SWIFT announced today that Gartmore Investment Management and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Securities (DrKW) are using the SWIFTNet FIX service to communicate FIX allocations. They are the first fund manager and broker-dealer to make the transition from the SWIFTNet pilot programme to the early adopter programme, and the first to use the SWIFTNet FIX service live.
SWIFT says the early adopter programme, which was launched on 11 December 2002, will probably last through to the end of next year. Firms participating in it are being offered pricing incentives in exchange for feedback on features and functionality. SWIFT is aiming to recruit 100 firms to the early adopter programme.
“SWIFT is a valuable new entrant into the FIX messaging and network business,” says Chris Sims, head of development, Gartmore Investment Management. “The service allows us to eliminate the use of facsimile transmissions when sending allocations. Additionally, as part of SWIFT’s single window offering for securities messaging, it will potentially allow us to use one link for the whole securities transaction lifecycle, from trade order routing to settlement.”
“SWIFT has an excellent footprint in electronic messaging and by entering this market has shown that it has a grasp of the whole value chain for equities processing,” adds Andrew Bowley, director, client connectivity & order management at DrKW, and a member of the FIX Protocol European Steering Committee. “It is important for DrKW that we can offer our clients efficient links between front and back office processing as we increase our STP solutions. The implementation of this link means that DrKW will be able to increase the speed of processing and reporting for Gartmore.”
Matt Fox, the former Global Crossing executive who is now SWIFTNet FIX programme manager at SWIFT, added: “We are very appreciative of the efforts expended by all firms participating in the pilot programme and are pleased to be able to solve a legitimate business problem for both Gartmore and DrKW by facilitating the communication of FIX allocations.”
The SWIFTNet FIX service provides firms with access to multiple trading partners around the world through a single FIX connection. Its advantage, says SWIFT, is that it eliminates the need for firms to maintain multiple network and application-level connections to trading partners, so reducing the cost and risk associated with maintaining electronic trade communications.