Fidelity and SunGard Enhance Integrated Trading and Custody Platform for Trust and Retirement Providers.More than 200 Firms Join Platform Since Launch BOSTON & WAYNE, Pa. -- Fidelity Investments Fidelity Investments is a group of privately held companies in the financial services industry. It is made up by two independent but closely cooperating companies, Fidelity Management and Research Corporation (FMR Co. and SunGard (www.sungard.com) today announced the availability of several new services to their integrated trading and custody platform for trust institutions and third party administrators (TPAs), which utilizes the capabilities of the SunGard Transaction Network (STN (SuperTwisted Nematic) A passive matrix LCD technology that provides better contrast than twisted nematic (TN) by twisting the molecules from 180 to 270 degrees. See DSTN. ). The new services, including a directed trustee services program, a payment and reporting program for brokers who support retirement plans, and an online revenue management tool, will help trust and TPA (Transient Program Area) See transient area. TPA - Transient Program Area customers meet the growing wealth management and retirement planning needs of their clients. Since its launch in August of 2006, more than 200 firms have transitioned to the STN-Fidelity Solution. Rick Shea, senior vice president of Trust Services at Huntington Bancshares, commented, "We were looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. more automation and technology when we made the transition to the STN-Fidelity platform. At the time, we were dealing with about 250 different fund companies and transfer agents and traded, settled, and handled dividends with each one of them individually. The complexities of that were huge. We have saved many hours of work by eliminating manual procedures, and have improved our turnaround times and ability to respond to clients. It has been an excellent move." "SunGard's relationship with Fidelity, along with the ongoing technology investments from both companies, has given our customers access to one of the most advanced sets of automated trading and brokerage services available," said Bob Ward, chief operating officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. of SunGard's STN business unit. "By creating an integrated platform that supports a wide spectrum of investment processes, the STN-Fidelity solution provides customers with tools to help them acquire, grow, manage and service their businesses -- today and into the future." "With 78 million boomers preparing to retire and American workers being asked to shoulder more of the burden of saving for their retirement, the role of trust institutions and TPAs is likely to grow exponentially in the coming years," said Jim Taylor, senior vice president, Fidelity Registered Investment Advisor Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) is a designation obtainable in the United States by an individual who has registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or state regulatory agency (where the primary business is situated or multiple States in some cases) in Group. "While the initial focus on the joint offering has been on providing trust institutions straight-through processing straight-through processing The direct exchange of cash and securities. Straight-through processing is a major objective for cross-border transactions that are generally much more costly to settle compared to domestic transactions. capabilities by integrating trust accounting and custody systems, the latest set of enhancements are designed to help TPAs drive profitable growth and support the increasingly complex financial needs of their clients." Directed Trustee and Paying Agent Paying Agent An agent who accepts payments from the issuer of a security and then distributes the payments to the holders of the security. Also known as a "disbursing agent. Services The introduction of Directed Trustee Services helps TPAs that custody assets with Fidelity to simplify and streamline management of qualified retirement plans by providing access to the professional trustee services offered by Fidelity Personal Trust Company, FSB (FrontSide Bus) See system bus. FSB - front side bus . Through Directed Trustee Services, plan sponsors can access fiduciary services to help reduce risk, audit expenses, and administrative costs administrative costs, n.pl the overhead expenses incurred in the operation of a dental benefits program, excluding costs of dental services provided. , among other benefits. Paying Agent Services provide administrative support of contribution, distribution and loan processing, status reports on distributions, and IRS An abbreviation for the Internal Revenue Service, a federal agency charged with the responsibility of administering and enforcing internal revenue laws. Form 1099-R Form 1099-R A IRS form with which an individual reports his or her distributions from annuities, profit-sharing plans, retirement plans, IRAs, insurance contracts and/or pensions. tax reporting. Paying Agent Services can be bundled with Directed Trustee Services or are available on an unbundled basis. Fidelity Institutional Broker Network(SM) The Fidelity Institutional Broker Network(SM) is a program for broker/dealers and their representatives who service retirement plans through a TPA relationship. For broker/dealer firms, the service can act as a compliance resource, helping them to better understand their brokers' work with TPAs and plan sponsors. It also provides automated payments of asset-based fees to broker/dealers through the NSCC See National Securities Clearing