Competitive advantages through a focus on customer needs

OKAG automates order processing and pre- and post-trade monitoring with Aquin's ORS and MIG21

The objective of OKAG's business approach is to provide unique consulting services and outstanding investment products. The customer and its needs are always the focus of the company’s 210 employees: the consultants spend as much time as possible in direct contact with the customer because this is the only way to provide them with individually tailored solutions.

With our institutional business we are facing an intensely competitive environment, requiring, on the one hand, highly qualified asset managers and, on the other hand, competitive prices. With Aquin's ORS and MIG21, we achieved a material process optimisation in the middle and back offices that allows for more attractive basis point calculations. Furthermore, we achieved a clear-cut competitive advantage with respect to our risk management.

Dr. Rupert Hengster Speaker of the Management Board Oppenheim Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH

More freedom for Fund Managers

Against this background, OKAG decided to separate portfolio construction and fund management from the actual trading business. Now, order proposals proceed from fund management to the central trading desk where they are executed and monitored.

The benefit: the fund manager can fully focus on the customer's needs while the trading desk determines the best possible strike price and ensures timely processing.

Lower costs, higher efficiency

Based on OKAG's business requirements Aquin then designed and developed the Order Management System ORS and seamlessly integrated MIG21 for transaction monitoring. Today, this combined solution serves the back and middle offices of OKAG as their central trading monitor and also supports all order management processes. The solution is supplemented by Aquin's RBK for the automation of semi-annual and annual reports.

«The results of this partnership are solutions that fully meet our requirements. We are able to satisfy our customers needs quickly and efficiently using innovative products», explains Uwe Teutsch.

Facts & Figures Oppenheim Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH A wholly-owned subsidiary of the private bank Sal. Oppenheim, OKAG has been in the fund business since 1971; today, the company manages 190 funds and assets amounting to 13 billion euros. Sector Asset management for institutional and private investors Oppenheim Asset Management: Key fi gures (2005) Headquarters: Cologne, Germany Other locations: Luxembourg, Ireland, Austria, Switzerland Parent company: Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. KGaA Number of employees: 400 Securities managed: 30 billion euros Number of funds (Retail & Institutional): 350 Number of trades per day: 500 User ORS (pre-trade): 50 MIG21 (pre- and post-trade): 10 RBK: 10 Sources of data Fund Accounting V3 Data Warehouse (own development) Master data and stock price providers

Solutions AQUIN ORS Order Management System AQUIN MIG21 Compliance and Operational Risk Framework AQUIN RBK Report Generator for annual and semi-annual reports Benefits Highest possible flexibility for the design of new financial products and asset classes Substantial automation for order processing, compliance and statutory reporting Support of the customer-focused consulting/advice by continuous process optimisation and flexible implementation of innovative concepts and products Personnel and cost reductions in the middle and back offices Significant reduction of errors and rule breaches Competitive advantage Shorter time to market and pricing advantages through reduced costs in order processing; more focused satisfaction of customer needs.

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