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By Erin Bardua
ESG V16 was published on January 25, 2005, with a few modifications added as V16.1 on March 14. Beginning with preview documents available since November 2004 and a draft Helpfile published in early January 2005, the industry has contributed a lot to this release in the form of review and comments. As a result, FundSERV expects V16.1 to be the only point release required prior to the June 2005 implementation of V16.
Here is a summary of the major enhancements included in V16 and V16.1. Please familiarize yourself with the details by checking out Helpfile V16, and directing any questions or comments to FundSERV Technical Support.
Transfers
Users will now be able to perform internal transfers between account designations — nominee to client name, and intermediary to client name. Dealer Account ID and Intermediary Account ID have been added to the Account Transfer message section for improved lookup procedures. Distributors will input these transactions using either their own back-office system or FundSERV Web screens, and manufacturers will send electronic confirm records; the new process will take just one business day. Also, use of Fund ID "ALL" will be enabled for internal transfers within the same dealer code, eliminating time-consuming inquiry and order processes. See the Internal Transfers technical paper in Helpfile V16 under Business and Technical Papers for Placement (TFS), Transaction Processing.
Demographics
Rules for demographic information have been changed; in V16, demographics are copied from the original account for all ATON transfers. For transfers without ATON listed as the originating network, demographics are copied from the original account for all external transfers and for any internal transfers involving a client name account.
Intermediary transfers
ESG standards have been developed to allow automated intermediary transfers in a single-business-day process through ATON for intermediaries who have chosen to join CDS. Transfers from intermediary to intermediary, intermediary to nominee, and nominee to intermediary will be supported, all with either the same or a different dealer code. See the TFS transfers standards in Helpfile V16 under Business and Technical Papers for Placement (TFS), TFS Processing Rules.
File corrections
New standards instruct FundSERV users on the best procedures in situations requiring reversals and adjustments to electronic files. Various scenarios are illustrated to help eliminate manual work and confusion over differing practices. See the File Corrections technical paper in Helpfile V16 under Business and Technical Papers, Processing Guidelines.
Alternative products
New pricing models
Accommodation for non-mutual fund products has been added in the form of new pricing and settlement standards. Three new pricing fields in the FD file will allow for funds to be priced weekly, semi-monthly, and monthly. See the Pricing Models technical paper in Helpfile V16 under Business and Technical Papers, Placement (TFS), Order and Response Workflow.
Fund setup changes
The FD file also contains new fields to allow for settlement periods other than T+1 or T+3. See changes to Fund Setup edits paper in Helpfile V16 under Business and Technical Papers, General Rules.
Fund-initiated transactions
New values have been added to Product Event Indicator and Record Type to document fund-initiated transactions electronically. See the field changes in Helpfile V16 under Data Standards, Field Definitions.
Advisor non-financial updates
To eliminate intensive manual work, a multiphase initiative has begun to allow electronic passage of information about the industry's 50,000 advisors. In phase 1 (V16), two new non-financial messages will be employed to allow distributors to add reps and inactivate them. Distributors will also be able to dictate whether messages are sent to a single recipient, a group of specific recipients, or all active recipients. Changes related to the new advisor NFU messages can be found in the paper in Helpfile V16 under Business and Technical Papers, Non-financial Updates.
Other changes
RESPs
Some changes originally published in V16 have been removed pending new rules from HRDC. Further RESP development is expected for V17. The only change remaining in V16 is the MOD-10 validation for all SINs on RESP accounts only. New RESP Account Setup will be rejected if an invalid SIN is present. See the new Account Setup rules in Helpfile V16 under Business and Technical Papers, General Rules.
Contribution/Withdrawal Code
New value 'P' added for Lifetime Learning Plan (LLP).
Removed Dealer Invoice (DB) File
Requires new version numbers for the Settlement Instruction (AF) and Transaction Reconciliation (AT) files.
Fund Classification
Reduced allowable values to the classifications supported by the Canadian Investment Funds Standards Committee (CIFSC).
Price Status Indicator
Value 'D' removed; delayed prices will now be excluded from the file.
Sales Rep Code Edit
Two rep codes on an order need not match. Manufacturers will have to save both codes in case they are different.
Suppress Confirm Indicator
New field added to order entry to instruct manufacturer not to send a paper confirmation of a transaction. Does not override existing agreements or account-level indicators.
Transaction Type
Removed values '9' and '0' as certificates are no longer in use.
Whitespace Processing
FundSERV will now be removing leading/trailing spaces, replacing multiple internal spaces with a single space character, and reformatting messages to a single line.
NFU Account Lookup
Intermediary Account ID added to the account lookup for non-financial updates. All account-level NFU messages sent to an intermediary must use the Intermediary Account ID. All account-level NFU messages sent to a manufacturer must continue to use the Fund Account ID.
NFU Response Processing Rule
Manufacturers must generate a response record within one business day of receiving a non-financial update, indicating that the request has been processed. This change is mandatory as of June 2005.
TFS Inquiry Processing Rule
Action Code, Source Identifier, Order Identifier, Transaction Revision Number, Dealer Code, and Intermediary Code in the inquiry must match the corresponding order. If not, the inquiry is rejected with Error Code 093 (No Order Found).
Intermediary NFU Lookup
Non-financial updates are sent to the intermediary first using Intermediary Account ID. The intermediary uses the Fund Account ID to send the update on to the manufacturer.
FundSERV API
New Java application programming interface (API) includes improved logging, troubleshooting ability, and support for SSL. Previous version is still usable with the exception of the new functionality.
Improvements to FundSERV Web screens
- All new messages have been added, including multiple targets for non-financial updates.
- Link to network rejects has been replaced in manufacturer transaction search.
- Link to original order added to reversal inquiry.
- Latency (time between order pickup and dropoff) displayed on FundSTATE.
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