SimCorp StrategyLab, a private research institution sponsored by SimCorp, has announced that Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) is the winner of the 2014 SimCorp StrategyLab Risk Management Excellence Award. The prestigious award was presented earlier today at one of the largest investment management industry events, SimCorp’s International User Community Meeting, in Paris.
Now in its sixth year, the SimCorp StrategyLab Excellence Award recognizes innovation and outstanding performance in the global investment management industry. The winner is selected by a panel consisting of renowned international experts in finance, economics and applied IT.
AIMCo is one of Canada’s largest and most diversified institutional investment managers with more than $80 billion in assets under management. AIMCo was selected for its excellence in implementing AIMCo Innovations, a program to reduce operational risk and improve data accuracy for superior investment decision-making. AIMCo Innovations involved a strong commitment from the highest levels of the organization to modernize the firm’s system landscape.
“This award spotlights exceptional organizations that have the vision to make widespread changes to achieve new benchmarks in risk mitigation,” said, Ingo Walter, Seymour Milstein Professor at the Stern School of Business who serves at the head of SimCorp StrategyLab. “AIMCo’s bold program of change has achieved large scale benefits for its clients. In judging this award, AIMCo’s submission stood out for its management of a large-scale, transformational risk mitigation program.”
Michael Baker, SVP Investment Operations at AIMCo, commented, “By focusing our efforts on people, process and technology, implementing AIMCo Innovations has allowed us to significantly mitigate risk through each step of the investment process while also earning high risk-adjusted returns on our clients behalf. We are excited and honored to be the recipient of this year’s SimCorp StrategyLab Award.”
The key benefits achieved by AIMCo Innovations include:
- accounting improvements in three separate frameworks,
- reduced costs and operational risk by means of multi-currency accounting
- reduction in income allocation time, going from a manual, six day process on a quarterly basis to an automated process of just minutes on a daily basis,
- closing accounting records from T+4 to T+1.
Previous award recipients include outstanding investment management firms Challenger Limited, Dealis Fund Operations, MEAG, Nordea Savings and Asset Management, and Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management.
For more information on the SimCorp StrategyLab, please visit: http://www.simcorp.com/Company/Research/SimCorp-StrategyLab
Enquiries about this announcement should be addressed to:
Anders Crillesen, Vice President of Operations, SimCorp StrategyLab, +45 2779 1286
About SimCorp StrategyLab
SimCorp StrategyLab is a private research institution, headed by Mr. Ingo Walter, Seymour Milstein Professor of Finance, Corporate Governance and Ethics at Stern School of Business, New York University. SimCorp StrategyLab’s research work focuses on identifying, understanding, and suggesting solutions to issues pertaining to mitigating risk, reducing cost and enabling growth in the investment management industry. For more information, please visit www.simcorpstrategylab.com.
About Alberta Investment Management Corporation
AIMCo is one of Canada’s largest and most globally diversified institutional investment managers with assets under management of more than $80 billion. AIMCo was established in 2008 to invest for superior long-term investment results for its 27 pension, endowment and government clients in Alberta, including the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund. For more information about AIMCo, visit www.aimco.alberta.ca.