QUINCY, Mass., June 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Boston Financial
Data Services, Inc., a leading financial services provider, today
announced the results of the company's 5th Annual Financial
Intermediary Administration Survey of its mutual fund company
clients.
The survey is conducted each year to identify trends and provide
insights into how the industry is addressing the challenges related
to the oversight of financial intermediaries. Of particular note
this year, more than half of the respondents (59%) indicated they
have evolved their evaluation of sub-accounting fees.
According to Ken Larsen, vice
president of Boston Financial's Financial Intermediary
Administration business, it is no surprise that oversight programs
are being enhanced given that the SEC has been conducting sweeps
with a focus on payments to intermediaries.
"Fund boards are clearly increasing their attention on
sub-accounting arrangements and fees," says Larsen. "That oversight
requires more information to better understand the services being
performed by the intermediaries, the amounts being paid, how they
are being validated, and the funding allocation methods being
used."
Almost all of the respondents (94%) confirmed that they set
limits on the level of intermediary fees that the funds will pay,
generally directing the excess to either the distributor (26%) or
the asset manager (49%) to pay. About a third of the fund companies
(33%) currently disclose those limits in the fund prospectus or
Statement of Additional Information.
This year, Boston Financial explored how fund companies are
staffing their intermediary oversight programs. According to the
survey, 31% of respondents have an equivalent of one person
allocated, another 31% have two to three people, 15% have four to
five people, and 23% have more than five people. The majority of
that staffing represents existing resources assigned to oversight
tasks (56%) or a combination of existing and dedicated (31%). The
assigned staff is most often from the compliance (83%) or
operations (72%) departments.
The most common tool being used for oversight purposes (91%) is
review/assessment of SSAE16 and FICCA. This usage is up from last
year (82%), likely reflecting the increased adoption of FICCA by
intermediary firms.
As the largest provider of transfer agency outsourcing services
in the U.S., Boston Financial has a unique perspective on fund
company needs and service gaps and a solid understanding of the
business landscape. Boston Financial's FIA Solutions provides fund
companies with data and relationship management information and
tools to improve intermediary payment administration and simplify
inspection and monitoring obligations.
For additional information on the survey's key findings,
visit
http://www.bostonfinancial.com/fia/files/2015-FIA-Survey-Executive-Summary.pdf.
About Boston Financial
Boston Financial Data Services
is one of the industry's premier outsourcing providers servicing
the financial marketplace. Boston Financial is a joint venture
between DST Systems, Inc. (NYSE: DST) of Kansas City, Mo., and State Street Corporation
(NYSE: STT) of Boston, Mass. This
joint venture has enabled Boston Financial's clients to utilize
DST's industry-leading software and technology while benefiting
from the institutional support and global reach of State Street.
For more information, visit www.bostonfinancial.com/fia.
Contact:
Ann Marie
Mierzykowski
Boston Financial Data Services, Inc.
617.483.8109
amierzykowski@bostonfinancial.com
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SOURCE Boston Financial Data Services, Inc.