Sanford signs Tower to Virtual Broker

SANFORD Limited, Perth’s on-line transaction pioneer, has signed a contract to provide its B2B product, Virtual Broker, to Tower Trust Limited, which has AUS$4.4B of assets under management and administration.

Virtual Broker will be part of the new on-line superannuation and portfolio management platform, which forms part of the Tower Group’s NZ$100M technology capital expenditure program.

Tower Trust (ASX:TWR) purchased IOOF Trustees during the past year, and now operates through-out Australia and New Zealand.

It is a major service provider to a wide range of financial inter-mediaries, primarily in the area of portfolio management and private and self-managed superannuation funds.

The agreement will mean Sanford will become the supplier of choice for advisers requiring on-line access to equity transaction capability and financial information services, all of which will be delivered through Tower’s on-line back-office admini-stration system.

“This is yet another exciting opportunity for Sanford to work with a company that recognises the value of quality technology, delivered in a timely and profess-ional manner that is sympathetic to the strategic goals of both organisations,” said Sanford chief executive Steven Goh.

“Leveraging our experience in providing economic and innovative solutions to the financial services arena has enabled Sanford to deliver this product in a quick and cost-effective manner that has enabled Tower to fast-track elements of the service in order to get to market quickly.

“We are pleased that we are able to add value to both organisations through a mutual co-operation and integration.

“Sanford has established itself as the premium supplier of branded financial services in Australia.

“The product depth that Virtual Broker offers through Virtual Broker Adviser, Virtual Broker Classic and Virtual Broker Retail allows Sanford to provide tailored financial sol-utions across the spectrum. For Sanford and its staff this is an extremely exciting and rewarding period as the market in general recognises the value in our vision for the future.”

Sanford recently won a $1.3 million grant from the Federal Government to develop technology that will allow investors around the world to trade across global currencies at an affordable price.

Sanford will contribute a further $1.3 million to the cost of researching and commercialising the product, which is being funded under the Department of Industry, Science and Resources .

Virtual Broker Classic provides market research and trading funct-ionality to the desktop of dealer groups and individuals, while Virtual Broker Adviser was designed to meet the needs of the investment professional.

Virtual Broker Retail (VBR) is a branded on-line market information and trading solution that enables organisations to offer an integrated solution without the expense and time constraints normally associated with the release of a major financial product.

The product can be integrated into the client’s existing operation to form a central backbone for the strategic delivery of financial products and services.