US brokerage firm AG Edwards has signed a seven-year contract with Thomson Beta Systems for the supply of the vendor's BetaHost back office processing system.
AG Edwards is deploying the Betahost securities processing software at its headquarters in St. Louis.
As part of the conversion, Thomson Beta Systems - a US subsidiary of Thomson Financial - is also working with the brokerage firm to incorporate BetaHost functionality into AG Edwards' existing desktop system.
Ronald Kessler, vice chairman, EVP and director of operations, AG Edwards, comments: "By transitioning our back-office systems to BetaHost we are better positioned to quickly adjust to operational changes mandated by the securities industry."
Kessler says the firm will remain a self-clearing organisation and will continue to handle the settlement of clients' trades.
Thomson says the move will allow AG Edwards to further automate its back office procedures, while moving those expenses from a fixed-cost to a variable cost structure.