Brussels, for immediate release

Funds processing automation rates reach new heights

New joint report from EFAMA and SWIFT shows industry automation rates reaching 90.4% of cross-border fund orders in 2018

Brussels, 10 July 2019 EFAMA, the voice of the European investment management industry, in collaboration with SWIFT, today publishes a new report on the evolution of automation and standardisation rates of fund orders received by transfer agents (TAs) in the cross-border fund centres of Luxembourg and Ireland in 2018. The goal of this report is to highlight the progress made towards the increased automation of amount of fund orders and the use of ISO standards. Twenty-nine TAs from Ireland and Luxembourg participated in this survey.

The key findings of the report include:

The total volume of orders processed by the 29 survey participants reached 39 million last year.

The total automation rate of processed orders of cross-border funds increased to 90.4% in Q4 2018, from 88% in Q4 2017. The use of ISO messaging standards rose from 55.5% to 58% during the same period, while the use of manual processes dropped from 12% to 9.6%.

The total automation rate of orders processed by Luxembourg TAs reached 89% in Q4 2018, compared to 85.4% in Q4 2017. The ISO automation rate increased from 69.8% in Q4 2017 to 72.2% in Q4 2018, while the use of manual orders dropped from 14.6% to 11% during the same period.

The total automation rate of orders processed by Irish TAs increased to 92.8% in Q4 2018, from 92.1% in Q4 2017. The ISO automation rate increased from 32.5% to 34.7%, whereas the use of manual processes dropped from 7.9% to 7.2% during the same period.

Tanguy van de Werve, Director General of EFAMA, notes: Since the launch of this publication 10 years ago, we have been confident that the automation rate of the orders of cross-border funds would eventually increase above the 90% mark. And so it has. In todays fee-pressure environment, fund managers are keen on improving the overall efficiency of their operations. This trend is expected to continue. To the extent it facilitates the processing of cross-border fund orders, this increased automation is good news for the Single Market.

Janice E.Chapman, Manager, Investment Funds, Standards, SWIFT, adds:
Yet again, we see growth in the volumes of automated cross-border order flows and funds transfer flows with more markets making plans for automation. This is, indeed, reinforcement of the industry trend to automate using the ISO 20022 standards.

Ends

Please click here to download a full copy of the joint EFAMA/SWIFT Fund Processing Standardisation Report 2018.

For further information, please contact:

Tanguy van de Werve, Director General
Bernard Delbecque, Senior Director, Economics& Research
+32-2-513 39 69
info@efama.org

SWIFT press contact
Finsbury
+32-2-655 33 77
swift@finsbury.com

Notes to editors:

About the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA)
EFAMA, the voice of the European investment management industry, represents 28 member associations and 60 corporate members. At end 2018, total net assets of European investment funds reached EUR 15.2 trillion. These assets were managed by close to 33,400 UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities) and 28,600 AIFs (Alternative Investment Funds). More information available at www.efama.org.

SWIFT is a global member-owned cooperative and the worlds leading provider of secure financial messaging services. We provide our community with a platform for messaging, standards for communicating and we offer products and services to facilitate access and integration; identification, analysis and financial crime compliance. Our messaging platform, products and services connect more than 11,000 banking and securities organisations, market infrastructures and corporate customers in more than 200 countries and territories, enabling them to communicate securely and exchange standardised financial messages in a reliable way. As their trusted provider, we facilitate global and local financial flows, support trade and commerce all around the world; we relentlessly pursue operational excellence and continually seek ways to lower costs, reduce risks and eliminate operational inefficiencies. Headquartered in Belgium, SWIFTs international governance and oversight reinforces the neutral, global character of its cooperative structure. SWIFTs global office network ensures an active presence in all the major financial centres. For more information, visit www.swift.com or follow us on Twitter: @swiftcommunity and LinkedIn: SWIFT

The report can be downloaded on the websites of EFAMA and SWIFT.