Merchant Capital, the asset management division of Merchant House Group, has launched pre- and post-trade compliance applications for its UCITS umbrella platform, ahead of UCITS IV implementation on 1 July 2011 and aiming to provide what it calls “a new generation of financial services software” for its clients.

Merchant Capital’s UCITS platform applications are hosted using cloud technology with no extra hardware required and aims to enable clients to save on IT costs and concentrate on their core business, the firm said in a statement. This cloud-based compliance monitoring and reporting software is said to provide UCITS structure monitoring as well as major shareholding reporting, both pre- and post-trade.

The compliance applications offer the following tools: full breach workflow and document management, compliance stress-testing and "what if" scenarios, pre- and post-trade web services, XML in, XML out, open reporting interfaces, integrated data management tools, among others.

“Pre-trade compliance is set to be a key byword in the UCITS fund industry during the course of this year. Merchant Capital’s new pre-trade compliance system will be a critical tool for fund managers and COOs when adapting their funds to UCITS,” said George Cadbury, co-founder of Merchant Capital’s UCITS umbrella.

“It is essential for both regulators and investors to be comfortable with managers adhering to the UCITS rules and not just via being cognisant of breaches once the trade has already been carried out. This is particularly relevant to offshore managers that are launching onshore funds, having to acclimatise to a more prescriptive structure,” Cadbury said.