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By Chris Whitside

"At the moment, we're moving a lot of paper around the street and that's just not efficient," says Mary-Lou Rice, senior vice president, operations, MRS. "Members of the Investment Dealers Association (IDA) and banks are able to process account transfers electronically through FundSERV and ATON*; however, mutual fund dealers have not yet been able to participate. About 35 per cent of our transfer activity is with investment dealers and banks. And because we are operating in a manual environment, the whole process can take two weeks at a minimum. More often though, it's well over 30 days. We don't think investors should have to wait that long."

The MRS Group of Companies is a carrier for over 225 dealers across Canada. Like other intermediaries seeking greater efficiencies, MRS is faced with the challenge of automating processes for a very disparate array of customers.

In June, FundSERV will provide part of the solution intermediaries require with the implementation of ESG V16. Intermediary account identifiers in FundSERV's electronic files allow transfer requests for all customers of intermediaries to flow through ATON. MRS and B2B Trust will be the first companies to take advantage of intermediary transfers for security and mutual fund accounts. Still in the discussion stage, however, is the process by which the cash component of a transfer can be moved between Canadian Depository for Securities (CDS) participants and other ATON users.

"Opening ATON to intermediaries will both extend ATON's advantages to these FundSERV users and magnify the benefits of ATON for existing CDS participants," said Barb Amsden, assistant vice president, product management, CDS. "Since its inception in 1998, ATON has provided participants with an electronic environment that facilitates faster, more accurate and more cost-effective account transfers. By expanding ATON users to include intermediaries and looking at new instrument classes that can be transferred through ATON, we hope to make ATON an even better way to transfer accounts and meet the IDA's Regulation 2300 requirements."

FundSERV has been connected to CDS for processing of mutual fund transfers through ATON since 1999. The primary goal at both companies is to automate manual processes for their customers to save money and reduce risk. Their intermediary customers have the same goal.

"We find our inspiration for this effort by going all the way back to the person driving our business," adds Mary-Lou Rice. "It's the investor who counts. Yes, we will save time and money and yes, the frontline distributor will save time and money. But ultimately we need to make sure that when we are asked to do so, we can transfer accounts in or out as quickly and efficiently as possible."

*ATON - Account Transfer Online Notification, the electronic transaction service of CDS Inc., a subsidiary of CDS LTD.

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