Calastone Connects Singaporean Fund Managers as Automation Drive Revs Up

The drive for automation in the Singaporean fund market is gaining momentum, according to Diana Senanayake, Singapore-based managing director of custodian RBC Dexia Investor Services.

Senanayake says the country is experiencing an "exciting new automation drive,” following the announcement from transaction network Calastone that it has connected with two Singaporean fund managers, iFast and Aberdeen Asset Management Asia.

"Over the years, there have been a number of failed attempts to automate fund orders in the Singapore market, which is renowned for being highly reliant on manual processing," she says. "In less than six months, Calastone has managed to connect electronically two major fund players in Singapore and we are in the final stages of going live with five additional local fund distributors and several other Singapore fund houses in the coming weeks. We expect the Singapore market will quickly embrace this new technology together with the savings and transparency it brings."