Back-office specialist PFPC is preparing a new update for its Impress Desktop for a second quarter 2003 release. The push comes as part of the firm's efforts to update its offerings to function in an open-architecture rather than proprietary environment. As it prepares he updates, the firm is also using the NICSA conference to get the word out on its most recent launch of the Impress Desktop.

"There is increasing competition today for assets, and leaders in the mutual fund industry are responding by expanding their distribution and product depth, differentiating themselves through service quality, and improving the efficiency of their back office operations," said Michael DeNofrio, executive vice president and managing director of PFPC's transfer agency. "The evolution of Impress Desktop was driven exclusively by the needs and demands of the investment processing industry, and we believe that Impress Desktop to be the most robust, future-focused technology solution available today."

PFPC, a unit of PNC, contends that the new systems will assist fund firms and intermediaries expand distribution and strengthen their relationships with shareholders. Currently some 100 fund firms use PFPC for transfer agency work. Those firms service 30 million accounts.

The new tool is dubbed Impress Desktop - Generation Next. The tool is integrated with PFPC's core recordkeeping technology and will provide fund complexes with workflow management, electronic document processing, integrated Web access, customer relationship management and other features associated with the automated servicing of brokers and investors, according to PFPC.

The Impress Desktop also initiates a series of open-source software upgrades, according to PFPC. Those enhancements rely on Java-based development tools and extensible markup language (XML).

"PFPC fully supports and is helping lead the fund industry's move toward interoperability, standards-based open architectures," said Charles Gallant, senior vice president, information technology, in a statement. 

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