Arcesium Files Lawsuit Against SS&C Advent for Illegal and Anticompetitive Activities

NEW YORK, June 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Arcesium LLC, an investment management technology and professional services firm, today filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Advent Software, Inc. and its parent company SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. (together, "SS&C Advent"). The lawsuit seeks to address a number of illegal and anticompetitive actions by SS&C Advent that violate the antitrust laws, Arcesium's contractual rights, and the laws against interference with business relations.

"Arcesium is forced to take this legal action to require SS&C Advent to abide by its contractual obligations and, more broadly, to address SS&C Advent's sustained effort to unlawfully dominate the markets for post-trade technology solutions through blatantly unlawful and anticompetitive conduct," said Gaurav Suri, CEO of Arcesium. "We are asking the Court to take vital action to protect Arcesium and its asset manager customers, and restore fair competition and innovation to the marketplace."

Arcesium is a leading provider of outsourced middle- and back-office technology solutions for asset managers. Under an agreement between the parties in place since 2015, Arcesium has been able to integrate SS&C Advent's Geneva software into the solutions that Arcesium offers its customers. Geneva is widely used by asset managers for trade accounting.

As described in the complaint, since making the 2015 agreement, however, SS&C Advent has adopted a strategy of seeking to prevent and destroy competition in the markets it serves. SS&C Advent has:

• made renewal of the 2015 agreement contingent on terms so one-sided and self-serving that Arcesium could not possibly satisfy them;
• falsely accused Arcesium of breaching the agreement, using the accusation as a pretext to cut off access to and support for Geneva for Arcesium's existing customers; and
• effectively refused to allow Arcesium's new customers to integrate Geneva into their broader technology architecture simply because the customers also use Arcesium.  

Arcesium's complaint asks the Court to issue an injunction requiring SS&C Advent to abide by its contractual obligations to provide access to and support for Geneva, and to provide the software keys necessary to enable Arcesium's continued support of its customers.

Arcesium also asks the Court to issue an injunction barring SS&C Advent from interfering with Arcesium's relationships with its current customers, and with its efforts to bring on new customers. In addition, Arcesium asks the Court to award money damages in an amount to be determined by a jury after trial.

As the complaint notes, Arcesium is not the only victim of the anticompetitive campaign by SS&C Advent, whose CEO has stated publicly that SS&C Advent's goal is to "take over the world" and be "the world's dominant platform." SEI Global Services, Inc., a direct competitor of SS&C Advent, recently filed a complaint in federal court in Philadelphia alleging similar behavior by SS&C Advent constituting antitrust and other violations.

About Arcesium LLC
Arcesium is an investment management technology and professional services firm. Arcesium's fully-hosted technology platform, coupled with its team of experienced hedge fund professionals, offers sophisticated solutions for the most complex challenges facing asset managers. By providing cutting-edge technology, automation, and security, Arcesium's platform is designed to enable clients' teams to achieve unparalleled results.

Arcesium was built on a platform developed by the D. E. Shaw group for its own post-trade activities. The D. E. Shaw group launched Arcesium as an independent company in 2015 with additional equity backing from Blackstone Alternative Asset Management LP, the world's largest discretionary allocator to hedge funds, which became Arcesium's second client.

Contact:         
Todd Fogarty
Kekst CNC
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+ 1 212 521 4854

SOURCE Arcesium