BISYS announced today that Merrill Lynch has expanded its outsourcing relationship with BISYS to include transfer agency services for its Dublin-based UCITS umbrella fund. BISYS will service the fund from Ireland.
The fund, Merrill Lynch Global Selects Portfolios plc, was approved by the Central Bank of Ireland in December last year, and launched last month. It is initially made up of 42 portfolios in 23 categories, including equity, fixed income, and short-term securities. The fund is currently being offered by Merrill Lynch on a limited private offering basis but is in the process of being registered for public sale in a number of markets, principally in Europe and Asia.
“We believe BISYS offers the best-of-breed transfer agency services that support our fundamental commitment to quality. BISYS’ ability to support third-party distribution for us was a key factor in our selection process,” says Mark DeSario, director of marketing and product development for Merrill Lynch’s International Managed Assets Group.
BISYS already supports around 4,000 Merrill Lynch retirement plans with recordkeeping services in the US, and provides research to the firm through its Financial Research Corporation (FRC) subsidiary.
“The unique ability to leverage our enterprise solution to expand our relationships with valued clients like Merrill Lynch is extremely rewarding,” says George Evans, executive vice president of business development for BISYS Investment Services group. “As progressive clients like Merrill Lynch implement the offerings of BISYS’s complementary business lines, their day-to-day experience with our products, services, and professionals provides a unique level of confidence that BISYS can successfully and seamlessly perform additional business functions on their behalf.”
Bill Tomko, president of BISYS Investment Services group, added: “We are extremely pleased that this world-leading client expanded its outsourcing relationship based on our proven ability to support its distribution efforts through our transfer agency services. We focus on both operations and high-touch distributor support.”