DTCC GETS SEC APPROVAL TO LAUNCH SERVICES PLATFORM FOR ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT PRODUCTS

Posted June 3, 2008

NEW YORK -- The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has received regulatory approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch its Alternative Investment Products (AIP) suite of services. AIP, a service platform that links broker/dealers, fund managers, administrators and custodians, will provide settlement of subscriptions and redemptions for various alternative investment vehicles, automating the exchange of all trade-related account information.

“AIP will support growth in the marketplace and facilitate greater product distribution,” says Ann Bergin, Managing Director, DTCC Wealth Management Services. “AIP, modeled after the success of our other mutual fund products, will have the same positive transformation on alternate and direct investment administration.”

AIP will standardize the way the alternative investment industry communicates about the investment security and the associated investments. By effectively addressing operational issues that challenge broker/dealers and fund sponsors, AIP will help the alternative investment community become more scalable through increased efficiencies, reduced operational risk and lowered costs.

“This initiative is a significant response to the industry call for standardization and accelerated progress in the reduction of operational risks,” says Gary Palmer, Chief Executive Officer, Irish Fund Industry Association. “Measures that have the ability to successfully accomplish these shared objectives are currently being unified in the form of a global set of guidelines of sound practices for hedge fund managers and their service providers.”

With DTCC as a central clearing facility for uniform operational functions, and thus eliminating the multiple contact points for fund sponsors, broker/dealers, administrators and transfer agents, the AIP service will streamline and automate all the processes related to trade-order initiation, money settlement and post-trade reporting.

“Providers of transfer agent and clearing services can now make information on alternative investments available to clients in the same fashion as mutual funds and common stocks,” says Gerald Gregorio, Managing Director in the Customer Processing and Services group at Pershing LLC, an affiliate of The Bank of New York Mellon. “Innovations such as AIP will help streamline the investment process and benefit investors and service providers alike.”

AIP was developed at the request of, and in consultation with, industry participants worldwide. This new suite of services will be offered by DTCC’s National Securities Clearing Corporation subsidiary.