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Funds processing automation rates reach new heights

Funds processing automation rates reach new heights

Funds,
11 July 2019 | 3 min read

Swift and the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) highlight a growth in automation rates for cross-border fund orders that rose to 90.4% in 2018, a 15 % increase from 2010.

EFAMA, in cooperation with Swift, have 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 distribution centres of Luxembourg and Ireland in 2018.

Increased automation driven by ISO standards

The annual report, which surveyed 29 TAs, combines the data from both countries into a single cross-border fund processing report. It provides statistical evidence on the advancement of automation and standardisation rates of cross-border fund orders in which ISO 20022 has a part to play.

Janice E. Chapman, Manager, Investment Funds, Standards at Swift, said:

“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”.

Automation to boost efficiency

For Tanguy van de Werve, EFAMA Director General:

“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 today’s 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”.  

In today’s 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. 

Tanguy van de Werve, EFAMA Director General
Key highlights of the report

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 reached 90.4% in the last quarter of 2018, which represents an increase of 2.4 percentage points (p.p.) compared to the fourth quarter of 2017. The use of ISO messaging standards rose by 2.5 p.p to 58%, while the use of manual processes dropped to 9.6% in the same period.

The total automation rate of orders processed by Luxembourg TAs reached 89% in the last quarter of 2018 compared to 85.4% in the last quarter of 2017. The ISO automation rate increased from 69.8% in Q4 2017 to 72.2% in Q4 2018, and the use of proprietary ftp increased from 15.6% in Q4 2017 to 16.8% in Q4 2018.

The total automation rate of orders processed by Irish TAs increased to 92.8% in the fourth quarter of 2018, from 92.1% in the fourth quarter of 2017. The ISO automation rate increased by  2.2 p.p. to 34.7%, whereas the adoption of proprietary formats decreased from 59.6% in Q4 2017 to 58.1% in Q4 2018.

Read the report to learn more about the findings of the survey.

resource
Fund Processing Standardisation
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