LONDON, May 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Misys plc (FTSE: MSY.L), the global application software and services company, today announces the launch of Misys Sophis VALUE 4.2. The latest version of its award-winning investment management solution significantly improves risk management capabilities, broadens asset class coverage and enhances operational efficiency for buy-side firms.

Investment managers will benefit from the new enhancements in the solution which have been developed as a result of market changes and customer feedback. VALUE 4.2 brings buy-side customers complete cross-asset class coverage through a single integrated investment platform. The new solution allows users to make more informed decisions about their portfolio and trades, allowing firms to enhance overall performance.

"We have worked very closely with our customers to continue to develop the solution and to improve operational performance and efficiency," states Sylvain Privat, Product Manager, Misys Sophis VALUE. "This solution enables investment managers to be in complete control of the risk exposure associated with their whole portfolio. The financial crisis has deeply changed the way investment companies are looking at risk and imminent regulations are about to define new standards for managing risks. In VALUE 4.2, enhancements on pre-trade risk control, liquidity risk management and real-time VaR calculation answer the increasing need for more risk measures, more control and more reporting."

Misys Sophis is the only technology provider to combine all the key elements into a single solution: Cross-Asset Coverage, Decision Support, Risk and Compliance Management, STP Operations Management and Performance Attribution. Investment managers can now control the risk and performance of their business more effectively and can access information in one place, simplifying reporting.

Further information on the major enhancements to Misys Sophis VALUE 4.2:

Cross-Asset Coverage

VALUE 4.2 has significantly broader coverage and enhanced support for each asset class:

- Improved portfolio swaps and price return swaps capabilities provide even greater flexibility for users.

- Bonds and Convertible Bonds can now be underlying assets for Contracts for Difference (CFDs). These CFDs closely track the price of the bonds, increasing the potential revenue for investment managers. Collateral management has been enhanced to support initial and variation margins on these products.

- Credit-linked notes are now available as a specific multi-currency asset class. Credit risk of the issuing company and the reference entity are taken into account for the different default events. Instrument pricing, risk measurement and cash flow projections help measure the specific impact of credit-linked notes on the portfolio throughout the investment process.

- In commodities there is enhanced management of physical gas products such as gas US basis swaps contracts.

- A new instrument, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has been added providing multiple pricing models for ETFs based on constituents or proxy instruments.

Investment Decision Support

The investment decision support tools for portfolio managers have been enriched in VALUE 4.2 with the ability to adjust order exposure across multiple rebalancing indicators at any one time. They also provide more capacity to manage large bond or convertible indices and to use them for portfolio modeling or performance attribution.

Risk & Compliance Management

Liquidity risk: Portfolio managers can now track the liquidity of their portfolios with new liquidity risk indicators available in front-office views. Risk managers can also calculate liquidity-adjusted value at risk to estimate the potential impact of illiquid positions. Compliance management: Operational risk is greatly reduced through the new four-eyes checking module and a new e-mail notification tool improves alert management.

STP Operations Management

Position management becomes simpler and even more scalable with a new event diary. The comprehensive event dashboard allows investment managers to handle the complexity of large cross-asset portfolios with greater confidence and speed. It also makes the processes more transparent, improving operational risk and increasing efficiency.

Performance Attribution

Users are able to report on the performance attribution for every asset class. For instance, the active return of a fixed income portfolio can be segmented into currency effect, time effect, yield curve effects and spread effect. Returns are calculated and stored at the position level so they can be quickly accessed to give a true measurement of the performance of a portfolio.