantage for client-facing users who can send RFQs remotely on their tablets and receive pricings across 15 issuers in less than a minute, while sharing a coffee with their clients. The increasing number of users (+70% this year) combined with new payoffs available on the platform translate into more RFQs (+30% YoY) and ultimately more transactions. Compared to last year, we foresee a 20% growth on the volume placed via Contineo despite a more challenging market environment in 2019. This trend will be supported further by a new private bank joining Contineo’s network in Q4 this year” he said.

“Technology is more than ever at the core of our development plans to scale up the business with new platform features and new services available such as lifecycle module and enhanced analytics tools. It is key to reinforce our position in Hong Kong and Singapore and support our customers operations across the globe. Franck’s appointment further enhances Contineo’s position as the leading partner sustaining both our buy and sell-side banking clients technology transformation” he concluded.

With more than 25 years’ experience in equity derivatives technology, Mr Lerat said he was looking forward to applying his deep global expertise to Contineo’s nimble and innovative technology stack.

“Contineo represents the next exciting evolution in the structured product space,” he said. “I followed Contineo’s work closely since it launched in 2015, and I look forward very much to being part of the next iteration of its journey.”

Mr Lerat joins Contineo from HSBC, where he was Global Head of Equity Derivatives IT in charge of the digital transformation of the technology stack. He was previously Co-Head of Equity Derivatives IT at JPMorgan, where he spent most of his career and recently reengineered the firm’s technology solutions for equity derivatives front to back.

For interviews with Antoine de Charnacé:
Kristin Westlake, The Continuum Partners | kwestlake@thecontinuumpartners.com | +61 416 219 358

ABOUT CONTINEO

Contineo is the first industry supported, open messaging network for pricing discovery and order management to private banks, wealth managers and issuers of structured products.

Contineo also offers a network for centralized and standardized lifecycle events, and smart analytics for participants to access real-time market intelligence and identify new business opportunities.

Contineo believes that automation increases productivity and efficiency for structured products helping buy-side clients to thrive in a competitive market environment.

Contineo is a cost efficient and easy-to-access solution for all market participants. For more information or to request a demo, please reach out to info@contineo.com.hk.


Contineo brings new transparency and efficiency to structured products

Contineo launches a Lifecycle Management module as a client engagement tool for Wealth Managers

15 May 2019 (Hong Kong): Contineo, the network serving the wealth management industry, today launched a new tool that offers private bankers unprecedented insight into their clients’s structured products portfolios.

Contineo’s Lifecycle Management product brings centralized management tools to wealth managers for the first time, allowing them to monitor product events, underlying performance and creating additional touch point opportunities with clients, as well as superior one-click reporting. The product is already live at one of Contineo’s member firm.

CEO Antoine de Charnacé said that the Proof of Concept developed by the company earlier has now been fully enhanced in partnership with private banks on the network into a comprehensive Lifecycle module, delivering exactly the capabilities that have been missing on the secondary market for structured products.

“Our unique position at the intersection of issuers and wealth managers allows us to help identify business opportunities by tracking the performance of products and underlyings; better monitor product events from barriers watch and coupons payments to corporate actions; and overall gauge secondary market opportunities for investors he said. “Taken together, these capabilities allow wealth managers to enrich their client interactions with better, more timely information, and manage their portfolios much more quickly and easily. This is also a great opportunity for issuers to demonstrate their level of post trade services” he added.

Product features managed within the Contineo’s Lifecycle Management module include:

  • Portfolio overview
  • Indicative bid prices
  • Issuer notifications
  • Underlying performance and barriers watch
  • Corporate actions
  • Client reporting and documentation

Lifecycle Management is available as part of the Contineo suite of products either as a standalone module or alongside Contineo’s Click and Trade module and Analytics module, the market data solution to access structured products market insights.

For interviews with Antoine de Charnacé:
Kristin Westlake, The Continuum Partners kwestlake@thecontinuumpartners.com

+61 416 219 358

ABOUT CONTINEO

Contineo is the first industry supported, open messaging network for pricing discovery and order management to private banks, wealth managers and issuers of structured products.

Contineo also offers a network for centralized and standardized lifecycle events, and smart analytics for participants to access real-time market intelligence and identify new business opportunities.

Contineo believes that automation increases productivity and efficiency for structured products helping buy-side clients to thrive in a competitive market environment.

Contineo is a cost efficient and easy-to-access solution for all market participants. For more information or to request a demo, please reach out to info@contineo.com.hk.


