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Client story

Streamlining fund administration processes for Catalyst

Team reduces daily reconciliation time by 50+%

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One defining characteristic of fund administration is the transmission and interpretation of high volumes of unstructured data in various formats. Manual data extraction and reconciliation processes are time-consuming, error-prone, and  take employees away from more value-add tasks. This presents inevitable challenges in terms of how to efficiently and effectively process the data. The founders of global fund administration, and financial services firm, Catalyst, recognized this challenge early on and founded the firm with the intention of leveraging extensive process automation. 

 

Situation

The automation opportunity

As Catalyst’s client numbers, mandates, and product portfolio continued to grow, the firm’s initial, and largely manual, processes for data extraction and processing also increased.   The level of human intervention necessary to keep up with the increased volumes was unsustainable, requiring the time of many skilled employees. Processes such as reconciliations and fund calculations require extensive rekeying of data from PDFs and other files into back-office systems. The team also initially relied on manual efforts to manage the storage and cataloguing of data within SQL databases.   

Recognizing the need for a data automation solution, Catalyst sought to automate more of these processes using Xceptor to streamline operations and empower teams to focus on value-add services for clients. 

The team needed an easy-to-implement automation solution with a user-friendly front end that would not only simplify and speed up processing but also increase accuracy and reduce costs.


In addition, Catalyst saw the value of a more holistic view of its data and processes to improve analytics and access increased insights into matching and reconciliations.

The onboarding process necessitated reworking previous administrator's data, relying heavily on Excel formulas, v-lookups, and mappings.

Layer_1

It required a high level of manual intervention which led to keying errors.

Layer_2

The process depended on specialists and contractors for successful onboarding.

Layer_3

High operational and maintenance costs were incurred with each process, representing a recurring sunk cost.

No_4

Pain points

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Layer_1

Onboarding funds required reworking the previous administrator’s data, relying on Excel formulas, v-lookups and mappings.

Layer_2

There were high levels of keying errors because of the amount of manual intervention.

Layer_3

A strong reliance on specialists and contractors to get them through the onboarding process.

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High cost to run and maintain each process, which was a sunk cost each time.

125+ ROI
20+ hours saved daily
7 dedicated employees freed up

Solution

Automating operations with Xceptor

Using Xceptor as a solution (XaaS), Catalyst was able to realize immediate results automating data extraction and transformation. Within weeks, Xceptor prioritized optimizing Catalyst’s data extraction, transformation and reconciliation processes from PDFs, text, and other data files. Catalyst’s founders’ intimate knowledge of the industry and the shortcomings many firms dealt with was the driving force behind their approach to growing with automation in mind. Smarter, more robust technology helped to differentiate Catalyst, improving internal processes and reducing its reliance on manual efforts by highly skilled teams who could be better deployed elsewhere. It also provided them with the tools to offer a fast-turnaround product that was infinitely scalable.

Xceptor helped empower Catalyst to create its own data automation processes and workflows, with all Catalyst Operations employees completing Xceptor Academy training to utilize Xceptor's solutions effectively. 

Vector

Take control of all your inbound and outbound confirmations processes in a single workflow.

Vector2

Ingest data, produce documentation, escalate risks, and manage the indexing and return of confirmations in one standardised workflow across your entire business.

Vector3

Integrate all trade booking platforms, market utilities and resolution portals.

A market leader in confirmations processing, Xceptor is trusted by some of the largest global financial institutions.

Scott Price
Catalyst Founder and Co-Managing Partner

Catalyst

quoteXceptor’s implementation has enhanced operational efficiency and the employee experience at Catalyst, substantially decreasing manual work and the need for employee involvement in these processes.

woman working on computer showing data on screen

The Catalyst team saves approximately 20 hours of manual data sourcing and collating per day - over 50% of the hours involved in reconciliations daily, allowing Catalyst to free up members of the team to focus on break resolution and other critical tasks. 

 

Speed
Monthly balance movements

Xceptor extracts data from investment statements in PDF form and uses this data to calculate monthly balance movements before generating a draft email for review by Catalyst, to be sent back to the original user  - saving 4+ hours each day.

Audit log
Daily trade files

Xceptor ingests data directly from Catalyst’s clients’ order management systems, ensuring data integrity as its cleaned, validated, normalized, and reconciled, before being exported for review and use both internally and externally. 

Data validation
Facilitating Registrar and Transfer Agency (RTA) services

Xceptor processes daily fund subscriptions and redemptions data, calculating the fund NAV and delivering this data downstream directly to the accounting system.

Result

Quantitative and qualitative improvements - empowering employees, delighting clients

Process automation is core to Catalyst’s mission as a firm. The benefits of improved processes have been transformational, allowing them to focus on their ambitious growth trajectory. With Catalyst’s proactive approach to building their firm with automation workflows in Xceptor, the time saved for their highly trained and skilled experts is equivalent to seven dedicated employees, freeing them up to prioritize value-added projects.   

Job satisfaction has also been boosted with more satisfying work, and increased opportunities to finish on time or take leave.  

Senior team members are no longer bogged down by the need to manage and oversee routine daily tasks but rather focus on improved client service and value addition, which in turn facilitates Catalyst’s rapid scaling and onboarding of new clients.  

In the case of reconciliations, Catalyst replaced a less efficient legacy tool. Processes are now handled seamlessly, and breaks are resolved more quickly with notably less need for cross-checking of information and systems. Success can be seen in cash reconciliations being completed daily by 5pm vs 9pm just one year ago. Since implementing Xceptor, Catalyst has seen a 125+% in ROI. 

quote

Xceptor allows us to significantly reduce the time and risk inherent in the migration processes and take on more complex work. We can now focus on growing our business pipeline and take on additional funds.

Head of Securities Services Business Unit
Large Global Bank

The next frontier

When it comes to reporting, the Catalyst team is integrating the power of Xceptor’s unstructured data processing capability into preparing financial statements for its clients. Xceptor allows multiple sources of client accounting data to be ingested and normalized into a singular output tailored to meet Catalyst’s individual client reporting needs, while ensuring consistency and efficiency in the overall process.

Xceptor plays a critical role in enhancing the deliverables Catalyst produces and shares with both clients and auditors during the busy audit season. Xceptor enables Catalyst to meet common deadlines for their clients and deliver clean, auditable information when it matters most.

Ready to automate your operations processes?

Discover how Xceptor can streamline your fund administration, increase accuracy, reduce costs, and accelerate your business growth, just like it did for Catalyst. Don't let complex manual processes slow you down. Start your transformation journey with us today!  

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