US fund manager giant Victory Capital has adopted transfer agency technology provided by FIS to service a range of newly acquired mutual fund and exchange traded fund (ETF) accounts.
Victory Capital, which holds $146.8 billion in assets under management, has expanded its existing technology contract with FIS whereby the tech vendor would provide a 24/7, real-time mutual fund processing and recordkeeping platform.
FIS will also provide Victory Capital and its clients with day-to-day transfer agency services, including transaction processing, shareholder servicing, dealer services and compliance support from its operations team.
“Our top priorities are to provide continued top-quality investment services to our new fund shareholders and to support future growth, so selecting the right partner and platform was key,” said Michael Policarpo, president, chief financial officer and chief administrative officer, Victory Capital.
“Given our long history of working with FIS and their proven track record of innovation and service quality, we are confident that we have chosen the right partner to enhance our services for our newest customers.”
The decision to adopt the new technology followed Victory Capital’s $850 million acquisition of USAA Asset Management, taking on 53 mutual funds and ETFs, as well as its 529 College Savings Plan.
Last month, Victory Capital transitioned these funds, representing $80 billion in assets, to Citi for custody and fund services.
“We look forward to serving the new Victory Capital fund shareholder base and providing them with innovative, cost-effective and high-quality transfer agency services,” added Martin Boyd, president of Capital Markets Solutions, FIS.
Asset managers usually appoint a custody bank or fund administrator to carry out their transfer agency functions for their mutual funds. However, many have criticised their traditional service providers for failing to adequately support them.
According to a survey of asset managers and their administrators by tech vendor Temenos in September last year, around a quarter of respondents said transfer agents were not keeping up with their evolving requirements.