Handbook of Investment Administration

Chapter 2

NEW AND CLOSING BUSINESS

2.1 INTRODUCTION

The process of handling new and closing business is one of those that on the face of it appears straightforward and yet, can be amazingly complex.

What can be a simple process of opening an investment account and transferring assets can become complicated where the records of a private client are incomplete or simply disorganised. Investors are likely to have acquired their investments over many years and with trading and multiple corporate actions, keeping detailed records can be a time-consuming endeavour. They are unlikely to be complete or comprehensive enough and where they hold their own share certificates, there is every possibility that some are missing.

This can make the process of taking on new clients both very time consuming and expensive. Indeed, many firms recognise the complexities that are involved by allocating some of their most experienced staff to this process.

In this chapter, we will consider some of the detailed processes that take place during the set up of a new investment account and explore what makes it so complex. We will then look at some of the issues surrounding closing accounts and particularly at some of the complex procedures required when a client dies.

2.2 NEW BUSINESS

We will start with a look at the overall end-to-end process that takes place for new business and will then consider some of the areas mentioned in more detail in subsequent sections.

The high-level process steps that take place ...