Investment Management Newsflashes: Sandler O’Neill & Partners Selects LexisNexis InterAction for CRM, and more

Sandler O'Neill & Partners, a New York-based investment bank, has selected InterAction, a customer relationship management (CRM) solution by Oak Brook, Ill.-based LexisNexis Interface Software. Sandler O'Neill will deploy InterAction firmwide to create a centralized management process for client information.

Prior to its selection of InterAction, Sandler O'Neill had been using an in-house contact database that didn't integrate the various channels of data growing within the firm, such as investment professionals' Lotus Notes address books and Blackberry handheld devices. Client data had to be channeled through one individual, which proved to be a cumbersome process.

"Our investment professionals need the ability to easily access client profiles and track growth histories -- activities that are essential for our client and business development efforts," said Wilfredo Torres, Sandler O'Neill's managing director of IT, in the press release. "Our goal was to provide as much information to users as possible and tailor that information for users' needs, without bombarding or overwhelming them."

--------------------

Rudderham Norwood Ellison Goes Live With FMCSuite and FMCOutsourcing for Back-Office administration

Rudderham Norwood Ellison (RNE), a Canadian investment counsel firm based in Halifax, is live with FMCSuite and FMCOutsourcing, by Financial Models Company (FMC). RNE has enlisted both FMC solutions for back-office administration of its client portfolios.

FMCSuite is a Web-based investment management platform for driving straight-through processing. The platform provides a wide spectrum of integrated functionality -- modeling, trading, portfolio accounting, client communications and other mission-critical workflows -- in an on-demand application service provider environment. Additionally, FMCOutsourcing enables firms to outsource all or a portion of account administration, reconciliation, performance measurement and client reporting. FMC also offers data center facilities, communications infrastructure, backup and business continuity.

"Using the Cadillac of portfolio systems and a top-end, back-office solution from FMC will enable us to approach pension plans as potential clients, which is an important objective of our firm," said Scott Ellison, founder and partner, Rudderham Norwood Ellison, in the press release. "Having access to FMCSuite within the context of an outsourcing framework gives us the ability to focus on client relationships and rapidly grow our business."