Xchanging, the fast-growing international pure-play business process outsourcing company, takes operational control of the Hof-based Fondsdepot Bank GmbH effective from 01 November 2007. At the end of August, Xchanging signed an Enterprise Partnership contract with Allianz Global Investors Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH to provide retail investment account management. Xchanging holds a 51 percent share in the company. Mike Margetts, Executive Director of Xchanging Financial Markets and Thomas Runge, Group Production Director, will take over the management of Fondsdepot Bank to work alongside Gerhard Lugert. Dr. Claus Stickler has resigned from his current management position to join the supervisory board of Fondsdepot Bank. He has also been appointed a member of the executive board of Allianz GI.
“Having taken operational control, we will now start to analyse Fondsdepot Bank’s processes and results through our standardised approach“, Mike Margetts comments. “We will then focus on improving the processes and increasing the efficiency.”
Fondsdepot Bank currently manages 1.3 million active securities accounts with an asset volume totalling € 19 billion. Through the vehicle of Enterprise Partnership, the parties want to increase this volume. Fondsdepot Bank is one of the leading providers in the area of retail investment account management in Germany and offers its customers a portfolio approaching 6,500 public funds of more than 150 investment companies.
The strategic goal of the partnership is to strengthen and grow the bank’s position as a high-capacity, neutral provider in retail investment account management by building on the open fund platform. “We will achieve our goals by combining Fondsdepot Bank’s expertise in investment account management with Xchanging’s core competencies in process optimisation.” Furthermore, Xchanging wants to generate third-party business for the cost-effective platform. The partners will focus on expanding their business with financial consultants, broker pools and asset managers.
