EQ Finance

What EQ Finance does

EQ Finance Limited is a privately-held UK software and advisory firm founded in 2009 by Alberto Cherubini, a former Head of Equity Derivatives Exotic Trading at Citigroup. The company builds, sells, and supports quantitative tools for pricing, valuation, trading, and risk management of equity derivatives — spanning vanilla and exotic options, multi-underlying and structured products, and variance/volatility swaps. Its technology stack centres on an EQF Analytics Library implemented in .NET and delivered to users as a native Excel add-in via the Excel-DNA integration project, with a separate EQF Toolbox API and GUI for heavy-duty batch processing. Differentiated components include the proprietary EQFB2 global volsurface parameterisation (extending fitting to short maturities), generic Monte Carlo and PDE pricers for user-defined payoffs, a multi-yieldcurve framework, the VolManager calibration tool, the SPIN (SP Investor) module for structured product analysis and regulatory compliance (UK RDR / EU PRIIPS), and Data Connectors for SQLite/MySQL and external feeds.

The firm monetises through four streams: subscription or perpetual software licences (EQF Addin Professional and Basic tiers, VolManager, Data Connectors), public and in-house training courses (delivered through a London Financial School partnership in London, New York, and Singapore, plus bespoke worldwide engagements), consulting and advisory mandates ranging from short engagements to long-term retainers, and software customisation/bespoke development. The go-to-market is enterprise field sales — prospects register on the website, request trials, and are contacted directly by the small EQF team — supplemented by training as a top-of-funnel channel. Customers are concentrated in financial services, primarily Tier 2 and Tier 3 sell-side banks (derivative trading desks, structuring, product control, model validation), buy-side institutions with experienced derivatives staff (sophisticated asset managers, pension funds, hedge funds), inter-dealer brokers, structured product distributors, and a few flagship enterprise accounts including a large US investment bank and a major international exchange.

Name

EQ Finance

Legal name

EQ Finance Limited

Website

https://eqfltd.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Derivatives Pricing & Risk Management Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Software Publishers (51321), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Investment Advice (6282), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Pricing & Valuation Services (Fixed Income, OTC, Derivatives) (FSAFAIAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Financial Instruments & Derivatives Valuation (BPAHANAF)

Keywords

• Equity derivatives pricing
• Volatility surface calibration
• Derivatives risk management
• Structured products analytics
• Options pricing software

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Software Licensing: EQF Addin (Excel-based) and EQF Toolbox/API products with Professional and Basic tiers. Includes VolManager and Data Connectors. Licensed on a subscription or perpetual basis with annual maintenance.
2. Training Services: Public courses through LFS partnership in London, NY, Singapore. In-house training delivered worldwide on demand. Course topics include vanilla options, advanced options trading, exotic options, correlation trading, structured products for investment.
3. Consulting and Advisory: Advisory on risk management, valuation, modelling, OTC and IDB markets, business model analysis, market insights, trading strategies. Ranges from short engagements (few days) to long-term retainer contracts.
4. Software Customisation: Customising software tools to provide specific features for customers as part of ongoing client relationships.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

EQ Finance develops and licenses a quantitative software suite for pricing, valuation, calibration, and risk management of equity derivatives and structured products. The offering centers on the EQF Analytics Library, delivered to customers through the EQF Addin (Excel-based) and the EQF Toolbox (C# API/GUI), with the VolManager volatility surface calibration tool, Data Connectors for database/feed integration, and the SPIN module for structured product investor analysis. Software is sold on subscription and perpetual license terms, complemented by derivatives training courses (public and in-house) and bespoke risk and valuation consulting.

Product overview

EQ Finance offers a suite of professional quantitative software tools for equity derivatives pricing, valuation, trading, and risk management. The product portfolio includes: EQF Addin (Excel add-in) and EQF Toolbox (API/GUI) as the primary access points to the EQF Analytics Library, which provides the core pricing engine; VolManager for volatility surface calibration; Data Connectors for database integration; and SP Investor (SPIN) for structured product analysis from an investor perspective. The software covers vanilla options, exotic options, multi-underlying derivatives, and structured products, targeting sell-side banks, buy-side institutions, and hedge funds.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EQF Addin: Excel add-in delivering EQF Analytics functionalities including VolManager for pricing, valuation, and risk management of equity derivatives.
• EQF Toolbox
• VolManager
• Data Connectors
• SP Investor (SPIN)
• EQF Analytics Library (Core Library)

