Calastone, the independent cross-border transaction network for the mutual fund industry, is pleased to announce that Ashmore Investment Management ("Ashmore") has signed up to the network's order routing service for its range of funds domiciled in Luxembourg.
Calastone is the only venue where the global fund industry can meet to send and receive fund order messages, irrespective of their size, geographic location, preferred messaging protocol or technology. Whatever the preferred communication method of each participant, Calastone's transaction network standardises all messages into the ISO 20022 format, enabling the industry to become fully automated throughout the trading lifecycle.
Joining the network is simple and does not require additional costly technology. Single point of entry to the market via Calastone is seamless and industry developments, such as the movement away from ISO 15022 messaging to the ISO 20022 standard, are easily accommodated by the network, regardless of incumbent infrastructures.
Ashmore employs a liquidity-focused and value-driven strategy targeting total return for investors. With a principal goal of achieving superior investment results for its clients, Ashmore has chosen Calastone's network to make further efficiencies and continue to lower cost and risk.
Christoph Hofmann, head of global distribution, at Ashmore Investment Management, said, "We are delighted to connect to Calastone's transaction network and support initiatives which enhance automation within the funds industry. This drives down costs of processing orders, reduces risk and errors, as well as benefitting all counterparties in the life cycle of a trade."
Peter Hermans, Director of European Business Development at Calastone, said, "We are pleased to welcome Ashmore to our electronic order routing service. A single connection to Calastone enables clients to send orders in the mutual fund industry in any format over any communication network, making cross-border trading much more efficient and transparent. Our real-time order routing is highly automated and provides visible order flow control for higher productivity at reduced risk and lower cost."