JP Morgan Security Services has partnered with SimCorp to increase operational efficiencies around mutual funds.

The firms say they are providing a front-to-middle office integrated custody service for mutual fund clients, and it includes the sharing of operational data.

Market volatility in 2020 put a spotlight on manual processes used by fund managers and the European regulator, Esma, also recorded higher than usual numbers of settlement failures.

There is also a growing demand among asset managers for better access to data and, consequently, more integration and interoperability between their various service providers.

“Timely and agile access to consistent data is essential to fully address some of the key pain points in the buy side,” said Marc Schröter, senior vice president, global product management at SimCorp, who added that Simcorp was “opening up our architecture and creating an open ecosystem” that will facilitate the buy side with more operational flexibility.

Naveen TV, managing director at JP Morgan securities services, said sharing enriched transaction data sets and operational workflows within an open integration would “greatly benefit clients in their quest for efficient and transparent operations”.

SimCorp plans to replicate the JP Morgan partnership with other firms, stating that it is “moving beyond the delivery of front-to-back, multi-asset solutions”, and towards "the creation of an open platform".

A SimCorp spokesperson cited similar partnerships with BNY Mellon and State Street as “growing evidence that open systems are not only far more beneficial than closed systems but also a desired buy-side standard”.

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