Asset Control today announces its investment in new loaders that will deliver full sets of MiFID II reference data fields to financial institutions, reducing reference data complexity whilst improving cost efficiency and data quality.

The approaching effective date of MiFID II has focused the industry’s efforts on sourcing data for reporting according to ESMA’s technical requirements and templates. Conversations with data vendors have peaked. And whilst these vendors are working hard to help meet their clients’ information needs, the multiple dependencies are putting pressure on time lines for development, testing, and the elevation of new models into investment firms’ production systems. Moreover, when taking data from multiple vendors, the effort for firms is increasingly challenging, especially when data vendors provide model changes in phases and updates need to be made multiple times.

Asset Control has a close relationship with all major data vendors and has maintained loaders for each of their key products and services. This means that when a vendor announces service updates in advance, Asset Control incorporates these changes into its loaders and releases maintenance versions in time for clients to capture the new data when it becomes available. In addition, Asset Control has maintained normalisation rules and an extended standard data model that contains MiFID fields, allowing different vendors’ data to be compared for improved quality, and functionality to consolidate data into a Golden Copy.

Boyke Baboelal, Director Data Services, Asset Control, explains: “With maintained loaders, part of the MiFID II challenge becomes significantly simplified. Only the upgrade of loaders is needed, which saves firms the effort required in monitoring all the different vendor notifications and conducting business analysis, development, normalisation and consolidation. With the obligation to monitor and manage additional complexities negated, the loaders in AC Plus allow clients to focus on quality and cost efficiency, and providing good service to downstream users of MiFID II data.”

As part of its normal maintenance activities, Asset Control has just released its updated loader for Thomson Reuters DataScope Select, which includes new fields for RTS 2 and RTS 23. Subsequent updates to this loader will be made according to Thomson Reuters’ announcement schedule. And, to further support MiFID II reporting, Asset Control is investing in new loaders that will deliver full sets of MiFID II reference data fields. The first of these new loaders will be available by August 2017, giving investment firms plenty of time for testing before January 3, 2018.

Mr. Baboelal concludes: “The benefits of maintained vendor feeds have never been so clear as they are now. The depth, breadth and complexity of not only the data requirements, but the way in which this data needs to be rapidly yet accurately aggregated and reported upon, requires a strong common data foundation. The latest enhancements within AC Plus take firms one step closer to meeting today’s and future regulatory demands, as well as achieving significant operational benefits.”