CAfIT Ltd – a UK-based Fixed Income software provider – says F&C Management Limited (F&C) has bought its FIPA portfolio management and modelling solution. F&C made its choice on the basis of FIPA’s specialist Fixed Income functionality, with the system to be implemented at F&C’s London and Amsterdam operations.
F&C will be rolling out FIPA over the coming months, with over 30 portfolio managers having desktop access to the system by the end of the year.
“We had a task force of senior fund managers, led by F&C Director Robin Hubbard, conduct a market wide evaluation, looking for an integrated portfolio management system that would handle multiple portfolios, as well as catering for sophisticated Fixed Income analytics and delivering advanced derivatives functionality, in line with our future business development goals,” says Helene Williamson, F&C’s Head of Group Fixed Income. “A key concern was to find a dedicated solution that had been developed for Fixed Income applications from the outset – as opposed to a solution that had started life as an equity system, with Fixed Income added on. Our research identified five possible candidates, and we made a detailed assessment of each across our key parameters, including usability issues, before making our final choice. CAfIT stood out as being able to handle all the elements we required – we were particularly impressed by the system’s flexibility and superior functionality. We are confident that CAfIT will provide our portfolio managers with the tools they need to operate more efficiently, providing them with the platform from which to make more ambitious investment decisions, supported by accurate risk measurement and an efficient operational base.”
As one of the UK’s leading specialists in front office IT for Fixed Income and Balanced Portfolio Management applications, CAfIT has an established blue chip client base, including Gartmore Investment Management, Standard Life Investments, Schroder Investment Management, Credit Suisse Asset Management and now F&C Management. Product Managing Director Jem Tugwell commented on the F&C contract:
“F&C’s requirement is for a specialist Fixed Income solution, capable of providing critical decision-support tools and an efficient, accurate Fixed Income platform, across their range of diverse portfolios. For example, F&C’s portfolio managers are increasingly looking to use derivatives as part of the organisation’s business goals, involving the need for an advanced system that can accurately measure risk and enable more sophisticated investment strategies to be adopted. FIPA is designed specifically for this type of environment, reflecting the increasing role played by technology in portfolio management. We are delighted to number F&C among our growing client base, and will be working closely with the F&C team over the coming months to roll FIPA out across the London and Amsterdam operations.”