PlatformsOct 11 2013

Altus hits back at FCA over re-registration

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More than three-quarters of the fund management market now supports electronic re-registration of assets from one platform to another, according to research by technology provider Altus.

It follows a warning from the FCA that it may be forced to step in on the issue as progress on speeding the process had been “less than satisfactory”.

Ben Cocks, products director at Altus, said: “While the FCA is right to stress the urgency of the need for those firms who are yet to sign up to make progress with re-reg, we have recently witnessed a significant growth in the number of platforms, fund managers, suppliers and volumes of automated transfers which is good for the industry and the consumer.

“It demonstrates how open and interoperable standards can drive down costs, improve efficiency and deliver better outcomes for the end investor. The next challenge is to extend the model to the wider investment and pensions industry.”

Re-registration has been a major issue for platforms this year, with several major platforms blaming fund managers for delays which have caused transfers to drag on for weeks.

But Altus found that fund managers responsible for more than 75 per cent of funds under management in the UK had signed up to automation, while platforms representing 80 per cent of assets have also signed up.

Altus said the number of completed transfers using electronic messaging between fund managers and platforms had “increased dramatically” in the third quarter of this year.

The companies are all operating under a framework set out by the Tax-Incentivised Savings Association. This has helped reduce transfer times to between two and five working days, which Altus said was 5-6 times faster than paper-based re-registration.