Schroders Investment Management is searching for a new portfolio accounting system to support its core business in London and New York. The new system will replace multiple legacy systems and provide full automation of all processing, including transaction and holding management and settlement functions. "As we did not pursue outsourcing, we need to install a portfolio accounting system," Markus Ruetimann, managing director and global head of operations, IT. "This is quite a major change," he said. "[Portfolio accounting] is the heart of our operations architecture."

The installation of the new portfolio accounting system is part of the investment manager's long-term strategy to migrate all institutional business onto a single platform and to automate processes where possible, said Reutimann. By automating these functions, Schroders will be able to speed up processing, improving the accuracy of the data processed and the overall operational efficiency. Schroders has sent out requests for information and the intention is to have selected a vendor system and agree on the implementation details by early third quarter, he added.

Most recently, the fund manager has licensed a new performance measurement and attribution system from French vendor, BI-SAM Technologies. The firm will use the new technology for all asset classes and for performance measurement, attribution and all related calculation functions.

In addition to its search for a new system, Schroders will exit the U.K. custody space and is in the process of notifying clients that they will need to make new custodial arrangements. "We are one of the last fund managers to offer fund management and custody and asset administration," he said. "[This arrangement] no long makes sense." The firm will make a recommendation of a successor for its clients and will consider preferential tariffs. The London-based investment manager has GDP20 billion in assets under administration and is the most recent to exit the shrinking custody world.