MJ Hudson, the specialist service provider to the asset management industry, has acquired risk management and reporting automation specialist, Clarus Risk (Clarus).
This acquisition follows the December 2020 acquisition of fund performance analytics firm, PERACS. The acquisition further extends the data & analytics services provided by MJ Hudson to its clients.
Clarus operates chiefly in the RegTech area of the FinTech sector and was named to the RegTech100 in September of last year. The current AUM of products on its platform totals cGBP10 billion.
Founded in 2011, the team is led by Max Hilton, a quant finance expert and former hedge fund manager. Its alternative asset fund manager and investor clients access risk and regulatory risk reporting services as a managed service, or via software as a service (SaaS), through a customisable dashboard environment. In addition to delivering automated regulatory reporting for Annex IV, PRIIPs, and UCITS, the team provides investment risk reporting, investment restriction reporting, private asset risk reporting, liquidity stress testing and bespoke quantitative research services.
Hilton and his team have all joined MJ Hudson and the intention is to expand the team of quant engineers and risk professionals and extend operations to London. The firm will trade under the name MJ Hudson Quantitative Solutions.
This is the fifth data & analytics acquisition by MJ Hudson in less than three years, following the acquisition of fund performance analytics specialist, PERACS in December 2020, investor relations and marketing analytics business, Meyler Capital, in March 2020, ESG consultant and reporting business, Spring, in July 2019, and FX and custodian benchmarking analytics firm, Amaces, in December 2018. MJ Hudson can now support its fund manager and investor clients with data, analytics, benchmarking and reporting across risk, investment performance, investor relations, and ESG.
Combined, data & analytics services represent approximately one third of the entire MJ Hudson Group.
Odi Lahav, COO and head of MJ Hudson’s Data & Analytics division, says:“We are delighted to have Max and the team join the Group. Risk analytics is a key building block in our developing data and analytics product set. Clarus’ FinTech business model fits well into our current product suite, and its forward-looking strategic objectives – to offer comprehensive technology focused solutions to asset managers and institutional investors – are fully aligned with ours. With the addition of Clarus, we can now offer clients enhanced levels of transparency, reporting and analytical solutions across the critical areas of their business. Max and the senior Clarus team also bring a wealth of technology and quantitative skills to the group and will form part of our research and innovation platform.”
Max Hilton, Managing Director of Clarus, says: “I have known and worked alongside the senior team at MJ Hudson for a number of years and have been impressed with the business they have built. The company’s continued focus on the research and development of data-driven analytical tools, as well as its proven ability to attract blue-chip clients for these products and services makes MJ Hudson the perfect home for our growing and evolving product set.”
