Misys To Provide Full E-Trading To UK IFA Sector

Investors Offshore, London

24 January 2002

Misys and a group of leading UK life and pensions providers have announced innovative agreements to deliver full e-trading to the IFA industry, including:

• £9.2m shared investment by Friends Provident, Norwich Union and Scottish Widows in the AssureWeb portal;
• £16.8m to be paid by the three product providers for services related to usage of portal;
• Investing providers to receive equity stakes in AssureSoft;
• AssureWeb to drive full-cycle electronic trading in the IFA channel.

The investment will enable Misys, in partnership with Friends Provident, Norwich Union and Scottish Widows, to enhance AssureWeb for all product providers and IFAs. The portal will seamlessly link with mi-solution, the Misys IFA compliance and point of sale software. This radical and new approach will deliver significant benefits for the IFA and drive take-up of e-commerce as it integrates effortlessly into the business process.

Ivan Martin, CEO, Misys Financial Services Division, commented:

"Misys and three of the UK's leading product providers together share a vision of delivering the benefits of end-to-end e-trading to the IFA distribution channel. The only way to achieve real electronic trading is to combine the key e-commerce objectives of IFA network operator, technology supplier and product provider. The new venture demonstrates how industry leaders in these fields can work together to deliver essential cost savings for the life and pensions industry."

The agreements include the following:

• Friends Provident, Norwich Union and Scottish Widows will invest a total of £9.2m over 3½ years for a 40% stake in AssureSoft Limited, the holding company for AssureWeb. Part of the proceeds will be used to enhance AssureWeb, with the intention of completing the vision of end-to-end trading and taking the portal through to profitability;
• In addition, £16.8m will be payable over 3½ years by Friends Provident, Norwich Union and Scottish Widows for services related to the usage of AssureWeb;
• Ownership of AssureSoft will be split between Misys (60%) and investing product providers (40%);
• Misys will retain operational responsibility for AssureWeb;
• In return for their investment, the three providers will help to shape the portal strategy and receive dividends from AssureSoft; and
• Product providers will be represented on the Board of AssureSoft.

Misys is in discussion with a small number of additional key product providers who have expressed an interest in joining the initial three investors in the initiative and sharing the 40% equity stake.

AssureWeb will continue to provide open and non-discriminatory access to all product providers and all IFAs, regardless of whether or not they are one of the 7,500 Misys network members. The strategy will focus on the next phase of development for AssureWeb - including an expansion of the development team at the technology centre in Cheltenham and enhancing the functionality of the portal. The business will be run by the existing management team, led by managing director, Helen O'Dea.

Ivan Martin added: "We are moving AssureWeb to the next phase, putting it on a sound commercial basis, with revenue and profit growth targets that all parties agree are realistic in a new era of electronic transactions."

Ben Gunn, Managing Director, Friends Provident Life and Pensions, said: "It is important for IFAs and providers alike that the pace of development of full cycle electronic trading is accelerated. The industry needs the benefits that will emerge in order to deliver a step change in improving service for both IFAs and providers. AssureWeb will help bring the advantages of straight through processing to the full range of life and pensions services."

Peter Hales, Sales & Marketing Director, Norwich Union, added: "AssureWeb is a compelling technology proposition for product providers and IFAs. End-to-end trading and the accelerating move towards e-only products will benefit providers, IFAs and their clients, through a quicker, more efficient and streamlined applications process."

Newton Scott, Managing Director - Marketing & Distribution, Scottish Widows, added: "The IFA marketplace is entering a period of profound change. Notwithstanding proposed changes to the polarisation regime, there is a core requirement to increase the efficiency of the advice process. Movement to electronic trading methods is vital to both IFAs and providers alike and will help to improve service levels in a lower margin environment. We are very pleased to be entering into this exciting partnership with Misys, which we are confident will be a very positive development in shaping trading methods in our industry."

Misys plc, a FTSE-250 company, is one of the world's leading suppliers of software products. Misys develops and licenses a variety of software products to customers in the international banking and securities, US healthcare and UK retail financial services sectors. The group partners with its customers to deliver outstanding IT solutions to essential industries. For the year ended 31 May 2001, Misys reported revenues of £849m and adjusted operating profits, from continuing operations, of £140m. Misys employs over 6,500 people internationally.

AssureWeb is a leading e-trading portal for all Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs). AssureWeb provides dynamic information exchange and transactional services between product providers and IFAs. Key services on the platform include: real time comparative quotations, product research, policy valuations, offshore product information, online product literature and new business processing.

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