Rick Klink

OpenMarkets, Australia’s fastest growing independent execution-only stockbroker, broke new ground in the investing landscape last week, by executing its first direct-to-consumer Managed Funds trade through its new Multi-Asset Trading Hub (MATH).

The trade, placed by financial planning company, Quill Group Financial Planners, was executed directly with a major Managed Funds provider in real-time, where the assets were registered in the investor’s own name.

At the same time, funds were validated automatically using the investor’s cash account and transaction data was fed to Quill’s administration provider, Superfund Wholesale, who use Class Super’s SMSF administration software.

Executed via OpenMarkets’ new multi-asset execution system, this transaction represents the first step in the future of low cost execution integrated with advice.

With the addition of Managed Funds alongside Equities, it offers advisers servicing SMSF clients with a low-cost, fully integrated investment execution system across the asset classes.

Key to this process is the investor’s cash account integration with full transaction and position data feeds into administration software, removing unnecessary duplication of reporting and administration costs.

Managing Director at OpenMarkets, Rick Klink, said “Advisers are under constant pressure to demonstrate value to their clients. Lowering the costs of execution while providing access to a range of asset classes is aimed at empowering the adviser to deliver a better service to their client.”

Head of Sales at OpenMarkets, Leo Lopez, emphasises that MATH is about benefiting both the adviser and the end-client.

“Many advisers we speak to have clients that still want to retain control of part of their portfolio. The advisers haven’t had the ability to provide both direct access and oversight, and integration to the administration, at a lower cost to the end-client. MATH provides that opportunity and flexibility across the asset classes,” said Lopez.

Klink adds that although a major milestone in Managed Funds trading, MATH is designed to support other asset classes, “Our roadmap for MATH will see us introduce execution capabilities across Fixed Income products and International Equities in the first quarter of 2015.”

Highlights and benefits of MATH include:

·       Nil administration costs

·       Low-cost execution across the asset classes

·       Direct Market Access to Managed Funds with real-time portfolio viewing

·       Full position and transaction data integration with reporting software

·       Real-time validation of funds with investor’s own cash account  

·       Eliminates redundant duplication of reporting processes and costs

·       Reduces cash and transaction reconciliation issues and audit fees

MATH is available to financial advisers and intermediaries, and will be offered to the retail market in mid 2015, pending regulatory reforms regarding account opening (under the Anti-Money Laundering/Counter Terrorism Act).

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