Corporation. NSCC See National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC). Commission Settlement Service, reporting to fund companies of broker/dealer representative relationships to the retirement plans and an industry leading web application designed exclusively for broker/dealers. Online Revenue Management Tool The online revenue management tool helps TPAs to easily monitor commission payments from multiple fund companies across the multiple retirement plans that they service. With data refreshed daily, the system confirms payments by account, position, and payment instructions and supports information searches by any number of criteria, including plan name/account number, security, broker/dealer, and payment type. When the client has the information they require, they can print a consolidated report directly from the system or export the information to a spreadsheet for further analysis. Having quick access to this type of information is important, given the current regulatory environment for fee disclosure. Directed Trustee Services, Fidelity Institutional Broker Network and the revenue management tool are available to all Fidelity and SunGard trust and TPA clients. About Fidelity Registered Investment Advisor Group Fidelity is a leading provider of wealth management, custody and brokerage services to financial intermediaries Financial intermediaries institution that provide the market function of matching borrowers and lenders or traders. . The company custodies more than $290 billion in assets on behalf of more than 3,800 RIA (Rich Internet Application) A Web-based application that approaches the speed and elegance of a local application. An RIA may refer to a browser-based application that uses AJAX or another enhanced coding technique. , bank trust and TPA clients as of June 30, 2007. Fidelity provides access to a flexible, open technology environment, extensive practice management resources, and wealth management investments and services - all backed by the long-term commitment of a private company. Dedicated relationship professionals work consultatively to help clients choose the products and services that are in the best interests of their clients and make the most sense for their business. For more information about Fidelity's services, please visit http://ria.fidelity.com. About Fidelity Investments Fidelity Investments is one of the world's largest providers of financial services, with custodied assets of more than $3.2 trillion, including managed assets of $1.5 trillion as of June 30, 2007. Fidelity offers investment management, retirement planning, brokerage, and human resources and benefits outsourcing services to more than 23 million individuals and institutions as well as through 5,500 financial intermediary Financial Intermediary An institution that acts as the middleman between investors and firms raising funds. Often referred to as financial institutions. Notes: This can include chartered banks, insurance companies, investment dealers, mutual funds, and pension funds. firms. The firm is the largest mutual fund company in the United States, the No. 1 provider of workplace retirement savings plans, the largest mutual fund supermarket fund supermarket A financial institution that offers a large number of mutual funds from many different sponsors. The term is often used to refer to brokerage firms that offer customers a very large number of no-load funds. and a leading online brokerage firm. For more information about Fidelity Investments, visit www.fidelity.com. About the SunGard Transaction Network A trade automation, compliance and connectivity solution, the SunGard Transaction Network (STN) links institutions throughout the financial services value chain, facilitating the purchase and sale of multiple asset classes, including US and foreign equities, fixed income, mutual funds, money market funds, enhanced cash vehicles, certificates of deposit, and commercial paper. Integrated directly with SunGard systems and with third-party systems, STN helps automate the transaction lifecycle. To learn more about STN, visit www.sungard.com/stn. About SunGard With annual revenue exceeding $4 billion, SunGard is a global leader in software and processing solutions for financial services, higher education and the public sector. SunGard also helps information-dependent enterprises of all types to ensure the continuity of their business. SunGard serves more than 25,000 customers in more than 50 countries, including the world's 50 largest financial services companies. Visit SunGard at www.sungard.com. SunGard, Huntington Bancshares and Fidelity Investments are independent organizations and are not affiliated. Trademark Information: SunGard, the SunGard logo, and STN are trademarks or registered trademarks of SunGard Data Systems Inc. or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and other countries. All other trade names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Brokerage products and services offered by STN are provided by SunGard Institutional Brokerage Inc., Member NASD/SIPC. Clearing, custody or other brokerage services may be provided by National Financial Services LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control , or Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Members NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange , SIPC (Simply Interactive PC) An earlier umbrella term from Microsoft and Intel for a PC that works like a home appliance. For example, it has a sealed case, uses external connectors for expansion and boots in just a couple of seconds. . |
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