Daily Brief Financials: Taishin Financial Holding, MS&AD Insurance, HDB Financial Services Ltd, Intercontinental Exchange, Bank Of America, Direct Line Insurance Group Pl, HMC Capital, Kalpataru Limited, Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd, Record PLC and more

• Taishin Financial Holding (2887 TT) and Shin Kong Financial Holding (2888 TT) announced a Merger of Equals in August 2024 and completion is expected on 24 July.
• Taishin Financial Holding (2887 TT) has underperformed its peers over the last 18 months while Shin Kong Financial Holding (2888 TT) has underperformed its peers following the merger announcement.
• There will be passive flows in the merged entity following the completion of the merger and could help reverse some of Taishin Financial Holding (2887 TT)‘s underperformance.

• TSE-Listed companies are asked to file “Management Conscious of Capital Cost/Stock Price” awareness reports/policies. Many have. Some are still working on it. And policies change, and CGR reports are updated.
• 1,389 new CGRs filed since 1 June 25. Our tools show every report, links to every document, and a diff-file tool. Input a name, see the changes in the reports.
• The JPX Council of Experts met on 22 April. Next meeting is in a week. Parent-sub follow-ups in Fall/Winter 2025. Slow. 

• HDB Financial Services (HDBFS) raised around US$1.4bn in its India IPO.
• HDBFS is a leading retail-focused non-banking financial company (NBFC) in India, in terms of total gross loan book size, according to the CRISIL Report.
• We have looked at the past performance and pricing in our previous note. In this note, we talk about the trading dynamics.

• Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. reported a record-breaking performance for the first quarter of 2025, demonstrating significant growth across its diverse business segments even amidst fluctuating macroeconomic conditions.
• The company achieved an adjusted earnings per share of $1.72, marking a 16% increase year-over-year.
• Net revenue rose by 8%, reaching a new high of $2.5 billion.

• We remain near-term bullish since our 4/22/25 Compass, and our intermediate-term outlook remains bullish as well (as of our 5/14/25 Compass).
• Our near-term bullish outlook will remain in place long as the S&P 500 (SPX), Nasdaq 100 (QQQ), and Russell 2000 (IWM) are above their 20-day MAs.
• Short-Term SPX support is at 6028-6059 and the 20-day MA, with additional supports at 5804-5854 and 5700-5785. Russell 2000 (IWM) and S&P Mid Caps (IJH) also breaking above key resistances

• Direct Line–Aviva deal has cleared CMA and court hurdles; only procedural steps remain.
• Implied value is 312.19p vs. 306.6p close — a 1.82% spread with 7-day horizon.
• I recommend long arbitrage exposure below 307p. This is a textbook risk arb trade: liquid, near-fully de-risked, and short-dated.

• A global perspective on what happened overnight

• Kalpataru Limited (KTARU IN) raised about US$184m in its India IPO.
• Kalpataru (KL) is an integrated real estate developer involved in identification and acquisition of land, planning, designing, execution, sales, and marketing of its projects.
• We have looked at the company’s past performance and valuations in our previous notes. In this note, we will talk about the trading dynamics.

• Context: The AUB Group (AUB AU) vs. Soul Pattinson (SOL AU) Price-Ratio has deviated more than two standard deviations from its one-year average, presenting a potential relative value opportunity.
• Highlights: Going long AUB Group (AUB AU) and short Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. (SOL AU) targets a 5% return to the statistical mean reversion level.
• Why Read: Essential for quantitative traders seeking mean-reversion opportunities, with detailed execution framework, risk management protocols, and historical simulation showing the statistical basis for this relative value play.

Record’s FY25 results (to 31 March) were robust, with assets under management equivalent (AUME) remaining above $100bn. Progress with the company’s strategic refocus on core products that can grow, diversify and enhance the quality of earnings is accelerating. Launched in November, the Infrastructure Equity Fund will soon commence investment. A recently announced Sharia-compliant deep-tier supply chain finance fund, the world’s first of its kind, is expected to launch before year-end, and non-binding terms have been agreed for the funding of a potash development in conjunction with a joint venture partner. Although Record has a diverse set of products and exposures, the commonality is Record’s ability to make the complex simple.