Global Macro Hedge Fund

The Challenge

The client is a global alternative investment fund manager founded in 2023 with a starting AUM of $5bln specialising in discretionary global macro strategies. The fund serves institutional investors including asset managers, pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds, and operates from various offices around the globe.

 

The client engaged us to design and deliver a modern, scalable trade capture and management platform. The goal was to replace spreadsheet-based workflows with a secure, intuitive interface that could support both desktop and tablet use. The platform needed to integrate seamlessly with internal systems and support rapid trade entry, review, and risk visualisation.

Our Approach

We were responsible for the full lifecycle of the platform:

• Conducting a UX-led discovery phase to define the product vision and architecture.
• Designing and prototyping the user interface.
• Building and deploying the platform using modern web technologies and containerised desktop environments.
• Ensuring the solution was secure, performant, and aligned with the client’s operational and compliance requirements.
  
  

Action

Project Management Methodology
We used an Agile delivery model, with weekly sprints, backlog grooming, and stakeholder demos. The discovery phase followed Lean UX principles to validate design assumptions early.

 

Technologies Used

• FDC3 for interoperability across financial desktop apps.
• Here (formerly OpenFin) for secure containerisation.
• TypeScript for robust, maintainable front-end development.
• AWS and Pulumi for infrastructure-as-code.
• Proprietary internal tools for deployment, monitoring, and analytics.

 

Risk Management
We maintained a structured risk and issue log, reviewed weekly. Risks were categorised by impact and likelihood, with mitigation strategies assigned to specific team members. Key risks included integration delays and performance bottlenecks, both of which were proactively addressed.

 

Governance

• Weekly stand-ups and sprint reviews with the client.
• Fortnightly steering meetings with senior stakeholders.
• Clear escalation paths through the RocketFin engagement lead and Taula Capital sponsor.

Service Lifecycle (ITIL-aligned)

• Development: CI/CD pipelines with automated testing and peer reviews.
• Testing: Unit, integration, and UAT phases with formal sign-off.
• Deployment: Managed via AWS with rollback plans and post-deployment validation.
• Support: Documentation and handover to internal teams for ongoing maintenance.

The Outcome

The platform was delivered on time and within budget. It was successfully rolled out to traders and operations staff, replacing legacy spreadsheets and improving trade capture speed and accuracy.

Key outcomes included:

• 40% reduction in trade entry time.
• Improved auditability and compliance through structured workflows.
• Positive feedback from users on the interface and responsiveness.

 

No major issues were encountered post-deployment. Minor enhancements were logged and addressed in a follow-up sprint. The client has since engaged us for additional workstreams.