JPMorgan has launched MasterSwap, a service designed to ease the administrative burden for alternative investment managers dealing in equity derivatives.
Billed as a 'synthetic prime brokerage service', JPMorgan says MasterSwap automates and simplifies current equity swap products and offers the functionality and many of the services offered by traditional prime brokerage activity.
Neil Taylor, head of MasterSwap in London, says: "It is becoming increasingly clear that the hedge fund community is looking to diversify its existing sources of financing away from traditional service providers. In addition, there is a growing recognition of the need to improve the operational simplicity of using derivative products."
MasterSwap achieves this objective by removing the need to maintain a significant back office to manage and carry out the administrative functions associated with traditional equity and equity derivative operations, says Taylor.
Operated in conjunction with JPMorgan Investor Services, MasterSwap also offers product flexibility beyond global equities and convertible bonds to include exposure to fixed income products and risk management techniques, as well as securities lending and margin relief across certain credit derivative products.