Northern Trust Selects SunGard’s Asset Arena Control Center to Help Streamline Processes and Reduce Risk

Northern Trust has chosen SunGard’s Asset Arena Control Center as the latest addition to the portfolio of SunGard solutions used by the asset servicing and investment management firm. Asset Arena Control Center will help Northern Trust benefit from further operational efficiency by converting complex work processes into electronic checklists and easy-to-read dashboards that help increase automation and improve operational oversight and controls of the firm’s fund accounting and investor accounting activities.

The range of SunGard solutions and platforms Northern Trust uses helps ensure increased transparency and process optimization and spans the firm’s wealth management, asset management, private equity, capital markets, risk and analytics, and reconciliations systems.

Peter Cherecwich, Head of Global Fund Services within Northern Trust’s Corporate and Institutional Services business unit, said, “It has been crucial to us to ensure we have the right systems in place that will help enhance our portfolio processes. By working with SunGard, we will look to achieve a smoother end-of day NAV (Net Asset Value) creation process, reduce the potential for risk and meet regulatory requirements which will ultimately help us generate significant cost savings. SunGard has long been a consultative advisor to us, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration for future projects.”

Doug Morgan, president of institutional asset management for SunGard’s Asset Management business, said, “Both investors and regulators are seeking greater transparency from fund managers and their administrators. They require evidence that their processes are robust and that strict controls are in place. The firms that are best positioned for success are those that employ comprehensive solutions with a centralized view of fund accounting and investor accounting activities. As a long standing SunGard customer using a wide variety of our solutions, Northern Trust is a great example of this and Asset Arena Control Center will help take the firm even further in building increased transparency. This will ultimately aid Northern Trust in achieving its overarching business objectives by increasing the level of control over its processes and reducing operational risk.”

Denise Valentine, a senior analyst at Aite Group said, “As it continues to globalize, the investment management industry is moving towards a more consolidated approach to fund administration. To better manage their growing cross-border challenges, and minimize the risk of untimely, inaccurate processes, asset managers are seeking greater support for their day-to-day operations. This gives fund administrators the opportunity to increase their own scale and take on a greater range of services, as a one-stop shop for fund administration. By providing automation and transparency across areas such as client reporting, financial statement production and even middle-office and risk management responsibilities, a fund administrator is better able to compete in an operationally demanding yet cost-conscious market.”