The new functionality, known as Omgeo ALERT New Markets and Validations provides expanded instrument coverage and compatibility with over 150 depositories around the globe.

With this new coverage comes enhanced market rules and validations to standardize entry of instructions, as all SSI data entered into Omgeo ALERT is now subject to stringent standardized entry. The new validations not only include global standards established by the Securities Markets Practice Group (SMPG), but also go a step further to include standards defined by members of Omgeo's global investment manager and broker/dealer community. Going forward, all data entered into Omgeo ALERT will align with standards established by SMPG or defined by Omgeo's client community in the event a standard is not already established by SMPG.

Compliance with industry and local market practices is paramount to ensuring data integrity with settlement instructions. The Omgeo ALERT New Markets and Validations release reduces the ambiguity of data requirements for local markets to ensure adherence to consistent market standards. With the tighter validation rules in the new Omgeo ALERT release, instructions are more unified and streamlined overall, creating a trade processing environment with fewer fails.

Benefits of the enhancements to Omgeo ALERT to investment managers include expanded market coverage and support of more than 150 depositories around the globe as published by SMPG; expanded asset class coverage, including more granularity in fixed income instruments; the addition of derivatives (exchange traded and over-the-counter); and more stringent validation of market specific settlement instructions, which equates to improved data quality to brokers and custodians reducing trade failures. Additionally, the new improvements provide the investment manager community with the most compliant rules engine on a market-by-market basis via alignment with SMPG's country-specific market practicces.

Large and mid-sized broker-dealers require the necessary quality of data mandated by more market specific fields and validations in ALERT to facilitate full automation and thus, fully utilize the product. The focus on new markets will greatly help brokers and investment managers communicate a wider range of settlement instructions, providing more consistent results from improved validation and market coverage.

"Our objective was to create the most compliant rules engine on a market-by-market basis," said Steve Matthews, managing director, product at Omgeo. "In the first month of availability, the new enhancements to Omgeo ALERT have provided excellent momentum. From significant uptake in countries around the globe including Greece, the Philippines, New Zealand, Spain, Indonesia and Brazil, to the successful addition of new derivative and fixed income product types marks a tremendous step for ALERT. This momentum complements our overall product strategy of extending our value proposition geographically and across asset classes."