Johannesburg, 29 Oct 2002
Oasis Asset Management, one of SA`s top asset management firms and a subsidiary of Oasis Group Holdings, has implemented AIMS, a portfolio modelling and management system from Progress independent software vendor (ISV) AFA Systems, to support its objective of providing superior returns at lower than market risk.
The company has for the past five years enjoyed local ratings as best performer in asset management and needed to enhance its fund managers` investment decisions process, while maintaining its overall objective of consistent returns.
As a consequence, Oasis upgraded from its legacy system, Smacsoft, and went live with AIMS in August this year. AIMS is expected to provide Oasis with competitive-edge over other asset management firms, as the company is first to go live with the system.
"We chose AIMS because it is a real-time system, able to provide up-to-the-minute portfolio information," says Fiaaz Essack, director administration at Oasis Group Holdings. "Aside from providing core functions that include trade initiation and settlements, it assists our portfolio administrators in dealing with queries from staff and clients, thereby increasing client satisfaction. Also, AFA`s E-Ports module allows our clients to view their reports within three working days after our month-end, which saves them both time and money."
Oasis Group Holdings has four additional subsidiaries namely: Oasis Crescent Management Company, Oasis Global Management Company (Guernsey), Oasis Administration and Oasis Private Clients. Oasis Asset Management is responsible for managing assets on behalf of listed and private companies, parastatals, retirement funds, educational institutions, trust funds, unit trust management companies, high net worth individuals and multi-managers.
The mandates for each of these funds are specifically tailored to meet the clients` needs. The portfolios include balanced domestic mandates, balanced global mandates, specialist equity mandates, money market mandates, and fixed interest mandates.
"Our investment philosophy is that we hate losing money and are passionate about making money," adds Adam Ebrahim, CEO at Oasis Group Holding.
To satisfy this investment philosophy, the company identifies securities with an undervalued stream of sustainable cash flow and sets its investment managers to invest in the most undervalued securities on a worldwide basis. The selected securities are then combined in the construction of well-diversified portfolios in terms of asset allocation, based on the impact of macro-economic variables. As a result of the company`s proven stock picking and instrument selection skills, its investment portfolios have successfully minimised the inclusion of securities that erode capital.
Oasis`s requirement of AIMS was to support this philosophy by performing functions that include ordering, trading, cash management, processing of corporate actions, income processing and accruals through to performance reporting for administration, management and client reporting.
According to Michael Swingler, research director at Oasis Group Holdings, AIMS allows Oasis staff to work in multiple screens and to export client information faster, practically and more efficiently. It caters for all types of instruments including equities, capital and money market assets, derivatives, property and foreign exchange. Also, it supports multi-currency portfolios that include back currency, accounting and reporting.
Built on a modular approach and delivering a complete portfolio modelling and management system, AIMS is fully STP-enabled, supporting business critical functions, such as confirmation and reconciliation, across a variety of asset classes.
"We have managed to provide Oasis with a flexible, fully integrated operational system that can expand to accommodate its business growth," says JB Maree, international sales and marketing director at AFA Systems. "Also, the Web Reporting module enables Oasis to be more innovative in its service approach and to make information accessible to its customers. This ultimately allows the company to focus more on interacting with its customers and providing them with better service, instead of worrying about technology."
"AFA Systems, the 2001 winner of the Progress Innovative Technology Award, is also one of the first local ISVs to embrace our new application server technology," says Rick Parry, MD of Progress Software SA. "This implementation is yet another indication of how much AFA understands the dynamics of the market and a display of its ability to move into new technology and add value."
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