Charles River IMS is an integrated software suite that provides comprehensive portfolio management (Charles River Manager), order management and trading (Charles River Trader), and real-time securities compliance (Charles River Compliance) capabilities to investment managers. Under the agreement, Nissay-IT will represent Charles River in Japan, providing sales, technical support and professional services including Charles River IMS software customization, implementation and systems integration. The alliance will offer Japanese investment management firms a flexible, open and scalable solution to automate securities trading and operations, connect to a wide variety of electronic order execution and settlement systems, satisfy risk management mandates, and meet the audit trail requirements of the Financial Services Agency (FSA).

"Our alliance with Nissay-IT represents a powerful new solution for Japanese fund managers, especially those whose proprietary trading systems are being challenged in areas such as connectivity, functionality and integration by the rapid growth of the Japanese market and the globalization of the financial services industry," said Peter Lambertus, president and CEO of Charles River. "Charles River IMS is a mature, proven solution used by more than 120 organizations globally, that when combined with Nissay-IT's broad experience and knowledge of information systems development for insurance and group asset management companies, will help Japanese fund managers streamline workflow, increase operational efficiencies, reduce errors and achieve straight through processing while managing expansion and growth."

"As the market and economy have begun to recover, Japanese investment managers have started to automate front-office and trading business systems. In this area, there should be a global standard system," said Masatsugu Kohri, executive vice president of Nissay-IT. "Nissay-IT investigated Charles River IMS and decided to partner with Charles River because of the firm’s track record of success, commitment to technology and standards, and strong commitment to the Japanese and Asia-Pacific marketplace. Nissay-IT is experienced in providing services that meet the specific requirements of Japanese investment managers and will work together with Charles River to make our solution the standard in Japan."