07:20 AM
Cantor Fitzgerald’s UK Completes Implementation of SunGard’s Phase3
Cantor Fitzgerald has completed its UK implementation of SunGard’s Phase3 multi-asset, multi-currency securities processing solution in a SunGard-hosted, application service provider (ASP) environment. The implementation marks the culmination of a project to convert all of Cantor’s US and UK equity and fixed income transaction processing, clearing and settlement operations from separate vendor platforms to one consolidated Phase3 platform.
As a global firm operating trading desks in major financial centers around the world, Cantor required a consolidated back-office platform in order to help increase efficiencies while reducing costs and operational risk associated with supporting multiple, disparate applications. SunGard’s Phase3 helps to provide Cantor with a holistic, global view of information on securities trades and transactions, and establish a consistent approach for the processing of operational data across the firm.
Tom Anzalone, senior managing director of global operations at Cantor Fitzgerald, said, in a release, “SunGard’s Phase3 gives us the ability to establish greater entity-wide coordination between our US and UK operations, and gain better knowledge and control of fails and exceptions, reconciliations, trade status, risk and exposure. In addition, with the one Phase3 platform managing our operational data and providing a single source of information to our risk systems, we are able to access risk and exposure information faster and without the need for additional IT resources to support multiple points of integration that tend to complicate and delay the process.” Phase3 provides Cantor with a centralized interface messaging capability that helps automate trade matching, settlement and reporting with central bank and regulatory entities such as Crest, TRAX, Euroclear and SWIFT. In addition, Cantor uses SunGard’s Stream Report Writer for generating consolidated reports used to gain a holistic view of trades and transactions, fails and exceptions, risk, and general ledger accounting.
Gerry Murphy, president of SunGard’s brokerage and clearance business, said, in a release, “Like many firms with US and UK operations, Cantor is harnessing the power of a consolidated platform for securities processing across asset classes and borders. SunGard’s Phase3 helps to eliminate the need for multiple formats and data reconciliation, helping Cantor to gain consistency in its operations, generate confirms and management reports, and obtain a better view of trading activity on aspects that can impact the degree of operational risk, such as extended settlement trades, cancelled and corrected trades, and the aging of fails.”