Integrating an in-house system with the ASX's CHESS
Capricorn Investment Partners Limited (CIPL) is a non-broker participant in the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), a result of which is a requirement to settle trades performed on behalf of their investment portfolio clients. The settlement procedures were performed using a basic interface to the ASX’s Clearing House Electronic Subregister System (CHESS), an application which staff find difficult and slow to operate, and prone to data entry errors. Details from CIPL’s in-house portfolio management system had to be manually entered in the CHESS application for every step of the settlement process. It is critical that the data recorded in the two systems is valid and consistent.
Simplifying settlement procedures
We designed an interface to manage the trades in progress, integrated with data resulting from a portfolio modelling tool, part of the in-house system and used by the financial planning staff to generate instructions and letters of authority for clients. The interface receives messages from the CHESS application and processes them into a simplified workflow to be used by administrative staff. Messages are generated by the interface and are passed back in to the ASX’s clearing system to complete the settlement.
Outcomes
- Client information including holder details and banking instructions is used to automatically populate messages passed to CHESS, reducing transcription errors and increasing throughput
- Streamlining the settlement process has resulted in increased efficiency and job satisfaction, and has reduced the learning curve required for new staff to perform day to day procedures
- Increased automation and integrated error checks have reduced data entry errors and resulted in deeper problems being identified and resolved much faster than previously possible
- Additional improvements such as generating reports for brokers and direct debits directly from the interface have further increased the value of the system