Contineo hires Benoit Pommier as Head of Sales & Marketing

12 November, 2018 (Hong Kong): Contineo, the industry-backed messaging network for equity-linked structured products, today announced the appointment of Benoit Pommier to support the company’s growth in the region.

CEO Antoine de Charnacé says Mr Pommier’s expertise in structured products and private banking in Asia is ideal to strengthen Contineo’s growing team.

“Contineo is firmly established as Asia’s structured products network and data provider, enjoying continuous growth over the past three years,” he said. “We have an ambitious roadmap ahead from both client and product perspectives. We definitely welcome Benoit’s experience and deep product knowledge to enhance Contineo’s value proposal and expand our network.”

Mr Pommier has spent his career in structured products on both the buy and sell sides in Singapore and Hong Kong. His previous roles involved working in the private banking arms of Société Générale, HSBC and DBS, and most recently on the sell side with Commerzbank where he was covering Private Banks and External Asset Managers for structured products distribution.

“I’ve had extremely positive interactions with Contineo while using the platform as a client, and I’m very excited to be part of the expansion of the firm which will provide even more automation and transparency to the structured products market in the region,” Mr Pommier said.

For interviews with Antoine de Charnacé:
Kristin Westlake, The Continuum Partners kwestlake@thecontinuumpartners.com

+61 416 219 358

ABOUT CONTINEO

Contineo is the first industry supported, open messaging network for private banks and wealth management firms to access issuers of structured products. It is also the first firm to offer structured product data feeds, illuminating this previously opaque market for the very first time. Together we are a community with a shared vision and purpose.

We believe that technology should be intuitive, easy to access, and available to all participants. This means creating an open messaging standard in concert with the buy-side and sell-side, and enabling access to all parties, including other certified technology vendors.

This mission is shared by our current subscribers, who recognise the importance of an open, efficient and transparent network.


Contineo Announces New CEO

29 June, 2018 (Hong Kong): Contineo, Asia’s largest messaging network and data provider for structured products, announced today that Antoine de Charnacé has been appointed as CEO.

Mr. de Charnacé joins Contineo from DBS Private Bank and brings significant financial services experience and a deep knowledge of both structured products and private banking.

Mr. de Charnacé said Contineo has brought extremely positive changes to the structured products market since its launch three years ago.

“Contineo has been a leader in bringing automation and transparency to this very important market,” he said. “I see huge potential to grow and expand these benefits and I’m excited about the opportunities that lie ahead.”

Mr. de Charnacé replaces Mr. Mark Munoz, who after three years leading Contineo from an early-stage start-up to a successful revenue generating network business, has stepped down to focus on other business opportunities. Mr. Munoz will remain with Contineo over a transition period.

David Wood, Contineo Board Member and Societe Generale Managing Director, said Mr. Munoz had been instrumental in the launch and successful delivery of Contineo, taking the initial idea for an industry standard structured products network and building it into a fast-growing, successful business.

“On behalf of all board members, I would like to thank Mark for the vision, leadership and creativity that he brought to the company, and wish him every success in his future ventures,” he said. “Under Mark’s guidance Contineo has grown significantly, doubling the number of subscribers in the last year alone. Alongside the recently established partnership with a new investor, Mark has built a solid foundation for Contineo’s future.”

For media enquiries:
Kristin Westlake, The Continuum Partners kwestlake@thecontinuumpartners.com

+61 416 219 358


Contineo wins Best Issuance Platform at the 2018 SRP APAC Awards

19 April, 2018 (Hong Kong): Contineo, the industry-backed messaging network for equity-linked structured products, last night won Best Issuance Platform Asia Pacific at the annual Structured Retail Products Awards in Singapore, one of the industry’s most prestigious accolade, designed to recognise the best buy and sell-side companies and service providers across Asia-Pacific.The award was based on votes from over 120 private, retail and investment banks across the region to distinguish best-in-class technology innovation, user interface, post trade service and breadth of coverage. CEO Mark Munoz said the award was testament to the team’s continuous commitment to strive for excellence in better servicing its customers.

“We are extremely pleased to be the recipient of this award as it shows continuous recognition and appreciation from the industry,” he said. “We are proud of the positive changes the network brings to our subscribers and will continue to drive innovation that will create a more efficient and transparent market. It is a distinct honor to be the recipient for this award for the third year in a row, and also a great encouragement to motivate us to attain even better performance going forward.”

Contineo went live in June 2015 as a communications hub for structured products. Mark Munoz mentioned that since last year, in addition to expanding the platform’s capabilities to great customer feedback, the firm had also doubled its subscriber base to 15 sell sides and 8 buy sides.

