Fintech Insights

Competitive and Non-competitive Corporate Actions Data

May 21, 2018

A golf ball can be no larger than 42.7 mm in diameter. A size 5 rugby ball must be between 280 and 300 mm. A US liquid gallon of water weighs 8.34 pounds. Nestle had a dividend of CHF 2.35 for 2017.

Each of the statements given above is a fact. There is no competitive advantage if the facts are verified. Your competitor may have these facts. That’s also a fact.

We are surrounded by numbers, data, analytics and metrics to help with the day-to-day decision-making process. However, too many facts or the wrong type of data can produce inaccuracies, inefficiencies and reduced profits.

Corporate action processing is no different. There are areas that need customized attention: which custodians have your positions, how your clients are electing, whether shares are posted correctly, to name a few.

However, there are certain areas that will not change. A dividend is the same for you and your competitor. A tender offer for a dollar will be the same across the industry. A market expiration date is a market expiration date. This data is vital, important and necessary however, many financial institutions are still relying on the inefficient model where they insist on doing the same research and deriving the same answers – answers that do not offer your firm a competitive advantage, nor drive profits.

Our clients have taken a more efficient path. FIS’ Corporate Actions XSPertise does the research for you. Each day, your holdings are analyzed against our vast library of fully scrubbed and cleansed corporate action events for delivery to your system. Our team takes over the research for each event by making certain every data point is accurate, timely and complete. All terms are in plain English and reference points are included as needed, after which the events would be ready for your team to distribute to your downstream clients. Our clients see the difference. A typical research team will spend between 10 and 20 minutes analyzing an event. XSPertise reduces this timeframe to under 2 minutes.

Data overload is everywhere. Firms that can clearly disseminate competitive data from non-competitive data will have higher profits and lower risks. XSPertise can help manage your corporate actions data and turn everyday data into a competitive weapon.

Sorry, but we still can’t help you find your golf ball.