SS&C Launches Services to Manage Insurers' Non-traditional Investments

By Clayton Hamshar
Contributing Writer

SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc., a provider of financial services software and software-enabled services, recently launched a new accounting and reporting service for insurance and reinsurance companies looking to better manage non-traditional, high-risk assets such as Schedule BA and syndicated bank loans.

Insurers have had considerable trouble making returns on their investment portfolios, and as a result are looking at non-traditional assets and adopting slightly higher-risk investment policies for a couple percentage points extra of return. In addition to rising competition for these higher returns and ever-tightening operational budgets, these companies lack the talent and technology to manage these alternative assets. SS&C has stepped in with its new services to ease the change in strategy by providing complex accounting and reporting capabilities that are necessary but generally not supported by existing systems.

“Traditionally accounting and reporting for Schedule BA assets and syndicated bank loans has been largely manual and managed on spreadsheets,” said Tim Reilly, Senior Vice President and General Manager at SS&C Institutional and Investment Management. “Insurers reaching for yield are turning to these non-traditional asset classes as they typically provide higher returns in the long run.”

SS&C provides a way for insurers to outsource the accounting and reporting duties for these non-traditional asset classes so they can more effectively be managed by people who specialize in it. SS&C’s service completely automates these tasks and integrates them with General Ledger and Treasury applications so insurance and reinsurance firms can divert their attention elsewhere. Furthermore, the insurers are supplied with customizable web-based reports that prioritize and display relevant data in a centralized location.

SS&C offers a range of services for Schedule BA assets, including recording and posting of all partnership activity, reconciliation of partnership statements, GAAP equity method accounting and reporting on a STAT, GAAP and tax basis. For syndicated bank loans, SS&C can track the lifecycle of loans and secondary events, balance Schedule Ds, reconcile between custodians, agent banks and asset managers and perform valuation and reporting.

The company currently employs more than 600 accounting professionals and serves over 500 insurance companies around the world.