“Thanks to the support of our subscribers, we continue to enhance our offering,” he said. “The feedback we get from clients is that Contineo has helped simplify the workflow of RMs and that private banks embracing the platform are able to streamline their internal sales processes and increase their efficiency gains and revenue volumes. This has translated well in this industry accolade, which we are very proud of. Our wholehearted thanks to all who voted for us, recognising the value we bring as the only neutral, unconflicted platform of our kind.”

For interviews with Mark Munoz:
info@contineo.com.hk

ABOUT CONTINEO

Contineo is the first industry supported, open messaging network for private banks and wealth management firms to access issuers of structured products. Together we are a community with a shared vision and purpose.

We believe that technology should be intuitive, easy to access, and available to all participants. This means creating an open messaging standard in concert with the buy-side and sell-side, and enabling access to all parties, including other certified technology vendors.

This mission is shared by our current subscribers, who recognise the importance of an open, efficient and transparent network.


Contineo Expands Post-Trade Service with SIX and doubles subscribers

Contineo, Asia’s largest messaging network and data provider for structured products, announced today that SIX had joined the firm’s consortium as a strategic partner and investor.CEO Mark Munoz said the new partnership represented a clear backing of Contineo’s unique model. “Our success was built on a consortium framework that allows top tier institutions to join together to build a utility service that drives costs down and creates market efficiencies,” he said. “The commitment from SIX embodies our core principals of operating an open and shared network that benefits all financial institutions.”

Christoph Landis, Division CEO SIX Swiss Exchange, said the company was excited about the new opportunities in Asia. “We are very pleased to bring our European leadership and experience to Asia through CONNEXOR, our high-performance infrastructure for product data,” he said. “We are looking forward to working with the leading structured product network in this region.”

As a strategic investor, SIX joins Contineo’s other shareholders including AGDelta, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, HSBC, and Societe Generale.

Contineo will integrate SIX’s CONNEXOR, providing additional functionality to existing Contineo clients to better serve their relationship managers and adhere to regulatory requirements. Mr. Munoz said the partnership would enhance Contineo’s post-trade processing, enhancing user experience.

“SIX brings new technology, expertise in the European structured product market and an important new business opportunity,” he said. “Over the last year we’ve more than doubled the number of private banks and issuers on our network, enabling us to extend our post-trade data capabilities. SIX is a leading exchange provider in Europe and we look forward to incorporating their best in class features into our offering.”

For interviews with Mark Munoz:
Kristin Westlake, The Continuum Partners kwestlake@thecontinuumpartners.com

+61 416 219 358

ABOUT CONTINEO

Contineo is the first industry supported, open messaging network for private banks and wealth management firms to access issuers of structured products. It is also the first firm to offer structured product data feeds, illuminating this previously opaque market for the very first time. Together we are a community with a shared vision and purpose.

We believe that technology should be intuitive, easy to access, and available to all participants. This means creating an open messaging standard in concert with the buy-side and sell-side, and enabling access to all parties, including other certified technology vendors.

This mission is shared by our current subscribers, who recognise the importance of an open, efficient and transparent network.

ABOUT SIX

SIX operates the infrastructure underpinning the Swiss financial sector and offers a comprehensive range of services around the world in the fields of securities trading and settlement, financial information and payment transactions. The company is owned by its users (approximately 130 banks of various orientation and size). Its workforce of over 4,000 employees and presence in 25 countries throughout the world generated operating income of CHF 1.8 billion and a Group net profit of CHF 221.1million in 2016.


Contineo Wins Best New Multi-dealer Platform- Asian Private Banker

Contineo, Asia’s largest messaging network and data provider for structured products, was awarded Best Multi-dealer Platform in the prestigious Asian Private Banker Awards this week.The winners of the awards are determined by votes from ‘the region’s leading gatekeepers who select the most distinguished providers in the industry.’ CEO Mark Munoz said the award was a great testament to the role Contineo plays in bringing the structured product industry together.

“As a small company we are humbled to be recognized for a second year in a row,” he said. “Contineo was conceived to serve the structured product community – first as a network, then as the only company to offer unique insights into the holistic data story of the Asian market. Our consortium continues to grow as does the depth of the capabilities we offer our members.”

Contineo’s subscriber base has more than doubled since 2016 and the firm now serves ten private banks and 15 investment banks from its base in Hong Kong.