Products and services

• EQF Addin Excel add-in delivering all EQF Analytics functionalities in an Excel environment, including the VolManager for volatility surface calibration, pricing and risk management of equity derivatives from vanilla options to complex OTC exotics and structured products, plus prepared spreadsheets for tasks from pricing vanillas to complex structured products. Targeted at derivative trading desks, structuring teams, risk managers, product control and model validation teams at sell-side banks and buy-side institutions.
• EQF Toolbox API and extendable set of pre-prepared tools (apps) for heavy-duty processing, used for event reporting, fixing, data feeds and syncs, pricing, marking, risk reporting, stress and scenario analysis, PAA and VaR. Callable from C#, usable as a CLI executable for batch processing, or accessible from its own front-end GUI. Targeted at institutions needing server-side, automated derivatives analytics and risk workflows.
• VolManager Tools to calibrate volatility surfaces and forwards to market prices, with analytical global parameterisation of volatility surfaces, auto-fitting tools, editing and display capabilities, and dedicated tools for dividends maintenance. Reads live market prices from Excel, CSV files or custom sources including OTC automated feeds. Sold standalone or as part of the EQF Addin package.
• Data Connectors Modules for reading and saving data from/to external databases, feeds and systems, including SQLite connectors for local storage and MySQL EQF connectors for larger database solutions, with AWS cloud hosting options. Customer-specific connectors can be written by implementing C# interfaces provided in the API.
• SP Investor (SPIN) Tools to analyse Structured Products from the investor point of view, producing risk, performance and value metrics together with informative reports. Deployed by asset managers for suitability assessment, pre-trade analysis and portfolio management, and by distributors for regulatory compliance under UK RDR and EU PRIIPS.
• Derivatives Training Services Public and in-house training courses on vanilla options, advanced options trading and risk management, exotic options, correlation trading and risk management, and structured products for investment. Public courses delivered through the London Financial School partnership in London, New York and Singapore; in-house training delivered worldwide on demand to individuals, groups, companies and institutions.
• Consulting and Advisory Services Advisory on risk management, valuation, modelling, OTC and IDB markets, business model analysis, market insights and trading strategies. Engagements range from short projects lasting a few days to long-term retainer advisory contracts, especially for software customers.
• EQF Software Customisation Bespoke configuration and customisation of EQF software tools to deliver specific features for individual customers, typically as part of ongoing client relationships alongside the licensed EQF Addin, Toolbox and VolManager.

Quantifiable outcome

• Barrier option prices in line with market to less than 5 basis points
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Excel-DNAcoreTechnology or IntegrationExcel-DNA is an independent project to integrate .NET into Excel using C#, Visual Basic.NET or F#. It provides native (.xll) add-ins for Excel with high-performance user-defined functions (UDFs), custom ribbon interfaces. EQF uses Excel-DNA as their partner of choice to integrate their analytics library with Excel. The entire add-in can be packed into a single .xll file requiring no installation or registration.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Murex: Murex is a broad capital markets platform serving sell-side and buy-side institutions with trading, risk, and treasury workflows. Its derivatives valuation and risk capabilities compete with EQ Finance's offerings at larger institutions.
• ION Group: ION provides capital markets and treasury software through multiple acquired platforms (Fidessa, Openlink, Wallstreet Suite). Its derivatives pricing and risk modules compete with EQ Finance for institutional clients, though with a much broader footprint.
• Calypso Technology: Calypso is a broader capital markets platform covering trading, risk, collateral, and treasury. While wider in scope than EQ Finance, its cross-asset derivatives pricing and risk modules compete for the same institutional buyer mindshare.
• Finastra: Finastra is a large capital markets and banking software provider offering trading, risk, and treasury solutions. Its derivatives and structured products modules overlap with EQ Finance's market and compete for Tier 2/3 bank budgets.
• Broadridge: Broadridge acquired structured products and wealth management technology (including Polaris) and now offers broader solutions that overlap with EQ Finance's SPIN module for distributor and wealth manager workflows.

Direct peers

• Quantifi Solutions: Quantifi offers analytics for derivatives and fixed income, including pricing, risk, and counterparty exposure tools. It overlaps directly with EQ Finance in derivatives pricing and risk management for banks and asset managers.
• Numerix: Numerix provides cross-asset derivatives pricing, valuation, and risk analytics. It directly competes with EQ Finance in equity and structured products pricing, serving many of the same sell-side and buy-side institutions.
• Orc Group: Orc provides trading and analytics software for derivatives, with strength in electronic execution and options market making. It competes with EQ Finance for derivatives trading desks needing advanced pricing and risk tools.

Emerging players

• SciComp: SciComp provides derivatives pricing and risk management software for exotic instruments, comparable in scale and specialisation to EQ Finance. The two firms compete for niche equity and rates derivatives use cases at mid-sized institutions.
• FinPricing: FinPricing offers derivative valuation models, market data, and structured products analytics. It is a smaller, niche comparable to EQ Finance in providing independent valuation and risk tooling for buy-side and corporate treasury use cases.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/eqf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about EQ Finance