Transition management is one of the hottest topics in securities services today, and consultants Frank Russell say they are exploiting the opportunities to the full. They claim their transition management team completed 235 transactions worldwide in 2001, involving assets in excess of e123 billion. Many were in Europe.
“We’ve built an infrastructure that allows us to seamlessly handle larger volumes and increasingly complex transitions,” boasts Adrian Jackson, Russell’s Director of Transaction Services. “While many believe the US is leading the way in terms of large, complex transactions, our experience is that this is not always the case and that European funds are embarking on complex changes which could not have been efficiently achieved several years ago.”
“Many clients are also realising the benefits of using a transition manager for simpler events such as one-to-one manager changes and even cash fundings,” adds Natalie Pilcher, Client Executive in Frank Russell’s London-based Transaction Services team. “With the cash fundings, clients find that using a transition manager means they avoid giving the manager a performance holiday while the money is invested; there is no self-created competition for liquidity (where multiple managers are being funded); they have a dedicated and focused resource co-ordinating the various parties; and at the end they receive a comprehensive analysis giving them a clear understanding of the true cost of the transition.”