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How do investment managers differentiate between all the different OMS vendors on the market?
We looked through out past issues, email newsletters and online content to cull together what customers have said about the decision, in their own words. |
WHY?
Customers cite:
• Strong control of workflow processes
• Platform reliability
• Breadth of product coverage
• Scalability
• Flexibility
• Portfolio accounting and reporting component is robust and flexible
• Easy user interface
Their quotes:
“We needed a solution that would help us gain better control of our workflow processes within the trade order management function. We also saw the possibility to increase the level of automation, improve operational efficiency and upgrade our compliance processes,” explained Karri Haaparinne, senior vice president, Mandatum Private Bank. “We also have progressive growth targets and need a reliable platform on which we can build. Advent has a strong reputation in the Nordic region and we were aware of the capabilities of their front office products.”
“We were utilizing a system that required a large number of workarounds, was very labor intensive, and required us to jump through hoops to extract data. We chose Advent to support our business because of the breadth of its product coverage, its open and scalable technology platform and the support we can rely on from the organization,” said Aaron Goldberg, chief financial officer of AQR Capital Management, LLC.
“It is a much more robust platform and provides clean integration, including two-way communication, with Advent’s trade order management system. SQL Server also allows me to give users different views,” said Cathy Sawyer, director of Sterling Capital Management. “Some users, such as portfolio managers, don’t need to see everything in the system, so I can show them just what they need, which makes it a much more friendly user experience. Portfolio managers want to see summaries and client positions pretty quick and pretty easy.”
WHY?
Customers cite:
• Ease of use of modeling tools
• Ease of customizing and applying rules in compliance product
• Complete coverage of all security types
• Real-time pre-trade compliance
• Streamlined and automated workflows
Their quotes:
“Charles River Manager easily facilitates our modeling between portfolios and industry and/or fund benchmarks, allowing for hypothetical ‘what-if’ analysis and impact analysis against real-time compliance checks,” said Stewart Norwood, head of technology at Cazenove Capital Management. “The easy-to-use drag and drop functionality in Charles River Compliance enables users to quickly apply rules to any number of accounts to ensure adherence to fund, client, regulatory, and complex-wide guidelines.”
“We were particularly impressed with Charles River Compliance, which enables us to apply compliance rules precisely for each fund. We can, therefore, more easily adhere to the broker trading restrictions unique to Japan,” said Suichi Komori, president and CEO of Daiwa SB Investments Ltd. “The system covers all investment classes, not only equities or fixed income, and this means that all compliance can now be executed in one front office system.”
“Charles River IMS combines a variety of key features that OMAM required, including real-time pre-trade compliance, complete coverage of all security types, and a feature-rich solution which is usable amongst all of our traders and fund managers,” said Beth Lathangie, COO, Old Mutual Asset Managers UK. “Our traders and fund managers have benefited immediately from the streamlined and automated workflows easily allowing them to manage the firm’s increased trade volumes. In addition, all of their trading tools are in one reliable solution allowing them to spend more time managing the portfolios.”
WHY?
Customers cite:
• SQL Server-based solution offers better data communication with internal SQL Server
• Strong commitment to service and support
• Watchtower compliance product is very flexible, and its integration with OMS reduces operational risk
Their quotes:
“We have been on Traders Console for three years, and that has always been on SQL,” said Bob Owen, chief architect for Peregrine Capital. “If we find a vendor who picks the Microsoft platform and really focuses on it, I think we get better support and the application is easier to integrate.” (Windows in Financial Services, Summer 2004)
“Eze Castle’s commitment to service and support is the best we’ve seen in the industry,” says Bryan Kiss, controller of Kettle Hill Capital Management, LLC. “Our Eze Castle Software consultant worked closely with us during the implementation process to understand our workflow, manage the creation of our custom reporting, and train us on every aspect of the system. He was on our trading desk supporting us the day following our go-live with Traders Console OMS.” (April 2006)
“The flexibility of the Watchtower compliance product enables us to monitor compliance and risk across all positions and funds. The real-time integration with our OMS and email system allows us to stay on top of investment compliance monitoring and exposure risks. We are alerted instantly when potential compliance issues arise,” said Matt Weir, head of risk and control at NewSmith. (March 2006)
WHY?
Customers cite:
• End-to-end solution from OMS and compliance through accounting and reporting
• Commitment to service
• Highly flexible and customizable system
• Centralized database model aids report generation and facilitates better workflow
• Strong compliance features
Their quotes:
“The INDATA system allows us the ability to seamlessly run our business from end-to-end, from the compliance and OMS standpoint through to back-office accounting and client reporting,” said Robert Bingham, president of SKY Investment Group, LLC. “After using Advent at our previous firm, we were looking for a system that could simply do more. We found the flexibility of the INDATA system and its Microsoft SQL Server-driven database far superior to other products.”
“When we began our search for a new vendor, it was important for us to have a solution that enhanced our trading and compliance capabilities, as well as a system that was capable of handling our specific accounting, reporting and billing requirements,” said Burnie Sparks, president of Bailard, Inc. “It was also important for us to have a company who could work with us throughout the conversion process to accommodate the unique functionality and reports that we had used for many years in our previous system.”
"We selected INDATA because they offered the latest technology via a centralized database model. Having access to our data in-house provides us with the flexibility to build and customize reports, as well as integrate other in-house systems to improve workflow efficiencies. Their I.M.S. system also had a number of capabilities that were important to us, such as strong trade order management and compliance features that were lacking in many of the other systems we evaluated," commented Eric Drossner, vice president of Trust Operations, Haverford Trust.
WHY?
Customers cite:
• Easy integration
• Flexibility
• End-to-end connectivity support
• Integration of algorithmic trading tools into system
Their quotes:
“We were very pleased with Macgregor’s ability to integrate XIP with our proprietary trade optimizer and Advent’s AXYS accounting system. XIP allows us to operate a state-of-the-art electronic trading desk with FIX connectivity to all of our traditional brokers as well as various alternative trading systems and algorithmic tools. Along with seamless FIX connectivity the system allows Freeman Associates to trade more than one thousand orders a day with no operational risk,” Alex Green, head of trading at Freeman Associates said. (September 2005)
“Macgregor's OMN goes beyond the scope of a traditional OMS to include the certification and end-to-end support for all of our broker connectivity. This solution enabled us to go live with thirty-five broker connections within one month. This is eight more than what we achieved after one year with our previous vendor. Being able to get the solution via an ASP was also important in our decision to switch to Macgregor. Comparatively, Macgregor’s solution has improved the efficiency of our trading process and lowered our total cost of ownership,” Fred Kramer, vice president of operations at TimesSquare Capital Management said. (April 2005)
Macgregor has been proactive in the delivery of algorithmic trading tools to customers," said Scott Stickler, executive director of electronic trading services at Morgan Stanley. "Macgregor's distribution network was a key determinant in approaching them when we decided to make our Benchmark Execution Strategies (BXS) available directly to our mutual buy-side clients. Their seamless implementation will be beneficial for our clients as we rollout new strategies in the near future. (May 2005)