LONDON / CHICAGO, December 8, 2016 – Rival Systems (Rival), a leading provider of trading and risk management software, has just won the 2016 award for Best New Technology Product – Risk Management at the annual FOW International Awards. FOW Magazine officials presented the award last night to Rival CEO Robert D’Arco for the firm’s Rival Risk platform at a dinner and ceremony following the FOW Derivatives World London conference.

The FOW honor is the second award Rival has earned in the past month. In November, the firm’s Rival Trader and Rival API offerings won the Buy-Side Technology 2016 award for Best Buy-Side Commodities Trading Platform.

Launched last fall, Rival Risk is the first real-time, fully hosted, HTML-5 based risk platform to bring enterprise risk management capabilities across trading platforms and clearing firms.

Will Mitting, publisher of FOW Magazine, said:  “The risk management award is always one of the most hotly contested, and Rival Risk won the judges’ plaudits this year. Requirements for risk systems vary significantly for different market participants, and Rival has brought an innovative product to market that solves the problem of calculating risk exposure for illiquid products, among other new initiatives.”

Rival Systems CEO Robert D’Arco said: “We’re truly honored to win this prestigious FOW award.  In today’s regulatory and business environment, it’s critical for firms to have an accurate view of their performance and risk at all times.  Rival Risk makes it easy – with auto-reconciliation, real-time drop copies, advanced algos to accurately price illiquid assets, end-of-day reports and instant email alerts – all   built on our custom HTML5 engine so clients can monitor their business from anywhere.  It’s been a great first year, and we’re driven to continue developing valuable enterprise level solutions for our clients.”

The platform’s innovative algorithms automatically calculate a reliable synthetic price when there is no current market available or the bid/ask spread is very wide, giving risk managers an accurate view into the profit-and-loss (P&L) and risk across all of their trading accounts. When monitoring the performance of futures spread trades, P&L depends on the price accuracy of all the legs, but if a back month is illiquid, risk managers typically have had to just live with uncertainty. By automatically calculating a synthetic price for illiquid futures, Rival Risk eliminates the uncertainty so users can focus on what really matters.  Rival Risk also calculates real-time prices and greeks for any option without users having to set volatility curves.

Most risk management software can view the activity of only one group or clearing firm at a time, presenting a significant challenge when firms have multiple trading groups with separate P&Ls or when they clear through multiple firms. Rival Risk auto-reconciles positions to clearing firm statements at the start of the trading session, and connects to real-time drop copies from clearing firms and exchanges to provide a centralized repository for all trades and positions.  Users receive end-of-day P&L reports based on preliminary and final settlement prices so they know where they stand well before they receive clearing firm statements the next morning.  Users can also run custom price or volatility scenarios and run option expiration reports across the entire firm.

D’Arco said that Rival’s custom HTML-5 engine and interoperable architecture provide a solid foundation for the firm to continue building innovative features for its clients in the years to come.

FOW is the leading news and data service for the international futures and options industry. The magazine said it received a record number of entries for its awards this year.

About Rival

Launched in 2015, Chicago-based Rival Systems (www.rivalsystems.com) empowers professional traders with the technology and resources required to compete in today’s markets. Rival provides a comprehensive technology solution with award-winning platforms, including: Rival Trader, a sophisticated, ultra-low latency derivatives trading system; Rival API, an algorithmic strategy development framework; and Rival Risk, a fully hosted enterprise risk management platform; as well as extensive training and support.  Rival Systems has distinguished itself in the industry through its premier service, exceptional speed and advanced features designed to help users gain an edge in the market.