Canadian-based investment product solution for personalized direct indexing of client-specific requirements.

One of the fastest growing product categories in the investment industry in the United States is personalized direct indexing. This is a meaningful innovation that allows client specific requirements to be included in the delivery of investment solutions, such as considering concentrated risk positions held by the client, environmental social and governance related preferences, and the tax situation of the investor. To date, there are only two providers of this capability for Canadian enterprises, and both are US based firms. This project will help PICTON Investments bring to market the first Canadian based solution, and further innovate and expand on the capabilities available to Canadians by implementing Canada-specific considerations that have not been considered by the US based solution providers.

PICTON Investments is positioned to be the first to market, ahead of Canadian firms. They were the first to buy access to technology from a US vendor that is a key part of the workflow. They have a unique combination of talent in place to execute on the project because their Second Engine Division enables them to tap into a group of technologists with the skills needed to deliver this capability at scale. They are also the market leader in Canada for expertise in the specific investment discipline required to create this innovative solution.

They have sourced talent from University of Toronto’s Master of Mathematical Finance program who has strong quantitative expertise and the ability to create scalable and efficient workflows. The intern will create a robust backtest of the proposed solution by working in close partnership with an associate from PICTON’s portfolio construction team, together they’ll create a proposal tool allowing investment professionals to create simulations of the solution specific to an individual’s unique circumstances, and optimize the design of the solution in partnership with senior PICTON stakeholders.

Faculty Supervisor:

Luis Seco;Tracy Barber

Student:

Partner:

PICTON Investments

Discipline:

Mathematics

Sector:

Finance and Insurance

University:

University of Toronto

Program: