Brussels, for immediate release
New report from EFAMA and SWIFT confirms total industry automation rates at nearly 85% of fund orders
Brussels, 15 December 2016 The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA), in cooperation with SWIFT, published a new report about 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 during the first half of 2016.
The report is an on-going campaign by EFAMA and SWIFT to highlight the advancement of automation and standardisation rates of orders of cross-border funds. 29 TAs from Ireland and Luxembourg participated in this survey. The report also provides data on standardisation levels in Italy and Germany.
The report highlights include:
The total volume processed by the 29 survey participants reached 16.6 million orders by end of June 2016.
The total automation rate of processed orders of cross-border funds reached 84.4% in the second quarter of 2016, compared to 85.4% in the fourth quarter of 2015. The use of ISO messaging standards decreased from 51.2% in Q4 2015 to 50% in Q2 2016, while the use of manual processes rose to 15.6% in Q2 2016 compared to 14.6% in Q4 2015.
The total automation rate of orders processed by Luxembourg TAs reached 81.7% in the second quarter of 2016 compared to 82.9% in the last quarter of 2015. The ISO automation rate decreased from 65% in Q4 2015 to 63.8% in Q2 2016, while the use of proprietary ftp remains stable at 17.9%.
The total automation rate of orders processed by Irish TAs decreased to 89.1% in the second quarter of 2016, from 89.7% in the fourth quarter of 2015. The use of proprietary ftp went up to 63% in Q2 2016 compared to 62.8% in Q4 2015.
Peter De Proft, EFAMA Director General, notes: The report confirms that further increases in automation rate levels for fund orders and switches towards the ISO 20022 standard will depend on the efforts made not only by fund managers to adapt their technology and operational structures, but also by the fund distributors sending the fund orders.
Fabian Vandenreydt, Global Head of Securities, Innotribe and the SWIFT Institute, SWIFT, adds:
With funds order volumes stabilising across Luxemburg and Ireland, it is not surprising to see the automation rates level off as well. Over the years we have seen a consistent increase with automation and adoption of ISO 20022 compared to proprietary formats. The industry has made great progress and with near 85 percent of the market fully automated, the funds industry is in a good place to continue driving efficiency in the market."
Ends
* Please click 
here to download a full copy of the joint EFAMA/SWIFT standardisation mid 2016 report.
here to download a full copy of the joint EFAMA/SWIFT standardisation mid 2016 report.For further information, please contact:
Peter De Proft Bernard Delbecque
Director General Senior Director - Economics and Research
EFAMA
+32-2-513 39 69
Keith Tippell
Managing Director, Head of Securities and FX Markets
SWIFT
+44-20-7762 2100
Notes to editors:
About the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA)
EFAMA is the representative association for the European investment management industry. EFAMA represents through its 28 member associations and 62 corporate members EUR 21 trillion in assets under management of which EUR 12.6 trillion managed by 56,000 investment funds at end 2015. Just over 30,000 of these funds were UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities) funds, with the remaining 25,900 funds composed of AIFs (Alternative Investment Funds). For more information about EFAMA, please visit www.efama.org
About SWIFT
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 about SWIFT, please 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.
