FNZ, a leading provider of transaction and custody services for the global wealth platform sector, with £45 billion in assets under administration, has signed a strategic partnership agreement with the UK's central securities depository, Euroclear UK & Ireland (EUI).
Under the agreement, FNZ will integrate its fund settlement process with EUI to improve clearing counterparty protection for its customers and lower operating risk through improved end-to-end automation of the settlement process for managed funds.
In the UK, FNZ powers the wealth platforms for a significant portion of the market including Standard Life, AXA, Zurich, Friends Life, Close Brothers, JPMorgan Asset Management and HSBC.
Christopher James, Managing Director, Wealth Services at FNZ, said, "This agreement transitions the UK fund market, in which FNZ is the leading provider of fund transaction and custody services in the platform sector, to the delivery-versus-payment model that has existed for many years in the North American fund market and for equities in the UK market. Our decision to house unit settlement and cash reconciliation with Euroclear significantly enhances the security and automation of the end-to-end process for our customers which are the leading UK platform providers."
Katrina Sartorius, Director and Head of Product Management for Euroclear UK & Ireland, said: "We are delighted to partner with FNZ, a leading provider of cutting edge transaction and custody services to the institutional funds and wealth platform sectors. We are committed to supporting their current and future growth by ensuring that FNZ and their clients benefit from the efficiencies and risk reductions that can only be achieved through scale, and end-to-end automation of cash and share settlement."
FNZ joins twelve of the UK's largest fund managers, including M&G, Invesco, Schroders and Hendersons, in selecting Euroclear UK & Ireland as their investment fund service provider. By the end of the first quarter of 2014 over 50% of orders routed through EUI's order router will be available for settlement via the CSD's investment funds service.
Fund orders from institutional firms and IFAs can be routed using technology providers, such as FNZ, to Euroclear UK & Ireland's order routing and settlement service, which interfaces electronically with transfer agents and the fund managers they service.
Press release Box-ID: 643760
Euroclear UK & Ireland
33 Cannon Street
EC4M 5SB
London
http://www.euroclear.com
Contact
Mr
Martin
Gregson
+32 2 326 41 86
Euroclear UK & Ireland
Euroclear UK & Ireland is the central securities depository (CSD) of the United Kingdom, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man for all domestic securities, and of Ireland for equities. It provides advanced, low-cost settlement facilities for a wide range of investment funds, corporate and government securities, and equities including those traded on the London Stock Exchange and Irish Stock Exchange.
Its extensive range of fund services includes electronic order routing, settlement, cash movements linked to fund units bought and sold, real-time balance reconciliations, distribution of corporate action proceeds, seamless re-registrations and portfolio transfers.
Euroclear UK & Ireland is part of the Euroclear group, which is the world's largest provider of domestic and cross-border settlement and related services for bond, equity, derivatives and fund transactions. The Euroclear group also comprises the international CSD, Euroclear Bank, as well as the national CSDs Euroclear Belgium, Euroclear Finland, Euroclear France, Euroclear Nederland and Euroclear Sweden.
The Euroclear group settled the equivalent of EUR 542 trillion in securities transactions in 2012, representing 159 million domestic and cross-border transactions, and held more than EUR 23 trillion in assets for clients.
