Smith & Williamson Fund Administration (SWFAL) has successfully implemented the automated end-to-end straight through processing (STP) CREST settlement interface into its Babel messaging platform.
Smith & Williamson is the first Bravura client to go live with this module, which provides a new facility for integrated electronic settlement and account reconciliation for transactions received both via STP and manually.
The solution allows Smith & Williamson, as a fund administrator, to perform both the CREST Participant and Registrar roles within the CREST platform, allowing them to monitor efficiently and manage complete order lifecycles from initiation and pricing through to final settlement.
David McGuinness, Head of STP Messaging at Bravura Solutions, says: “Bravura is delighted to support Smith & Williamson in its implementation of our new CREST module for Babel. The teams at Smith & Williamson, Bravura and Euroclear worked together very effectively during the project phase to make this happen and we look forward to helping Smith & Williamson extend this service to other CREST participants in the coming months.
“Over the past few years we have seen tremendous growth in the volume and value of trades being processed via our Babel STP Messaging platform and we see STP settlement solutions, such as CREST and Calastone Net Settlement, as being the natural progression for automation in the post trade market bringing further efficiencies, enhanced liquidity and risk reduction to UK fund administration. On a monthly basis, Babel now processes over 500,000 order lifecycles with total deal values in excess of GBP200 billion across our client base.”
Maggie Lindsay, Associate Director at Smith & Williamson, says: “We are delighted to be live on CREST for our Fund Administration business and look forward to growing this route as a means for other CREST Participants to invest in SWFAL funds. We thank both Bravura and Euroclear for their collaboration in this endeavour.”
Smith & Williamson selected Bravura’s Rufus Software as a Service (SaaS) software, including Babel, to power its transfer agency administration in October 2016. The ongoing partnership with Bravura, including the adoption of CREST settlement, aims to deliver operational efficiencies, reduce risk associated with transfer agency activities and allow Smith & Williamson to benefit from Bravura’s infrastructure, servicing and system functionality.