Satisfying client demands with a flexible front office solution

A few years after it was founded in 2000, Lupus alpha was processing upwards of 2,000 trades per day and the front office solution in place at the time could simply not cope. Many trades were made with error-prone manual processes such as spreadsheet-based calculations, making it difficult to get a timely and accurate overview of positions, cash balances and similar metrics, as well as introducing a high level of operational risk. Additionally, the unrelenting wave of regulation and other legal requirements also strained IT resources to their limits, with the company lacking appropriate data synchronization between the front and back office.

The inability to attain growth objectives, scale with increased trading volumes, and maintain regulatory compliance made Lupus alpha realize it had to reassess its investment management system (IMS) infrastructure solution.

Automation and accuracy were key elements of the new solution

The core criteria in Lupus alpha’s IMS system selection process included:

• The ability to handle all regulatory and legal requirements imposed in Lupus alpha’s markets
• To the greatest degree possible, eliminate spreadsheets from front office processes
• The ability to scale trading volumes
• Straight-through processing (STP) from trading to booking in one solution

Lupus alpha looked at a series of options, including best-of-breed solutions, and decided on SimCorp Dimension’s integrated solution. Both front and back office stakeholders agreed that an integrated solution was the best fit for Lupus alpha’s needs, and that the Front Office Suite and IBOR in particular would help the company grow. As Matthias Biedenkapp, Former Managing Partner at Lupus alpha puts it, “Accurate data is crucial and we now have one version of the truth throughout the solution, something that best-of-breed systems cannot provide.”

More informed investment decisions

One of the key benefits since going live with the SimCorp’ Front Office Suite is the accuracy and consistency of investment data. With the market’s leading investment book of record (IBOR) seamlessly integrated with the front office, portfolio managers and traders are ensured accurate, up-to-date and consistent data to support informed investment decisions. With full regulatory compliance, combined with regulatory updates – both pre-trade and post-trade compliance processes are also made far easier for compliance personnel.

Comprehensive front office/IBOR opens up a world of opportunity

With the front office/IBOR solution, Lupus alpha’s front office staff are able to trade in new asset classes that the previous system could not support, opening up new opportunities. Matthias Biedenkapp says that, “with a scalable system, we can grow our business into new asset classes and increase trading volumes without having to add more people.”

The powerful investment simulation capabilities of the system allow portfolio managers to gauge the real-time impact of their proposed investment strategies, including dynamically updated compliance, risk and performance implications. The on-boarding of new clients and their mandates is fast, typically less than a week, ensuring that Lupus alpha is able to take advantage of new opportunities almost immediately.

Automation = lower costs, less risk and higher growth potential

The automated nature of the Front Office Suite and IBOR has helped Lupus alpha reduce manual processing from over 30% to less than 5% of front office staff time, substantially lowering operational costs. Matthias Biedenkapp explains that, “as we have been able to automate many of our front office processes, we have lowered our operational costs as well as our risk.”

Commensurate with lower operating costs is a significant mitigation of risk, as error-prone and slow spreadsheet analysis has largely been eliminated. With the ability to scale with demand without having to increase staff as new clients are added and trading volumes accelerate, Lupus alpha is able to focus on growth. 

SimCorp’s Front Office Suite and IBOR continues to enable Lupus alpha to adapt and evolve, and grow. With increased automation, and a more informed front office, Lupus alpha is able to satisfy increasing client demands while supporting its business growth strategy.