SunGard Online Investment Systems has acquired Protegent, a Massachusetts-based provider of compliance technology to financial services firms, for an undisclosed sum.
Protegent develops automated surveillance, compliance, supervision and risk management technologies. The firm's flagship product, BrokerAudit, simplifies the process of supervising the trading activity of registered representatives and investment advisors.
Sungard says it will add Protegent's applications to its existing Synapse product suite which includes behaviour detection systems that automate compliance, supervision and transaction monitoring for brokerage and insurance companies.
Commenting on the acquisition, Paul Erickson, president of the expert solutions unit of SunGard Online Investment Systems, says: "Protegent brings to SunGard a deep understanding of the current regulatory environment and the complex compliance needs of today's brokerage industry, as well as a breadth of compliance solutions."
David Tilkin, former CEO of Protegent and now executive vice president at SunGard Online Investment Solutions, adds: "The combined features, resources and skill sets of both Protegent and SunGard will help us to more quickly adapt to the changing needs of the industry.
"Together, we can provide a highly flexible, enterprise-class platform with the necessary features and rule set to help our customers improve regulatory compliance and reduce their risk."