For immediate release: Friday 27 February 1998
AUTIF ELECTRONIC COMMERCE PROJECT
The Association of Unit Trusts and Investment Funds (AUTIF) today
announces significant progress towards the development of an electronic
commerce environment for unit trusts and investment funds.
This Project will lead to an industry-wide set of standards for
electronic price dissemination, dealing, valuations and settlements,
creating the basic conditions to allow industry-wide electronic
commerce to develop.
Highlights of progress include:
- Secondment of David Norman (Threadneedle Investments) as Project
Manager on Workstream One to address price collection and dissemination
issues.
- Testing of a model by Workstream Two to prove how an electronic
trading and settlement environment could work, to reflect the
interests of product providers, distributors and other parties
involved in electronic clearing and settlement.
- Wide consultation with management companies, distributors and
others involved in the investment funds industry.
- Maximum leverage from the experience of other electronic platforms
already in the marketplace. AUTIF is anxious to take advantage,
wherever possible, of existing standards and technology in other
electronic trading environments.
The AUTIF Project took off following the completion of a feasibility
study in mid-1997 to test the appetite and way forward for the development
of an industry-wide electronic commerce environment. In the second
half of 1997, two parallel Workstreams were established to drive
the Project forward:
AUTIF WORKSTREAM ONE
To agree industry-wide standards and protocols for price collection
and Web based dissemination of prices and product information.
AUTIF WORKSTREAM TWO
To develop a fully electronic trading environment for dealing, valuation
and settlement.
Both Workstreams report to a Steering Committee comprising AUTIF
members. These Steering Committees in turn report monthly, or as
appropriate, to the full AUTIF Executive Committee. Both Steering
Committees are chaired by Lewis McNaught, the chairman of AUTIF.
A working group comprising twenty one representatives from fund
management companies and distribution channels (both IFA and tied
sales), is in place to provide technical input and participation
across the industry.
Having two parallel Workstreams enables both project teams to be
task focused, while still aligned to the overall objectives of the
project. It is intended that both Workstreams will converge at the
appropriate time.
David Norman has been seconded from Threadneedle Investments to
act as Project Manager to develop the AUTIF pricing website. Under
the direction of the Project Steering Committee, he will assist
in the negotiation of the necessary legal and regulatory agreements.
Final decisions on all aspects of the operation of the website will
be taken by the AUTIF Steering Committee. It is hoped to use the
price collection and dissemination functionality from the early
autumn.
Workstream Two is drawing upon teams of technical experts, including
input from four leading investment management companies - Fidelity,
Gartmore/NatWest, M&G and Perpetual - who have made rapid progress
to prove how an electronic trading and settlement environment for
investment products could work. Their work describes what business
processes and data standards are required for an electronic environment,
and demonstrates how deals can be placed electronically and processed
by the fund providers, also how deals can be settled with electronic
fund transfers. The teams are currently testing their design concept
by simulating the processing of trades according to the standards
defined. This phase of the project is due to be completed by the
end of February 1998.
Both Workstreams have been drawing upon market intelligence from
the widest number of electronic platform providers, systems suppliers
and electronic clearing systems across the financial sector. The
Project has also studied relevant electronic dealing platforms in
the US and Canada.
Lewis McNaught, Chairman of AUTIF, commented;
"AUTIF’s intention is to agree a uniform and reliable set of
industry-owned messaging standards to which suppliers of electronic
trading systems in future will conform. We do not intend to compete
with these suppliers by developing and imposing our own systems
on the industry".
He continued,
"It is encouraging that the UK regulators are showing considerable
interest in the project."
Further announcements about prototyping and roll-out across the
industry will follow as further progress is made.
For further comment please contact:
Lewis McNaught, AUTIF Chairman, Gartmore, 0171 782
2408
Philip Warland, Director General, AUTIF, 0171 831 0898
Anne McMeehan, Director of Communications, AUTIF, 0171 831 0898
Emma Weiss, PR Manager, AUTIF, 0171 831 0898
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