Northern Trust has signed on to the Calastone settlement and matching service for client Baring Asset Management. The service will enable straight-through processing and business flow processing automation throughout the transaction life cycle from order entry to settlement, the firms say.
Daniel Llewellyn, director of market innovation at Calastone, which has offices in London and Luxembourg, says the move ensures the UK market is being serviced correctly and efficiently. Calastone is the only independent cross-border transaction network for the mutual funds industry.
Every new participant using our settlement model will further lead to full STP for the entire industry and ultimately benefits the end investor, Llewellyn says.
Barings is already familiar with Calastone, as it was the first customer to connect to Calastones transaction network in May 2008. We have been Calastones first order routing customer and have been benefiting from transaction automation and straight-through processing (STP) for more than three years, says Peter Arnold, head of fund services, performance measurement and business liaison at Baring Asset Management.
Karen Hamilton, product management EMEA at Northern Trust added, STP will bring increased operational control and reduced risk for the industry, and Calastones innovative settlement service supports and complement this requirement and those of the UK mutual fund industry.