Union introduces platform

Union Investments, one of Germany’s best-known retail fund houses, has introduced a business integration platform to allow greater efficiency and boost profits in uncertain markets.

Union runs 750 mutual, private label, and specialised funds, containing assets of E103.2bn. It invested in an enterprise application integration (EAI) infrastructure three years ago, choosing US-based Vitria:BusinessWare as provider.

Before using Vitria, exchange of data was through a network of interfaces including point-to-point connections between different systems, which became inflexible and time-consuming.

Crucially, Union claims to have achieved a sustainable return on investment. In terms of practicalities, fund managers log onto an order management system, with quicker access to current stock prices.

“Integration never stops,” says Christian Ebersberger, head of Union Investment data management. “We are now experts in using the extended functionality of Vitria:BusinessWare and we are taking advantage of its implementation in our day-to-day business.”