DSTi develops new unit pricing tool
Ian Mathieson
DST International (DSTi) has introduced a new feature to its HiPortfolio/3 Investment Accounting Solution to help financial services institutions more easily and accurately manage the task of unit pricing.
The additional attribute to the accounting application, called Unit Pricing Workbench, has been designed specifically for managers of unit trusts and people who provide custodial services for unit trust managers.
The enhancement has been designed to allow them to manage the unit pricing process throughout the pricing cycle on an ‘exception’ basis, which will in turn enable real time system monitoring.
“Essentially, the Workbench, among other things, allows you to create and maintain a benchmark index and measure the performance of a unit trust against that benchmark index,” DSTi chief executive Ian Mathieson said.
Users of the new service will now be able to develop a consolidated view of unit pricing functions from start to finish.
Mathieson said: “Investors often query the performance of a unit trust and it can take investment managers up to two hours to generate reports. The new Unit Pricing Workbench provides a Unit Trust Variance Report for instant analysis of the unit trust’s assets once a price is calculated.
“Furthermore, any organisation that can provide more accurate, substantiated and timely information to an investor’s queries regarding unit prices is always going to lead in the area of client servicing,” he added.
DSTi added the feature to its existing accounting package in response to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s investigation into best practice unit pricing systems, which found unit pricing calculation errors tended to be very large and, as such, very costly.
Recommended for you
The central bank has released its decision on the official cash rate following its November monetary policy meeting.
ASIC has cancelled the AFSL of a Melbourne-based managed investment scheme operator over a failure to pay industry levies and meet its statutory audit and financial reporting lodgement obligations.
Melbourne advice firm Hewison Private Wealth has marked four decades of service after making its start in 1985 as a “truly independent advice business” in a largely product-led market.
HLB Mann Judd Perth has announced its acquisition of a WA business advisory firm, growing its presence in the region, along with 10 appointments across the firm’s national network.
