Calastone, the mutual fund transaction network, and Idea Group, the investment software and consultancy provider, are partnering to improve interoperability between their services.
The partnership is intended to reduce costs, offer whole-market connectivity and to give pension clients solutions to software integration. It also promises to automate order routing traffic using the ViaNova ISO 20022 standard, as well as automate the transaction lifecycle for pensions.
Support for in-specie transfer will also be available, as required in the U.K., offering the use of the Calastones re-registration service for the transfer of assets between platforms, custodians, brokers and fund managers. The partnership will enable straight-through processing and to provide visibility over the status of the transfer for all parties, in compliance with British Retail Distribution Review regulation.
From the very beginning Calastones goal has been to help the mutual fund industry benefit from the efficiencies of automation and an open approach designed to achieve full interoperability and easy collaboration, says Calastone CEO Ian Taylor. It is clear that Idea Group hold similar ideals and we have enjoyed working with them to formalize our partnership and look forward to helping our joint clients achieve greater cost savings and reduced risk.
Ian Lyall, managing director of Idea Group, adds: From our experience in providing solutions for pension funds, full market connectivity has always been an issue. Calastone has an impressive track record in automating market participants and has built an extensive mutual fund network which will enable our clients to realise the investments they have made in ViaNova ISO 20022. Like us, Calastone are keen to help customers identify and implement changes within operations to improve both their functionality and performance, as well as help manage risk. We also look forward to helping the wider market achieve automated re-registration by working with Calastone to provide services and interoperability that allow in-specie transfer of assets in the wrap and supermarket platform space.
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