SIX Financial Information is offering delivery of fund income information on a 15-minute frequency as part of a bespoke managed service that augments the functionality of its FundsFast current day fund prices service.
The Fund Income Distribution service had a soft launch in the first quarter of 2013 and is now in production with many of Six’s FundsFast users expected to add the fund income element. David Senogles, head of client consulting at SIX, says: “FundsFast was introduced in 2005 and is very successful, but clients had a problem on the income side as funds sometimes don’t declare dividends until the pay date.”
With the new FundsFast capability, he says, “If a fund manager wants to have the information sooner or a fund administrator wants the information to make an accurate valuation of funds administered, they can outsource the information gathering process to us and we can deliver a managed service that has economies of scale and reduces labour costs for clients.”
The solution was developed by fund experts and software developers from SIX, and standardised in conjunction with an industry working group. SIX generates the data using a monitoring tool developed specifically for the purpose and also liaises directly with fund administrators and managers to ensure receipt of up to date distribution data as soon as it is available. When fund managers’ actual or indicative rates are not available in a timely manner, SIX uses a methodology created to provide estimated rates.
The service is bespoke to individual client needs and includes a large selection of data fields and intra-day delivery times of updated data upwards of every 15 minutes. Senogles explains: “The information is delivered in FTP files and can be delivered when users want it. The users can choose the data fields and formats they want to fit in with how they want to process the data.”
The service reflects a particular requirement identified in the UK market, but Senogles notes interest from other countries in FundsFast and the Fund Income Distribution solution. He acknowledges the potential for competition from other market data vendors, but notes a sweet spot for SIX in offering a bespoke managed service.
