Calastone, the global funds transaction network, today announced that Hargreaves Lansdown has gone live with Calastone Settlements, its innovative funds settlement solution.

Calastone Settlements is the only commercial settlement system designed specifically for the funds industry, automating the reconciliation and settlement process of investment funds.  Participating firms such as Hargreaves Lansdown benefit from greater efficiency gained through automated matching of trades which in turn calculates the net settlement position between trading counterparties. Using Calastone Settlements, settlement payments are automated and are transacted net. This results in a reduction of settlement payments of up to 52%*.
 
In 2015 an estimated £158bn of settlement payments took place needlessly. Calastone’s technology, through the automated matching of trades, enables firms like Hargreaves Lansdown to make significant liquidity improvements.
 
Danny Cox, Head of Communications at Hargreaves Lansdown said, “Automatic matching of trades and the netting of settlement positions early in the day will improve the efficiency of our operational and treasury teams. Given the number of transactions that Hargreaves Lansdown processes this is of huge benefit.”
 
Commenting on the announcement, Jon Willis, Chief Commercial Officer, said, “Calastone Settlements addresses several issues which challenge the funds industry today and significantly improves efficiency for our clients. As a commercial settlement system, as defined by the FCA, we are delighted to be able to offer significant liquidity improvements to firms such as Hargreaves Lansdown through the automated matching and netting of trades.”