After establishing the investment fund industry's electronic standards for the past 12 years, the Electronic Standards Group (ESG) has passed the torch to a reorganized FundSERV committee structure. Various ad hoc committees will be formed in its place, specializing in specific areas of interest and business line objectives.

Cam Murray, Chair of the Standards Steering Committee (SSC), says the decision to reorganize the existing committee structure was not an easy one, but a necessary one.

"The change in the investment fund industry landscape dictated the need for a committee restructuring," says Murray. "With all the

new types of products coming to market, and the merging of distribution and pure manufacturing, it was evident that the needs of our constituents had changed. Like anything, you need to constantly reevaluate what you're doing, why you're doing it, and how you're doing it in order to remain successful."

The ESG evolved out of the sub-committees of the IDA-FAS Mutual Fund Committee. Formed in 1989, the IDA FAS Mutual Fund Committee's mandate was to set common standards to the then burgeoning mutual fund industry.

When FundSERV was formed in 1993, it took a leadership role and eventually rolled the various sub-committees of the IDA-FAS Mutual Fund Committee into the SSC and ESG in 1997. From that point the SSC provided the direction to the ESG, who, in turn, worked at the grassroots level, performed the analysis, vetted the issues, and collaborated with FundSERV to create the electronic industry standards.

Throughout the years, the ESG maintained an exceptional track record of replacing paper with electronic automation standards. However, since many of the remaining issues left to solve were not applicable to the entire industry, and the benefits not that apparent to everyone, consensus became increasingly difficult. The 'one size fits all' approach was not as applicable as it once was.

"Eighteen years ago, there was one big problem the entire industry faced — the lack of automation standards," says Brian Gore, president and CEO of FundSERV. "Now that that problem has been resolved — largely in part to the ESG's hard work and dedication — we're now left with some issues that don't necessarily apply to all business lines. We've kind of come full circle and ended up where we started — needing specialized groups to solve specialized problems."

Under the new committee structure, the SSC will take on more responsibility by reviewing business cases, setting priorities, championing initiatives, and ensuring the industry standards are cohesive. For more complex business cases, FundSERV and the SSC will solicit enthusiastic industry volunteers to form ad hoc committees. It is anticipated that the volunteers will bring a great deal of subject matter expertise to the table. A Technology committee will also be formed to analyze technical issues, facilitate better estimates of size and scope of initiatives, and determine what standards will work best with their companies' technology.

"There will be lots of opportunity for individuals to get involved in these ad hoc committees to help the SSC and FundSERV shape the industry standards," says Murray. "I'm anticipating many of the former ESG members will be involved, as well as new individuals who may not have had the opportunity in the past to offer their expertise."

FundSERV will also be taking more of an active leadership role in the formation and implementation of the standards. FundSERV will assume the standards maintenance role and will try to leverage existing industry committees (IFIC, CLHIA, IDA-FAS) to ensure that a pool of resources is available to draw from for ongoing maintenance items. FundSERV recognizes that industry participation is critical to its success and will be relying on it for input as it has since the beginning.

Michelle Fox, chair of the ESG, says that although the standing ESG committee has come to an end, it should be proud of all its accomplishments and the positive impact it has made on the industry. She also looks forward to working with many of them in the new committee structure.

"I'm sure I will be working with many of my former ESG colleagues in the future to further advance initiatives that reduce costs and risk to the industry," says Fox. "In the meantime, I want to thank everyone for their countless number of volunteer hours over the years; you've truly made a difference. I also want to extend my gratitude to ESG members who took on additional responsibility to chair working groups. Without your leadership, many of the ESG's successes may not have been achieved."

In appreciation for the ESG's tremendous amount of hard work, FundSERV is hosting an appreciation event for current and former ESG members at the Toronto Blue Jays game on May 8.

"This is the least we can do to show our gratitude," says Gore. "Without the ESG input and guidance over the years, who knows what state the industry would be in right now? I'm guessing not as well-off as it is today."