Family Assurance Buys ICON Fund Administration Platform From Linedata Services On An ASP Basis

Linedata Services says Family Assurance Friendly Society (Family Assurance) has selected Linedata Services' Icon ASP solution for its back office fund management and administration. Family Assurance was founded in 1975 and is currently the UK's largest tax exempt Friendly Society

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Linedata Services says Family Assurance Friendly Society (Family Assurance) has selected Linedata Services’ Icon ASP solution for its back-office fund management and administration.

Family Assurance was founded in 1975 and is currently the UK’s largest tax-exempt Friendly Society with over £1.5 billion funds under management and more than 500,000 members. It is a mutual organisation and provides core family savings and investment products, particularly in the children’s market, which combine low-entry premiums with tax-efficiency and value for money.

Following strategic changes at Family Assurance’s existing supplier, Family Assurance took the opportunity to conduct a comprehensive review of the solutions available in the market. Having assessed a number of systems, Family Assurance selected Linedata Services’ Icon ASP solution.

Mary Sheppard, Head of Finance at Family Assurance, says there were a number of reasons why they decided to select Linedata Services’ Icon ASP. “In terms of functionality, we believe that the system provides an excellent fit for our business,” she says. “It incorporates all the regulatory capabilities that we require, in particular reporting on Unit Trusts, and has proven connectivity to an established and verified price feed. I was also impressed by its ease of use and by the references from other Icon customers. Icon is offered with a variety of deployment options. In our case, Icon ASP, where Linedata Services manages the IT and system administration on our behalf, will allow us to reduce administration costs as well as continuing to improve the efficiency of our current processes.”

Paul Roberts, Chief Operating Officer at Linedata Services (UK) Ltd, says Linedata has seen substantial take-up of its ASP service for Icon since it was launched in 2002. “Our ASP customers are looking to focus on the core business of investment and client management, leaving the delivery of their IT administration to a specialist supplier,” he says. “The deal with Family Assurance underlines Icon ASP as a credible alternative to fully outsourcing investment administration and fund accounting.”

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