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Brussels, for immediate release
Funds processing automation rates reach new heights
New joint report from EFAMA and SWIFT shows industry automation rates reaching 88% of cross-border fund orders in 2017
Brussels, 4 July 2018 The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA), 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 2017. The report is an on-going campaign by EFAMA and SWIFT to highlight the progress of automation and standardisation rates of of cross-border fund orders. 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 38.8 million last year.
The total automation rate of processed orders of cross-border funds reached 88% in the last quarter of 2017, which represents an increase of 1.3 percentage points (p.p.) compared to the fourth quarter of 2016. The use of ISO messaging standards rose by 2.1 p.p. to 55.5%, while the use of manual processes dropped to 12% (-1.3 p.p.) in the same time period.
The total automation rate of orders processed by Luxembourg TAs reached 85.4% in the last quarter of 2017 compared to 84.4% in the last quarter of 2016. The ISO automation rate increased from 68.3% in Q4 2016 to 69.8% in Q4 2017, while the use of proprietary ftp decreased from 16.1% in Q4 2016 to 15.6% in Q4 2017.
The total automation rate of orders processed by Irish TAs increased to 92.1% in the fourth quarter of 2017, from 90.6% in the fourth quarter of 2016. The ISO automation rate increased by 4.7 p.p. to 32.5%, whereas the adoption of proprietary formats decreased from 62.8% in Q4 2016 to 59.6% in Q4 2017.
Peter De Proft, Director General of EFAMA, notes: The increase in the automation rate of orders of cross-border funds from 75.4% in 2010 to 88% in 2017 highlights the sustained efforts made by fund managers to increase the efficiency of their operations. The use of automation contributes to strengthening the competitiveness of UCITS and its attractiveness to investors, both globally and locally.
Janice E. Chapman, Manager, Investment Funds, Standards, SWIFT, adds:
Today, more than 88% of cross-border funds orders are automated. In addition to the continuous growth of funds order volumes, it is exciting to see that the automation rates of supporting processes, such as price reporting, cash forecast reporting and funds transfers, are also on the rise. This reconfims the industry trend towards automation using ISO 20022.
Ends
Please click
here to download a full copy of the joint EFAMA/SWIFT Fund Processing Standardisation Report 2017.For further information, please contact:
Peter De Proft,Director General
Janice E. Chapman
Manager, Investment Funds
Standards
SWIFT
Janice.CHAPMAN@swift.com
+32-2-655 33 90
cc: swift@finsbury.com
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. At end 2017, total net assets of European funds reached EUR 15.6 trillion, with close to 32,000 of these funds were UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities) funds and close to 28,300 funds were AIFs (Alternative Investment Funds). For more information about EFAMA, please visit 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. 
