SunGard has become a sponsor of a new Cape Town-based training academy for investment professionals as part of an initiative spearheaded by the Investment Management Association of South Africa (IMASA)* to help achieve more rapid transformation of the South African financial services sector through skills development.
SunGard's Asset Arena, a suite of solutions for front-to-back-office investment support, will be providing trading, compliance and portfolio management functionality to the pilot Investment Management Professionals Induction (IMPI) Programme - an initiative launched by the Academy with the aim of addressing the practical learning needs of new members of investment management front-office teams.
"With SunGard's Asset Arena, participants will be able to create compliance rules, enter trades, monitor their portfolios and analyse their performance - making it a valuable tool that will enhance the Academy's learning offering. We are pleased to be able to give our users access to investment software that is used by industry professionals, and which will help make their experience as true to the workplace environment as possible," commented Terence Berry, chief executive officer of the Academy. "With help from sponsors such as SunGard, we are achieving a successful pilot and evolving Academy programmes to further leverage their investment in the Academy."
Ettie Takacs, managing director for SunGard's financial systems business in South Africa, commented: "The Academy will provide an ideal channel for SunGard to further help address the needs of South African asset managers. Bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge acquired through tertiary education and the practical challenges of the workplace not only further empowers employees but also helps them become productive far sooner. We are pleased to direct resources into this academy to help accelerate skills development. SunGard is committed to contributing to the growth and development of South Africa's financial services sector."
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The vision of the Academy is to create an independent environment in which high quality solutions are created, evolved and delivered to meet the practical learning needs of South African savings and investment management organisations. The Academy resulted from the need for a fresh approach to developing investment management skills and achieving broader, more rapid transformation of the industry. The intention is to take candidates' learning beyond that of their university studies using an approach that responds to industry realities and is delivered in an academically sound and practitioner-led manner.
In this year the Academy achieved the successful implementation of the IMPI programme and support workshops for chartered financial analyst candidates. The aim is to also create a retirement fund trustee education programme by the end of the year.
The Academy is constituted as a separate non-profit Section 21 company and is accredited as a learning provider with the Bankseta. For more information please visit www.imasaacademy.co.za.
Asset Arena
Asset Arena is SunGard's global suite of solutions for front-to-back-office investment support, serving asset managers, third-party administrators, insurers and pension fund managers. Available as an integrated solution set or as individual offerings, Asset Arena covers the entire investment management life-cycle, including trading, compliance, investment accounting, portfolio management and performance measurement and attribution.
SunGard
With annual revenue of $5 billion, SunGard is a global leader in software and processing solutions for financial services, higher education and the public sector. SunGard also helps information-dependent enterprises of all types to ensure the continuity of their business. SunGard serves more than 25 000 customers in more than 50 countries, including the world's 50 largest financial services companies. Visit SunGard at www.sungard.com.
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