100% STP for The Global Funds Industry

Schroders case study published today

Calastone today published a case study on fund automation with Schroders.  We were delighted to work with Alex Murton of Schroders on this case study, particularly as Schroders take advantage of the full suite of Calastone services, both as a fund manager and as a fund buyer.

Some highlights of the research:

• Schroders STP rates in mutual fund processing have risen from 55% to 84% since joining Calastone in 2008
• Cost per trade is now 36% cheaper than processing a manual trade
•  Settlements service live since March and volumes increasing rapidly month-on-month

In order to read the Schroders case study, please click Download Schroders Case Study

On the distribution side, you might also be interested in reading the Cofunds case study and the Download Heartwood Case Study.

 

Supporting Cross Border Fund Distribution in a Global Marketplace

Sebastien Chaker, MD of Calastone Luxembourg recently took part in a roundtable cross-border fund distribution event organised by Financial Services Research.

The topics which were discussed include: Asian fund distribution, UCITS IV, Tax harmonisation and ISO messaging standards.

Click here: Download Supporting cross border distribution to read the transcript.

 

New case study published today

Calastone today published a case study on Heartwood Wealth, a privately-owned fund manufacturer and distributor based in Tunbridge Wells.  Heartwood have saved over £12,000 in the five months since they switched from manual dealing to STP and they've recently expanded the service to include external third party funds. 

Heartwood were able to go live within four weeks of agreeing their project specification and they upload a flat-file to our EMS on a daily basis.

Many thanks to Paul Roberts of Heartwood for his time and input.  We hope to produce several more case studies over the coming weeks, looking at the operational improvements which our settlement and order-routing clients have achieved.

Download Heartwood Case Study

What a summer!

So much for my resolution to keep this blog regularly updated... things at Calastone have been moving so fast over the summer that the blog has taken a back-seat.  It's just a shame that so many of our conversations are under NDA, but we're delighted to welcome so many new clients for settlements and order-routing.  I've been drowning in a sea of RFIs recently - if anyone could automate the RFI process, they'd make a fortune.

Our hiring spree has now finished and we're delighted to be joined by Nicola, Gary, Graeme, Lucy, Pat and Dickie .  The website has also been re-worked and traffic has been steadily growing, but it could still do with a little bit more vavavoom!  If anyone would like to see their fund flows and market trends on an Ipad, Ken Tregidgo is your man - the new MI stats look awesome on the new technology.

Finally, look out for some big news in the global custody, hedge fund and settlements space over the coming weeks and months.

Racking up the (Easyjet) Airmiles

The Calastone bandwagon has rolled into Dublin, Norway and Edinburgh in the last three weeks and there is no sign of any let-up as summer finally arrives in London.  I'm starting to understand why my boss has not taken a holiday in three years - when you're competing with some of the world's largest banks and Central Securites Depositories, there's little time to rest. 

Our settlement service goes from strength to strength, with the first stockbrokers and more asset managers signing up.  And the reconciliations service is ticking along nicely, with huge demand from the distribution community. 

Calastone is hiring

Calastone is looking for a new business salesperson to join our growing business in the UK and Ireland. Send your CV to: jobs@calastone.com.

The Dublin Tipping Point

We have just returned from our big Dublin event on 8th June which was attended by 35 Transfer Agents, fund managers and distributors.  There is significant appetite for Calastone's services on the other side of the Irish Sea, with particular demand for a solution to providing STP for alternative investments.

Calastone will continue to work with market participants to develop innovative message-based solutions to issues as diverse as electronic tax vouchers, corporate actions and re-registration.  Dublin is home to a number of large Transfer Agents who manage the administration of alternative asset managers and we are looking for clients who would like to be involved in building an STP solution for alternatives. 

A big thanks to all our clients in Dublin who braved the rain and made it to the Shelbourne Hotel to discuss order-routing, settlement and reconciliations.  You can watch a video of our London Tipping Point event by clicking here.

A Reconciliations Process where Everyone Wins

Hot on the heels of automated order routing and settlement, the funds community seems equally keen on Calastone's reconciliations service that brings benefits to both providers and distributors. With reconciliations usually a monthly FSA requirement at the very least, providers are currently burdened with the costs of producing this information that ultimately benefits distributors. Similarly, distributors more often than not have to re-key this information into their own systems, having received different formats from different counterparties.
Calastone has been at the forefront of talks with the industry to improve the reconciliations process and more detail will be provided in future blogs. Needless to say, the above shortcomings have been addressed by Calastone's reconciliations offering and every participant, provider or distributor, will benefit.

Automated Dealing into Boutique Fund Managers

When we talk with fund distributors, one of their main gripes is dealing into boutique fund managers. Similarly, these managers need a light-touch, low-cost way of making it easier for clients to deal into their funds.
At the Tipping Point event, Calastone unveiled what is dubbed "The Catcher's Mitt". Boutique fund managers and administrators now have a quick, easy way to communicate with distributors, with real-time visibility over the whole life-cycle of the trade. Feedback has so far been enormously positive and 100% STP for the funds industry is one step closer.

Winners!

We were delighted to win a couple of awards at the Systems in the City event the other night. So we now have a couple of pointy bits of glass sitting in the Boardroom for best newcomer and best new development. Hopefully the first of many!