Charles River Development, a US-headquartered provider of financial software and services to the global investment management industry, has released Version 8.2 of the Charles River Investment Management System, which is its front- and middle-office software suite for buy-side firms.

After a series of tests, the system introduces significant enhancements and new functions for managing and trading derivatives and fixed income instruments.

"Version 8.2 is an 'end-to-end solution' for listed and OTC derivatives," said Peter Lambertus, president and chief executive, Charles River Development. "Our over 30 clients who participated in our beta programme validated that Version 8.2 improves their derivatives trading workflows - from portfolio analytics through trade capture and settlement."

Version 8.2, developed with significant client input, supports a broad array of complex rate and credit derivatives instruments, including: CDS Index Tranches, Basis Swaps and Overnight Index Swaps, among others. It also completes Charles River's integration with the FINCAD analytics engine, providing enhanced coverage for fixed income securities of varying coupons payments, including: 28-, 81- or 181-day, as well as expanded day count basis for business days/252, and NL.365.

Version 8.2 now covers country-specific bonds and securities for Chinese, Czech, Colombian, German, Japanese, Korean, Mexican, Polish and Thai instruments, bringing the total supported to 41 countries. In addition, a new direct-dealer inventory, integrated into the Charles River IMS Blotter, allows buy-side traders to establish electronic point-to-point broker connections and receive fixed income inventory directly into Charles River IMS.

"Charles River IMS Version 8.2 assesses every aspect of our derivatives trading," said Simon Lumsdon, head of IT at BlueBay Asset Management. "Data and STP are key issues, and connectivity with key data providers is a big step towards ensuring consistency and standardisation. Analytics are also key for trading derivatives. With embedded FINCAD analytics, Version 8.2 will enable us to grow our business."