Investment data and analytics firm FE fundinfo has announced it has developed a data and technology solution for both product issuers and distributors to meet the upcoming Design and Distribution Obligations (DDO), which come into effect on 5 October, 2021.
Stuart Alsop, FE fundinfo Australia head of sales, said the company had expertise in Europe for MiFID II and PRIIPs KID solutions, and therefore already had the necessary infrastructure in place to create DDO data and technology solutions for the Australian market.
“After months of consultation with industry leaders and the Financial Services Council (FSC) in 2020, we are now able to offer a comprehensive DDO technology solution comprising Target Market Determination (TMD) creation and dissemination, data management and collection of raw TMD data, as well as an electronic library of TMD documents across platform investment menus,” Alsop said.
“FE fundinfo Australia is the data partner to more than 300 Australian asset managers and distributors.
“We collect and validate data for over 11,000 instruments, and we disseminate documents such as factsheets and product disclosure statements (PDSs) to a multitude of Australian product distributors and third-party data vendors.”
DDO data would be made available in the company’s investment research and analytics software tool, FE Analytics, and Alsop said this would help financial advisers meet their best interest duty and ensure that products were being sold to clients within the relevant target markets.
“Compliance with the obligations is about putting the client at the heart of product design through ensuring that product governance is up to the required standards across the industry and that clients only invest in those products that are appropriate for their circumstances and their needs,” Alsop said.
FE fundinfo is the parent company of Money Management and sister publication, Super Review.
