Colonial First State (CFS), part of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia has been helping Australians with their investment needs since 1988. In that time it has become one of the country’s leading wealth management groups and today has more than AU$180 billion under management globally.

After a business review, CFS found it had disparate trade processing systems that created a complex operational model and process duplication. This infrastructure was expensive to maintain and operate and no longer capable of supporting the firm’s global business strategy.

Solution

TLM® Trade Process Management software solution was selected by CFS to deliver a single Trade Management platform to automate its cross-asset transactions from the point of execution through to settlement confirmation.

TLM Trade Process Management software solution is built on a flexible Service Oriented Architecture model. At its core is SmartStream’s Business Process Management engine, TLM Control, built on a J2EE architecture that enables easy customisation of the core services that encompass matching, alerting, exception management, aliasing and reporting. The entire solution is delivered through SmartStream’s zero footprint, zero download thin client interface, TLM WebConnect.

“The strength of the SmartStream software solution was that it leverages proven technologies and packaged them together to create an ideal platform for CFS,” comments Mr Paull. “For example, it uses the integrated exception management and matching of TLM Reconciliations, which with flexible matching and aliasing capabilities help to minimise exceptions and manual intervention. As a result, CFS can maximise user productivity and reduce the number of trades being held in suspense.” John Paull, Head of Investment Operations, Colonial First State

Key benefits

• Manage higher transaction volumes more efficiently and cost-effectively
• Delivers single view into all daily positions, reducing the risk of failed trades and penalties
• Reduces time pressures on daily unit pricing release schedule
• Develops new revenue streams through reduced time to market and improved client services
• Reduces operational risk through the removal of manual components
• Lowers IT risk by reducing the number of systems, addressing compliance issues
• Reduces operational costs and improves revenues
• Reinforces and protects the CFS brand through improved accuracy

A single processing platform – from trade validation to settlement At a time when risk is in the spotlight, the implementation of TLM Trade Process Management software solution has enabled CFS to reduce the level of risk faced by its business. Management now has the ability to view daily positions across the whole business and failed trades can be spotted early in the lifecycle, reducing the risk of CFS incurring financial penalties.