London-based investment management consultancy, Citisoft has launched a new service to provide independent consultancy for the retail investment management market. The service will be headed by David Emsley, who joins Citisoft from Bank of New York.
The company says it is responding to the increasing demand for consultancy in transfer agency arising from the huge growth in mutual funds. Transfer agency supports the retail purchasers of investments such as unit trusts and ISAs. To ensure that the fund is well managed on behalf of the client, the transfer agent deals with subscriptions and redemptions, handles shareholder records and certificates and distributes company information, such as annual reports, to shareholders.
Recently, transfer agency has seen margins squeezed as brokers and dealers have begun to encroach on areas of core business, explains Citisoft. Transfer agents have had to turn to new technology solutions including straight-through processing and the Internet to reduce administration costs, while branching out into clearance and settlement.
Emsley says: "Transfer agents are looking for advice on systems solutions, but the vast majority of consultancies with expertise in this area are tied to systems providers. Citisoft has brought me in to set up a new service that will provide the impartial advice and expertise that transfer agents are demanding."
Emsley joins Citisoft from Bank of New York, where he headed the 25-strong team responsible for taking the bank's transfer agency system, Rufus, to blue-chip clients including Abbey National, Legal and General and Save & Prosper. Emsley brings with him over fifteen years of experience in the retail investment management industry and before Bank of New York he worked in system implementation and unit trust accounting for institutions including Framlington Unit Trust Managers, Henderson Administration, Gartmore and Barclays Unicorn.