Since its launch in 1996 Manifest has provided innovative, quality research and proxy vote solutions for institutional investors and company advisors. Manifest was the UK's first fully on-line proxy voting agency to offer fully-customised, electronic proxy vote management. Today the company offer a wide range of governance related support services to fund managers, pension funds, public funds, professional advisors, regulatory agencies and government departments, modernising and liberalising proxy and governance processes.

During 2005, Manifest successfully extended coverage to include European-listed securities across 15 markets. From mid-2006, the Manifest service will be expanded to cover over 20,000 securities for global voting over 150 markets.

Sarah Wilson, Managing Director of Manifest comments "With a fast growing business like ours, our reputation is built on an efficient and secure information processing capability. Over years of standardising processes and messages, we felt that SWIFT connectivity through the EGP/FT MA-CUG service offers us secure and cost-effective functionality and support, and will mirror our needs as we expand our global voting business."

Using the SWIFTNet infrastructure and evolving set of complementary messaging services, starting with FileAct, Manifest will be able to access a single, secure communication channel to send and receive standardised corporate action messages (FIN, FIX, XML and others) - automatically or manually - to and from the MA-CUG Service Administrator, who has direct access to their various correspondents through the SWIFTNet network of more than 7500 financial counterparties.

Benefits for MA-CUG participants include:

• Single window to SWIFTNet
• Cost-effective corporate connectivity
• Independence (Choice of services and correspondents
• Optimisation of the communication to financial counterparties
• Enhancement of client service

Financial Tradeware represents the Service Administrator of the MA-CUG, the Service Sponsor is Bordeaux-based Européenne de Gestion Privée SA - a company owned by the same group of companies and sharing the same management of Financial Tradeware.

Alberto Fontana, Managing Director of Financial Tradeware adds "We are uniquely positioned to offer the MA-CUG service for companies who can benefit from low-cost SWIFT connectivity.We offer the highest level of security, efficiency and reliability associated with SWIFT Network with the benefit of affordable fees for companies such as Manifest. We look forward to supporting their business needs as they grow and prosper."