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Navigant's Unclaimed Property Compliance Solution

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Navigant's Financial Services' Unclaimed Property Compliance Solution helps Insurers comply with the evolving Unclaimed Property regulation. Our end-to-end solution includes strategy and governance advisory, matching of administrative records to public deceased records, complex data analytics, regulatory response guidance, settlement and exposure (reserves) projections, and both operational and IT readiness. The cornerstone of our solution is a rules-based matching engine that can be tailored for the most recent regulatory requirements to support Insurers in adhering to the dynamic regulatory landscape.

NYREG200: Includes Regulation 200 fuzzy logic reporting requirements.
Policy-finder or Similar State Self-Identifying Lists: Ability to match to state files; reducing the level of manual research required.
State Regulatory Settlements: Navigant's matching engine mimics the John Hancock and Prudential settlement agreements including fuzzy matching logic. It is a proven and tested solution and has been supporting the execution of a Global Resolution Agreement with exceptionally high accuracy rates.
DMF Matching: Over 40 million Life, Annuity and Group policies / contracts matched using exact and fuzzy matching logic.
Readiness Reviews: Assess operational readiness for supporting Global Resolution and Regulatory Settlements as well as newly evolving regulations.

Read more on Navigant’s thoughts on the Unclaimed Property Compliance Solution by clicking here.

RDR Health Check Overview

Thu, 24 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Most firms have made significant progress with their RDR preparations and have spent time developing the propositions which they will take to market later this year/next year. In a period of economic difficulty it is critical to get the proposition right at both macro and micro levels: the proposition must work for the firm, investors and advisers; how will your firm's compare to the competitors? The practical and commercial implications of the rules now need to be worked through in detail - and there are some complexities to consider. In addition, the FSA have stated that they are 'focused on constantly reviewing how you are implementing RDR'.

Navigant has developed a 3-pronged diagnostic review of RDR Programmes to assess whether they are set up to achieve timely compliance and proposition objectives. These reviews can cover any or all of the following elements, as required: compliance, proposition and delivery.

RDR Health Checks are tailored for each type of retail financial services firm. We have worked closely with many providers and distributors and as experienced industry practitioners understand the risks, challenges and opportunities RDR brings to complex businesses in a highly competitive market.

We are seen as industry experts by our clients for platform and post-RDR strategies; we seek long term partnerships with our clients and we are passionate about helping them succeed. The attached slides show how we would undertake a review on your behalf. You may also view them here.

An Olympic Tug of War

Fri, 18 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Tug of War was an early Olympic sport requiring strength, grit, tactics and knowledge of the grounds on which the competition would take place. As 2012 progresses and product providers, advisers and platforms vie for revenues post-RDR, we discuss the need for the qualities required in a tug of war, looking at the tensions that will play out as market participants develop and negotiate pricing and revenue streams for 2013 and beyond.

In summary, we foresee power plays that shift the market in a number of directions over time, each of which need to be played out in strategy planning for both the short and longer term. We believe that price positioning which is merely reactive to current market forces may not deliver the best outcomes either for providers, platforms or investors and the results will emerge in a shorter time scale than many have predicted. Continuing economic difficulties and depressed investment pricing mean that holistic and longer term planning that considers all of these forces and their impact on overall profitability is essential for the survival of all involved in servicing the retail market post-RDR.

Middle Office Outsourcing – Know the Benefits | Know the Risks: Webinar Recording

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Navigant and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP co-hosted a webinar on middle office outsourcing among asset managers. During this web-based event, we reviewed the adoption of middle office outsourcing by asset managers in the U.S., discussed the benefits of outsourcing, highlighted key legal considerations, and touched-on several potential pitfalls and how to avoid them.

Guest panelist, Nigel Hill, Managing Director Global Operations at Credit Suisse Asset Management, shared his perspectives gained from having executed a wide range of middle office outsourcing programs and provided attendees with lessons to consider when implementing similar programs.

Hosts Neil Mayall, Managing Director, Financial Services, Navigant, and Stephen Nordahl, Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP invite you to view a complimentary recording of our Middle Office Outsourcing webinar. You may access the recording here, or you may download the slides from this web page.

Client Money Changes for SIPP Trustees

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0600

Before the twelfth day of Christmas the FSA slipped an additional present under the tree!

With plenty of other distractions during the current economic crisis, it may have slipped under some firms’ radars, but the recent changes to the FSA rulebook could mean some significant changes for trustees of Self-Invested Personal Pensions. Under the old version of the Client Assets Sourcebook rules, trustees were able to benefit from a carve-out from some of the client money regulations. This meant that only certain clauses were applicable to trustees – which included SIPP trustees, although not all trustees chose to use the exemptions. In the area of client money reconciliation, trustees still had to perform regular reconciliations to bank statements but crucially they were excluded from the requirement for regular (usually daily) internal reconciliation between client entitlements and the firm’s records of client money balances. Under the new rules, trustees are still exempted from certain requirements; however the scope of these has now changed, bringing trustees into line with other market participants by requiring the regular internal client money reconciliations and hence funding adjustments to be performed. The insurance company provisions still apply, of course, however many SIPPs extend beyond purely insurance business and would therefore be included in these requirements.

The Battle for the Customer

Fri, 31 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0600

At a time when mortgage lenders really need to appear seamless, their operations have never been more disjointed or fragmented. This article, published by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), looks at the barriers lenders face in integrating the way they deal with customers and how those barriers may be overcome. With projected loan volume at the lowest since 1997, superior customer service will be more important than ever in the batter for customers.

Client Money – Acting on Principle or Counting the Pennies?

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 07:38:40 -0500

Everyone thinks they understand the principles of Client Money, but the rules are complicated.

The law in this area is even more so: these facts have been demonstrated by the unexpected complexity of unwinding the Lehman positions. Issues such as the difficulty in defining the entitlement to assets and the liquidators’ right to be paid from client money have caused a rethink by regulators and firms about how safe their clients’ assets may be.

Managing Conflicts of Interest

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 12:35:26 -0600

The SEC’s public affirmation of their focus on conflicts of interest and fraud-based examinations sends a clear message that CCOs must understand all business relationships and their potential conflicts. If a CCO is unknowing of certain conflicts in a firm’s business activity and relationships, it will raise a red flag with examiners and lead to much more in-depth questioning, document discovery and investigation. This article addresses clear guidelines for firms as they seek to identify and manage potential conflicts of interest.

Managing Material Non-Public Information

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 12:36:44 -0600

Today’s private equity and hedge fund firms are more often than not offering multiple public and private markets investment strategies, which have introduced several risks that these new firms need to contemplate and manage. One of the top risks regulators are looking out for is access to and the potential misuse of material non-public information. To effectively manage the flow of information and monitor how that information is being used requires that firms adopt information barriers and insider trading policies and procedures, enhance the monitoring of personal and proprietary trading activities, and implement forensic testing programs. This article provides practical advice for CCOs on the steps they can take to ensure proper management of MNPI.