Aegon Asset Management is extending its use of Markit’s enterprise data management (EDM) platform beyond the UK with implementations of the software at other business operations in the US and the Netherlands.
Initial plans show four separate installations of the software, one each in the UK and US, and two in the Netherlands. These will support local data management requirements, but the ultimate goal is global data consolidation and, perhaps, one instance of Markit EDM providing centralised global data management.
Kames Capital, previously Aegon Asset Management UK, became a Cadis EDM customer in 2005, before Markit acquired Cadis in May 2012. Successful use of the EDM system in the UK prompted the group to return to the product, despite a full market review, when it decided to implement data management in other areas of its business. The choice of Markit EDM also played into its policy of reusing technology and knowledge whenever possible.
Keith Rake, global chief operating office at Aegon Asset Management, says: “We’ve been a Markit EDM customer for over seven years via Kames Capital in the UK. The value already being delivered to the UK unit from its implementation convinced our US and Dutch operations that it was the best choice for our long-term global data management strategy.”
Kames Capital implemented Markit EDM at about the same time as it outsourced its back- and middle-office operations to Citi Group. Greg Cooper, chief administrative officer at Kames, says: “Markit EDM is a vital tool for us. We could not have outsourced to Citi if we did not have the EDM solution.”
Kames is now sharing its experience with Aegon USA Investment Management in the US and Aegon Asset Management and TKP Investments in the Netherlands as they start the Markit EDM implementation journey. The systems replace a mix of basic legacy tools and outsourcing agreements, and will be used slightly differently in the different businesses, but they are expected to improve data management across the group and reduce the cost of data. They will also provide consistent data for local systems and act as a springboard for data consolidation.
Cooper explains: “Global data consolidation is on the roadmap and is the subject of a project driven by the group and allocated to the US business. Ultimately, reducing four instances of the Markit EDM system to a single, central system is an option, but it is not yet on the roadmap.”
As Aegon Asset Management moves on down the data management road, it is also helping Markit reach its next milestone. Daniel Simpson, managing director of Markit EDM, says: “The UK arm of Aegon Asset Management was our sixth or seventh customer. Over the summer, we will be pushing towards a total of 100 customers worldwide.”
Subscribe to our newsletter
