Finnish savings bank Säästöpankki's in-house asset management busines Sp-Fund Management has picked Charles River Development's front and middle-office solutions to support its growth in the funds market.

Sp's funds were run by SEB Gyllenberg before they were brought in-house in 2011, with the business development overseen by managing director Hannu Ruotsalainen.

"We recognized that the launch of our in-house asset management operations gave us a unique opportunity to select the right investment management system and to adopt the best processes from the start," Ruotsalainen said.

"With Charles River IMS, we have a single consolidated platform that will not only support our business starting out, but also provide the functionality and scalability we will need as we increase our mutual fund client base, and diversify into other markets."

The Charles River solution comprises a number of components:

   -  Charles River IMS streamlines workflows, reduces operational risk, and provides an audit trail for reporting purposes,

   - Charles River Manager automates portfolio management for large numbers of portfolios,

   - Charles River Trader provides order and execution management in a single combined OEMS platform,

   - Charles River Compliance automates compliance throughout the trade lifecycle, and should enable handling of increasing volume and regulations.

Sp-Fund Management offers 24 mutual funds - including both 'A' and 'B' versions of funds such as Finland A and Finland B. In January 2012 it launched a fund of absolute return funds for its retail investors.

Säästöpankki is Finland's fourth largest banking group, and has one of the broadest branch networks geographically across the country. The group includes 40 local and regional banks - legally separate entitities - with 37 of those also owning Sp-Fund Management. Recently the group added the Finnish postal service's internet bank NetPosti to its own internet banking facilities.