Sage teams with DiData to entrench leadership position

Through an initiative with Dimension Data, Sage Life Investments has entrenched its position as a leader in the field of multi-manager asset management.

Ken Metcalf, operations manager of Sage Life Investments, says the initiative, known as Project Phoenix, was designed to enhance Sage`s administrative platform to support superior investment performance, management of existing business and new business opportunities.

"The project is part of a strategic plan to further enhance the effectiveness of our investment division," Metcalf says. "It has also increased the accuracy and efficiency process of unit pricing."

Project Phoenix was tackled by a dedicated team of representatives from Sage Life Investments and Dimension Data. The team reported to Leon Kaplan, executive director of Sage, and was led by John Kransdorff and Metcalf from Sage and Shaan Watkins from Dimension Data.

"Sage is already enjoying significant benefits as a result of the project," Watkins says. "One of the most important is that a common platform was developed to integrate the different asset management systems used by Sage."

The first task was to identify Sage`s business needs and design a solution to deliver leading-edge investment administration capability. The common platform was created using the latest technologies and processes and by optimising the functionality contained in the company`s investment transaction administration system.

"Current and future business needs and capabilities were drawn into this streamlined environment to ensure the necessary depth of management information and rapid reaction to management decisions," Metcalf says.

Dimension Data engineered an Operational Data Storage (ODS) system to assist in balancing, re-sizing and management of the investment portfolios. This will reduce turnaround time and enable seamless integration into Sage`s general ledger system.

"The enhanced management information (MIS) capability being created within the ODS will allow Sage to further enhance its investment decisions process, which should contribute directly to an increase in the performance of the Sage investment portfolios, adding value to its customers and stakeholders," Watkins points out.

"The building of an efficient and integrated data and administration platform has had the effect of consolidating diverse and dispersed portfolio management, administration skills and knowledge."