Nationwide Unit Trust Managers, a subsidiary of the UK building society Nationwide, has renewed its contract with Mellon European Fund Services for seven years – a period Mellon describes as unprecedented.
Mellon will provide transfer agency and investment accounting services for four Nationwide unit trusts, four life & pension funds and two pension funds, with a combined value of approximately ?1.3 billion. Services will continue to be provided from Mellon’s administrative centre in Brentwood. The bank will also equip Nationwide with an Internet-based Straight Through Processing (STP) solution enabling investors to submit trading instructions online, around the clock. The same connection will also act as an automated link between Nationwide’s sales advisors and Mellon European Fund Services, through a shared customer service database. The website at the core of the STP solution went live early in March 2003.
“Nationwide continues to win awards for both our service quality and our Internet presence and it is extremely important for us to continue to use technology intelligently to improve our clients’ experience of working with us,” explains Clive Parkinson, Managing Director of Nationwide Unit Trust Managers. “In Mellon we have found a partner who we can trust to deliver, and it was therefore natural for us to extend this relationship.”
Mellon European Fund Services has had a relationship with Nationwide Building Society since 1996, and also provides DC pension scheme administration for the company under a separate contract.
“This mandate demonstrates Nationwide’s faith in Mellon’s ability to support the achievement of its strategic objectives – this is exactly the type of partnership that Mellon aims to foster with its clients,” says Richard Godfrey, Managing Director of Mellon European Fund Services. “As the pace of change within the industry increases, the challenges that are faced by service providers will continue to grow. The strength of our relationships with clients such as Nationwide can give both parties added confidence when meeting these challenges.”