Financial Holding Sofina boosts investment operations with SimCorp Dimension
Press Release
SimCorp, a leading provider of investment management solutions and services to the global financial services industry, today announces that global investment company, Sofina, listed on Euronext Brussels, is live on SimCorp Dimension. Following an agreement signed in June 2018, Sofina has replaced its legacy infrastructure with SimCorp’s integrated investment platform, across its back-office operations, to manage accounting for both equity and alternative investments.
In the recent years, Sofina has implemented a growth strategy, with around EUR 7 billion assets under management and a global reach. With an investment strategy of long-term minority investments, allocations in top-tier venture capital and growth capital funds and investments in fast-growing businesses, it required a new operational infrastructure that would support its current operations and aid future growth.
With an increasing alternatives allocation, Sofina, like many buy-side firms increasingly executing multi-asset strategies, suffered a lack of operational efficiencies within its back-office investment workflows. This, together with data challenges associated with new investments, prompted the need for a modern and integrated back-office accounting solution with exhaustive functionality and cross-asset class coverage. SimCorp Dimension’s multi-asset accounting solution was chosen as ideally suited to support Sofina’s investment operations. As a result, it has already seen a significant decrease in the time taken to input the portfolio accounting operations, since going live on SimCorp Dimension.
As illiquid investments such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure continue to dominate global investment allocations, the need for scale and automation across many buy-side firms is becoming progressively apparent. While the returns are bountiful, the costly and resource-intensive nature of alternatives is now leaving a noticeable impact on revenue margins. This is not isolated to Europe. A recent SimCorp commissioned survey of 100 buy side Heads of Operations in North America, found processing of unstructured data, a reliance on manual processes and spreadsheets, and a detrimental time lag of reliable information as the top three challenges in supporting alternatives investments.
Hans Otto Engkilde, Managing Director and Senior Vice President, SimCorp UK, Northern Europe and Middle East comments: “The buy side is facing a number of challenges today. This includes the efficient management of traditional asset classes alongside alternative and illiquid assets, which cause a strain on operational agility and more importantly, profitability. By moving to SimCorp Dimension, Sofina has taken that first important step to consolidating its accounting operations, eliminating manual workarounds to focus more on its investment decisions. This automation, together with a strong, scalable solution that supports growth, provides a compelling, competitive advantage.”
Jean-François Lambert, Head of Operations at Sofina comments: “SimCorp Dimension’s broad and established back office solution will deliver us a strong foundation to achieve our future investment goals. With SimCorp’s advanced accounting analytics and rich functionality, we gain more-informed investment decisions as well as greater operational efficiency. The combination of SimCorp’s strategic outlook and our own long-term view makes us confident we can fulfil our ambitions for growth.”
Enquiries regarding this announcement should be addressed to:
Axel Schmid, SimCorp PR Europe +49 171 530 708 axel.schmid@simcorp.com
Mittal Shah, SimCorp PR UK, US, Asia Pacific +44 2073 97 8072 mittal.shah@simcorp.com
Anders Crillesen, SimCorp Corporate Communications +45 3544 6474 anders.crillesen@simcorp.com
About SimCorp
SimCorp provides integrated, best-in-class investment management solutions to the world’s leading asset managers, fund managers, asset servicers, pension and insurance funds, wealth managers, banks and sovereign wealth funds. Regardless of how you deploy it, SimCorp’s core solution, SimCorp Dimension®, and its life-cycle services support the entire investment value chain and range of instruments, all based on a market-leading IBOR. SimCorp invests around 20% of its annual revenue in R&D, helping clients develop their business and stay ahead of ever-changing industry demands. Listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen, SimCorp is a global company, regionally covering all of Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit www.simcorp.com.
About Sofina
Sofina is a family-owned investment company controlled by the descendants of Gustave Boël and listed on Euronext Brussels, managing its own assets representing circa EUR 7 billion. Sofina aspires to be the preferred partners of entrepreneurs and families who lead growing companies by supporting them with patient capital, expertise and advice. It takes minority ownership positions, typically in the EUR 75 to 300 million range. Common vision and strong alignment of interests with its partners are paramount in the deployment of the strategy. For more information, please visit www.sofinagroup.com.