The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the premier post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry, announced today enhancements to its DTCC Payment aXis® mutual funds service that will automate the processing and net settlement of third-party negotiated fees including Sub-Accounting, Retirement/Bank Trust and Networking Service Fees.
The enhancements come in response to input from industry groups like the Omnibus Invoicing Task Force, which includes representatives of DTCC, mutual fund companies and intermediary firms. A joint effort between the Investment Company Institute (ICI) Bank, Trust and Retirement Advisory Committee and the ICI Broker-Dealer Advisory Committee, the Task Force is focused on automating manual, costly and risk-prone payment processes for mutual funds. This multi-year initiative is designed to identify automated solutions that will bring efficiencies to the mutual fund market while driving down risk and costs.
"Invoicing and fee settlement through DTCC Payment aXis is the latest DTCC innovation to offer operational efficiencies for both funds and intermediaries," said Nino Palermo, Vice President at American Funds Distributors, Inc. "It transforms a cumbersome and varied process and provides streamlined efficiency through the use of standardization and net settlement capabilities," he added.
DTCC Payment aXis, offered by DTCC’s Wealth Management Services (WMS) business, automates the transmission of invoices involved in retirement plan and broker-controlled accounts for fund companies, broker/dealers and other intermediaries that are member firms of National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC), a DTCC subsidiary. It also streamlines the net settlement of fees, consolidating payments to speed this process while reducing cost and virtually eliminating manual effort.
Josephine Torelli, WMS Vice President, said, "DTCC Payment aXis eliminates costly, time-consuming and risk-prone manual methods for processing and settlement of mutual fund invoices. This typically involves the exchange of reports and spreadsheets via fax, email and regular mail while settlement occurs by physical checks or wires. The service has the functionality to be extended to accommodate any type of payments that occur between funds and their distributors in the future."
WMS has been offering payment-related services for the fund industry since 1992, beginning with standardizing and automating commissions. The service was expanded in 2012 within DTCC Payment aXis, incorporating the input of the Omnibus Invoicing Task Force, to accommodate fee payments for accounts held in omnibus as well as Contingent Deferred Sales Charge (CDSC) payouts, 12b-1 shareholder service fees, Short Term Redemptions, Underwriter Fee Adjustments and Finder’s Fee Adjustments.