Orca — The Engine Behind the Numbers

One engine, many apps#

Orca is internal. It is the analytics engine that the apps call whenever they need a number — portfolio values, prices, bond analytics. The apps you use don't calculate these themselves; they ask Orca.

• Internal — apps call it, users don't.
• Serves portfolio, pricing and bond analytics.
• Athena, Lexa and the rest all ask Orca.

Why route everything through one engine#

Putting the calculations in one place means a given number is worked out once and every app sees the same answer — and when a calculation is improved, every app benefits at once.

• The numbers are calculated once, in one place.
• Every app sees the same figure for the same thing.
• Fix or improve a calculation once — all apps benefit.

QuantLib under the hood#

For bond analytics Orca uses QuantLib, the recognised industry calculation library — so accrued interest, yield and duration are computed properly. The apps simply display what Orca returns.

• Bond analytics use QuantLib, the industry calculation library.
• Accrued, yield and duration are computed properly.
• Apps display the result — they never re-do the maths.

For the team#

Orca is an engine, not an app — users never open it. This guide explains where the numbers shown across every app actually come from.