SunGard now provides application service provider (ASP) delivery of its Charlotte trust accounting system for portfolio management, securities processing, performance reporting and regulatory compliance.
A real-time trust accounting and investment management solution, SunGard's Charlotte helps trust and wealth management organizations to cost-effectively attract, service and grow client relationships.
The ASP version of SunGard's Charlotte helps customers to focus on their core competencies by shifting system management responsibilities to SunGard. Charlotte's ASP offering helps to eliminate the need for customers to purchase, maintain and upgrade server hardware and database software, as well as reduce the IT resources required for customers to manage the trust accounting system in-house. Hosted by SunGard in a secure and fully redundant environment, Charlotte ASP provides customers with automatic upgrades of Charlotte, database and other related system software, as well as data and system back-up and recovery. Charlotte ASP can complement customers' network needs for staff to access the Charlotte system remotely, from their homes, customers' locations or from anywhere they can access their network.
"SunGard's Charlotte is one of the most widely used trust accounting platforms in the industry," said Robert J. Ellis, senior vice president and manager of Celent's Wealth Management practice. "In these times when financial organizations have to focus their limited resources on client-facing activities, the support of a pre-eminent technology provider like SunGard to gain automated updates, allow remote access by administrators and investment officers, as well as reduce operating costs from limited IT expenditures, is a beneficial development."
In addition, Charlotte provides integration with SunGard's WealthStation wealth management platform, SunGard Transaction Network (STN) trading connectivity services and SunGard's Investor's View real-time portfolio management, regulatory compliance and performance reporting solution, all of which are ASP or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions. SunGard will continue to offer the in-houssse license version of Charlotte.
Kevin Rafferty, president of SunGard's wealth management business, said, "The cost of installing and maintaining trust accounting systems in-house can be out of reach for financial institutions that need to be able to reduce costs in today's challenging economic environment. SunGard's Charlotte ASP solution helps to reduce the rising cost and complexities of operations, respond quickly to more sophisticated client needs, and establish, build and strengthen long-term, trusted client relationships."