Foster announces £4.1million investement by First Derivatives

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster announced a research and development based investment totalling £4.1million by Newry company First Derivatives plc in New York today.

The Minister made the announcement on the final day of the Invest Northern Ireland strategic mission to the US, where she met First Derivatives’ North American Director, Chris McAuley, and other senior managers at the company’s New York office.

First Derivatives plc is a leading provider of consultancy and software solutions to the capital markets industry. Focused on financial institutions, the company develops, implements and supports a broad range of mission-critical trading and risk management systems across front, middle and back-office operations.

Invest Northern Ireland has offered £1,289,606 of support, which includes part funding from the European Regional Development Fund. The investment will facilitate two research projects into the development of new products to deal with Real Time Risk and Market Data Management. These projects are included in a long-term business development plan by the company to market its own software products as part of its wider service offering.

Making the announcement, the Minister said: "First Derivatives is one of our most successful indigenous software companies and is continuing to perform strongly in challenging global markets, including the US. The company’s focus on innovation has helped it secure many of the world’s largest financial institutions as clients.

"As the strategic mission to the US this week demonstrated, there are significant opportunities for local companies in this market and innovation is key to developing a competitive edge.

"Many NI companies have discovered how research and development can deliver significant commercial advantages in competitive markets leading to increased turnover and profits. R&D boosts the skills base and enhances linkages between industry and academia, all factors which in turn strengthen our ability to secure new investment, potential jobs and economic growth in the future."

"This latest investment in R&D by First Derivatives, will further strengthen its position in the industry by enhancing its portfolio and developing the capability of its staff to undertake the complex and technically challenging projects required by the market."

Brian Conlon, CEO First Derivatives plc, said: "This latest investment from Invest Northern Ireland will allow us to accelerate our ambitious R&D program. We have successfully completed three projects with help from Invest NI which have already yielded sales in North America and Asia.

"We are committed to becoming leaders in innovation in the world's financial markets and our programme is dedicated to applying the latest theoretical breakthroughs in technology to resolving seemingly intractable problems in finance, especially in the areas of trading, risk and data management.

"We believe that this latest investment in Research and Development will contribute significantly to the company’s growth and will help First Derivatives plc to further enhance its reputation globally."

Notes to Editors:

1. First Derivatives currently employs over 400 people worldwide and counts many of the world’s top investment banks and hedge funds as its clients. It has operations in London, New York, Stockholm, Shanghai, Singapore, Toronto and Hong Kong.
2. In February 2010, First Derivatives plc announced that it was investing over £1.2million in three R&D projects. Invest NI offered over £355,489 of support toward those investments which also included part funding from the European Regional Development Fund under the Sustainable Competitiveness Programme for Northern Ireland.
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