“Contineo continues to invest in technology and work with the industry globally to bring new tools and insights to the Asian marketplace,” said Munoz. “In short order we will be announcing a brand new service to our client base which the team and I are very excited about, and it demonstrates our innovation that is recognized by the Asian Private Banker Awards.”

For interviews with Mark Munoz:
Kristin Westlake, The Continuum Partners kwestlake@thecontinuumpartners.com

+61 416 219 358

ABOUT CONTINEO

Contineo is the first industry supported, open messaging network for private banks and wealth management firms to access issuers of structured products. It is also the first firm to offer structured product data feeds, illuminating this previously opaque market for the very first time. Together we are a community with a shared vision and purpose.

We believe that technology should be intuitive, easy to access, and available to all participants. This means creating an open messaging standard in concert with the buy-side and sell-side, and enabling access to all parties, including other certified technology vendors.

This mission is shared by our current subscribers, who recognise the importance of an open, efficient and transparent network.


Contineo hires Per Nordstrom as Head of Sales

Contineo, the industry-backed messaging network for equity-linked structured products, today announced the appointment of Per Nordstrom to drive business growth.CEO Mark Munoz said Mr Nordstrom’s strong international structured product experience was ideal to boost Contineo’s continued growth in Asia.

“Contineo has established a leadership position as the structured product network and data provider for Asia over the past two years,” he said. “As we continue to grow our client base and product suite, Per’s expertise in our space will be invaluable in driving new strategic wins for our business.”

Mr Nordstrom has worked across the structured products industry from trading and syndication to sales, in London, Singapore, Tokyo and Hong Kong. His former roles include Head of Sales and Fixed Income Trading at SEB, and Director roles at Standard Chartered and UBS. He holds qualifications from the Westminster Business School in London and Stanford University.

“I’ve admired Contineo since its launch in 2015 – I believe this cooperative, data-driven approach is brining huge benefits to our industry,” Mr Nordstrom said. “It’s very exciting to join at this time as the company matures and readies for the next phase of its growth.”

For interviews with Mark Munoz:
Kristin Westlake, The Continuum Partners kwestlake@thecontinuumpartners.com

+61 416 219 358

ABOUT CONTINEO

Contineo is the first industry supported, open messaging network for private banks and wealth management firms to access issuers of structured products. It is also the first firm to offer structured product data feeds, illuminating this previously opaque market for the very first time. Together we are a community with a shared vision and purpose.

We believe that technology should be intuitive, easy to access, and available to all participants. This means creating an open messaging standard in concert with the buy-side and sell-side, and enabling access to all parties, including other certified technology vendors.

This mission is shared by our current subscribers, who recognise the importance of an open, efficient and transparent network.


Contineo Wins Outstanding Wealth Management Technology Award

19 October, 2016 (Hong Kong):Contineo, the industry-backed messaging network for equity-linked structured products, received a Highly Commended award for Outstanding Wealth Management Technology Initiative – Front End at the Private Banker International Wealth Awards in Singapore last week.

The awards, now in their 11th year, recognize international leaders in private wealth management. CEO Mark Munoz said the award cemented Contineo’s place in the private banking ecosystem as the firm prepared to launch new products.

“What’s important for us is that these awards are industry led, and we have received this one two years in a row” he said. “From the very beginning Contineo has been guided by and driven by our Subscribers. We work with all industry participants, buy-side, sell-side, technology vendors, regulators and more and this award really sets us apart in that context.”

Contineo originated as a communications hub for products including Equity Linked Notes; Knock-Out Equity Linked Notes; Accumulator; Decumulator; Fixed Coupon Notes; DRAN and OTC Options. The firm will launch new data products, currently in beta, in the next few weeks.

“Contineo continues to be recognized by the industry in award programs including Asia Multi-Issuer Platform of the Year at the annual Structured Products Asia Awards and Best Dealer Platform Asia Pacific,” said Mr Munoz. “I’m very excited about the initiatives we will be announcing next and their potential impact.”

For interviews with Mark Munoz:
Kristin Westlake, The Continuum Partners kwestlake@thecontinuumpartners.com

+61 416 219 358

ABOUT CONTINEO

Contineo is the first industry supported, open messaging network for private banks and wealth management firms to access issuers of structured products. Together we are a community with a shared vision and purpose.

We believe that technology should be intuitive, easy to access, and available to all participants. This means creating an open messaging standard in concert with the buy-side and sell-side, and enabling access to all parties, including other certified technology vendors.

This mission is shared by our current subscribers, who recognise the importance of an open, efficient and transparent network.